As a side note, you can use the anti-derail feature in Lionel 1022 manual switches to kill the power to a siding. No insulating pins needed; the switch itself feeds power to the direction in which it's thrown. Later manual switches from Lionel don't have this feature, alas...
http://www.postwarlionel.com/cgi-bin/postwar?ITEM=1022
Mitch
Bob, Glad you got it figured out. In hind site I wish I had no 027 switches in my yard, I have two still there. They are very hard to back through. The 027 profile 042 remote switches Lionel part numbers, 6-65167 and 6-65168 work much better for a yard where you will be backing into or out of.
JMHO.
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Or use a toothpick, or just leave a gap.
Bob Nelson
The insulating pins that are in the switches now stay as they are, as they are needed for the non-derailing feature to work.
You just remove one steel pin from the center of the switch and replace it with an insulating pin that you will need to purchase.
Larry
Ok got that, so my final question is do I keep the isolation pins in the switch like lionel says and just change the middle pin? Or do I put regular pins in the whole switch on just replace the center rail for dead track?
Welcome to the forum!
The insulating pins that are installed are for the non-derailing function of the switch.
As has been stated above, you need to isolate the section of track that you wish to control power to by removing the center pin from the switch end that goes to your controlled track (block) and installing an insulated pin in its' place. The entire track after this insulated pin will now be unpowered. To power it back up, you need a SPST switch and a lockon. Install the lockon anywhere in your block, and hook a wire from the left (#1) terminal of the lockon to one terminal of the SPST switch. The other terminal of the SPST switch gets wired to your main lockon terminal #1.
With the SPST switch 'on', the block is powered and you can run your train into it. Throw the SPST switch 'off', and the block goes dead and your train does not move.
Maybe im not reading correctly, but fiber pins on center rails and toggles sound like the answer making "blocks".
Hello,
I have a question for anybody that can help me. I have 9 o27 switches on my layout. I am just really getting it together right now. I have it setup as a train yard with switches coming off the main line to two tracks, left of switch and right of switch, they dead end for train storage. I tryed today with an engine and all the tracks have power when I through the switch no matter which side. I want to turn off the power to one side so I can keep the trains on the track and only use the left train or the right train. My question is how to vut power or isolate each side so I only get power to one side at a time? I looked at the 027 documentation from Lionel and all my pins are correct, the fiber ones. So how do I do this?
Bob
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