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R-19 Automatic Turnout Rail (1990)

The R-19 Automatic Turnout Rail, despite being simpler in operation to 1978's R-16 Autopoint Rail, came out in 1990 at a price of 850 yen. The turnout includes a removable "POINT" sign with a point diagram that fits onto the three by three stud area on the base of the turnout. The Automatic Turnout takes up the footprint of a "right" R-11 Turnout Rail with a half straight immediately preceding it.

The Automatic Turnout Rail was released individually as R19 in 5th generation accessory packaging in 1990. The individual release also includes a Left Turnout Rail and Half Straight Rail to easily incorporate the Automatic Turnout Rail into a layout. The rear backing card shows how the switch works and how to incorporate the turnout into a simple circular layout.

This bagged Automatic Turnout dates to 1996. Many accessories used the same style of tag with a sticker put over the front to denote which accessory the bag contained. The rear of the bag talks about the flexibility of Plarail rails but that they should be flattened out while playing and how to get in contact with Tomy.

The Automatic Turnout Rail can be set to "AUTO" where it will switch the output of the turnout every time an engine passes over the trigger or "SET" which leaves the switch in its current position. The yellow catch at the entrance of the switch catches the activation tab on the bottom of engines and triggers the switch to change direction.

Inside the switch is a ratcheting mechanism that cycles the switch between its two positions every time the catch is engaged. Setting the switch to SET disengages the catch from the ratchet.

The large yellow section in the bottom right is the underside of the catch, which will not slide forward along the switch unless the activation tab on an engine engages with it. Connected on a pivot is the driving "pawl" of the ratchet that advances it one stage around the six-sided ratcheting mechanism. At the end of its travel the protrusion on the catch rotates town into the turnout on its plastic track around the metal pin holding it in place on the slide and the spring on the "pawl" of the ratchet pushes the sliding assembly back into place.

The switch on the top of the turnout engages with a spring loaded plastic arm that adjusts the pawl to keep it in place to advance the ratchet in "AUTO" or swing it out of place above the ratcheting mechanism to "SET" the switch.

The spring loaded plastic arm to the left of the ratchet is more like a traditional ratchet pawl and prevents the ratchet from shifting position unless hit by the catch. The spring loaded arm under the ratchet pushes the turnout arm's guide plate against the ratchet mechanism so the rounded "triangular" portion of the ratchet can hold the guide plate and turnout arm in position. The spring between the guide plate and turnout arm returns the arm to its set position when an engine runs against the points and swings the arm out of the way.

The molding on the bottom of the turnout shows that it was being developed in 1989. The Automatic Turnout Rail was only produced in Thailand.

The Automatic Turnout Rail was also included in the 1990 Hikari with Light Overpass Set and some later sets like a variant with a different sticker and sign design in the Thomas and the Chinese Dragon set.

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