Hi ALL!I just found this switch umongst my........stuff (junk) ! I can't figure out what it is! It has no markings on it other than that fancy looking "L", Lionel I would think. What is this switch??Many thanks, Ted
HI. Looks like a left hand 1121 automatic turnout (switch). Can be wired for auto nonderailing operation. There should be others who can give better wiring info.
wyomingscout
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=682
Bob Nelson
Is that then prewar? It looks like all metal construction. If you wire for auto non-derailing, wouldn't you have to remove the two short rails and completely isolate them from the rest of the switch or would you use fiber pins all around?
It's plastic (bakelite?) on top and metal on the bottom. The points are also plastic. You don't have to do anything to the turnout, just create control rails in or add contactors to the track sections adjoining the turnout. See the PDF for details.
Ok then. I was asking because I have a pair of Sakai turnouts that look so similar but they are all metal construction, so I've been studying them the last several days to try and figure out how I could make them non-derailing.
This was the O-27 turnout that Lionel made in the late '40s and 50's. The round shape on the motor housing was too high to allow F units and the Aluminum passenger cars to go through the curved route without scraping and sometimes derailing. I suffered with these for years as a youngster and came close to sawing the plastic down.
Mel Hazen; Jax, FL Ride Amtrak. It's the only way to fly!!!
So, you're trying to make the Sakai tiurnouts nonderailing? Sorry, don't know anything about them, but if the are compatible with Lionel the procedure should be the same. Right, Bob?
I think it is the 1121 that he wants to do that to. He can follow the method in the Lionel manual that I gave him a link to, using the 154C contactors; or he can create his own control rails by insulating an outside rail in the track sections adjacent to the turnout, then connecting each new control rail to one of the outer two terminals of the turnout.
If it is the Sakai turnouts that he wants to modify, I'd be surprised if it cannot be done. But we need first to know how the things are wired now.
The 1121 switches are all metal except for the movable switch points and the motor housing. I have one old switch that has a die cast metal housing. The 1122 switches are plastic on the top and metal on the bottom and the motor housings are plastic. I don't think there is a way to isolate the two short rails on a 1121 switch. You could, however, put some tape over the rail and then put a piece of thin copper over the tape. Then wire the copper to the appropriate terminal on the switch motor and make the switch non-derailing.
Bruce Baker
The Sakai switches are Lionel, Marx, K Line compatible. They are 0 gauge 0-27 profile. The switches I'm talking about seem to be an earlier version being all metal construction. Metal base and cover. The middle rails are insulated, but that's it.
I got the wiring from all the previous posts, that's not the problem. The issue is how to isolate the small rails for non-derailing. The easiest solution I thought of is to use fiber pins all around and isolate the entire switch from the layout.
Isolating the entire turnout to make all the running rails into a giant control rail would still not isolate the control rails from each other; and it would likely stall any locomotive that tried to cross it. Is there a reason why you are adamant about modifying the turnout to have control rails? Is there a problem with creating the control rails in the adjoining track sections? Even if this turnout abuts another turnout directly, so that there is no adjoining section in which to create a control rail, if you use a turnout that already has a control rail facing the 1121, the two turnouts can share it.
balidas Ok then. I was asking because I have a pair of Sakai turnouts that look so similar but they are all metal construction, so I've been studying them the last several days to try and figure out how I could make them non-derailing.
The only differences electrically between the 1121 and the Sakai switches is that the common binding post(center on Lionel, blue on the Sakai) is connected to the outside rails on the 1121, and on the Sakai the coil commons are connected to the blue common post instead. On the 1121, the coil commons are connected to the center rail.
This allows the Lionel to operate from track voltage by simply connecting the controller.
The Sakai is designed just like all Marx O-27 switches - the controller is designed to be connected to the power supply - whether it is accessory binding posts, track voltage, or a separate transformer. There are simple work-arounds similar to the 1121 method for making Sakai and Marx non-derailing.
Here is a Sakai lot showing the controller:
It looks like the blue terminals are common, yellows are for straight, reds are for turn.
Rob
Why Sakai used yellow wires and terminals instead of green is a mystery.
You know, I have read that page before but never thought to apply it to my Sakai's. Thanx for the reminder. Now that I have some space to work, I'm going to adamantly test this out. I'll let you know the results.
Those switches and controllers are some of the most colourful I've seen.
ADCX Rob balidas: Ok then. I was asking because I have a pair of Sakai turnouts that look so similar but they are all metal construction, so I've been studying them the last several days to try and figure out how I could make them non-derailing. The only differences electrically between the 1121 and the Sakai switches is that the common binding post(center on Lionel, blue on the Sakai) is connected to the outside rails on the 1121, and on the Sakai the coil commons are connected to the blue common post instead. On the 1121, the coil commons are connected to the center rail. This allows the Lionel to operate from track voltage by simply connecting the controller. The Sakai is designed just like all Marx O-27 switches - the controller is designed to be connected to the power supply - whether it is accessory binding posts, track voltage, or a separate transformer. There are simple work-arounds similar to the 1121 method for making Sakai and Marx non-derailing. Here is a Sakai lot showing the controller: It looks like the blue terminals are common, yellows are for straight, reds are for turn.
balidas: Ok then. I was asking because I have a pair of Sakai turnouts that look so similar but they are all metal construction, so I've been studying them the last several days to try and figure out how I could make them non-derailing.
How's it all working?
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