Here's a trick I learned yesterday from a train buddy who is my Postwar train doctor.
I had an 031 switch in which the lantern (I sometimes call it the hat) with the red and green lens would flop around when the switch is thrown, sometimes jamming the mechanism.
My train buddy showed me 2 little protrusions where the lantern is seated on the ring underneath the lantern, and told me that if one or both of those tiny protrusions is worn away or otherwise missing, then the lantern could flop around when the switch is thrown. We decided to apply a dab or two of rubber cement where those protrusions used to be.
Now, the lantern no longer flops around, but instead remains seated in the switch the way it's supposed to be.
