Activating the whistle on a Lionel NYC Flyer set using an insulated track section

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the input on this! I contacted Burns and they sell a $15 device which is probably just a set of diodes as you described. They also suggested powering a block of track to activate the whistle so no relay would be needed.

I have a mini oval set up on my work bench and have noticed that the train does speed up when you activate the whistle - seems odd and a bit disappointing that the CW80 transformer doesn’t automatically compensate the power level to maintain a constant speed. With all the electronic chips available today you would think this would be easily done without a significant cost impact.

The other disappointing aspect of the Lionel set is the lack of slow speed control. I’m installing this train set on a wall/ceiling mounted shelf system in a toddler’s bedroom so I want the train to run at a fairly slow speed so as to not fall off the track and bonk one of them on the head. It seems to take a minimum of 6 volts to get the train to run at some reasonably consistent speed (i.e. not stall in the 27” turns). At this voltage the train is going at an average rate of 13 inches/second, equivalent to about 36 MPH. At 8 volts the train goes through the turns without too much of a noticeable slowdown, but this is equivalent to a speed of 65 MPH. I would have thought a speed of 5-10 MPH would have been achievable with a train designed for O27 track!!

[Anonymous]

MJ
I sent you an email. Bob is right you can do it without a relay by isolating the center rail. The advantage of a relay is that you can couple it with a timer so the whistle does not blow continually when in the block.However if the block is short enough this sould not be problem.

Dale Hz

[lionelsoni]

No relay should be needed. Just put the unbalanced diode array in series with the supply to the (isolated) center rail in the section where you want the whistle to blow. To keep the speed constant, you can put another, balanced, array in series with the center rail elsewhere. Adjust the taps on the balanced version to eliminate any speed change.

Instead of using individual diodes, you can save some trouble by using bridge-rectifier assemblies. Connecting the ~ terminals together gives you the equivalent of two diodes in series, anode to cathode, with a tap in the middle, which would be useful for the unbalanced array. Connecting the + and - terminals together instead gives you a series combination of two parallel back-to-back diodes, again with a tap in the middle, which would be useful for the balanced array.

[Anonymous]

Burns electronics and others makes a good whistle activator or you can build your own,using 12 diodes and a barrier strip. You will also need a relay to activate the circuit from the insulated rail. To make your own controller,string 12, 3 or 6 amp diodes,6 in each direction mounted in a 12 position European style barrier strip. Connect the 2 ends and wire them in series with the center transformer tap. Jumping 5 diodes on one side will activate the whistle while jumping 5 on the otherside will activate the bell.

Dale Hz

[Anonymous]

I just bought a Lionel NYC Flyer train set (the 2005 version) and I want to make the train blow the whistle when it rides over a section of insulated track. My very brief examination of the transformer/power supply suggests that the whistle signal is just a small DC voltage applied to the normal AC voltage used to power the engine. This small DC "offset" must somehow trigger a circuit inside the tender box to turn on the whistle sound. When the DC voltage goes away, the whistle stops. It looks like something on the order of 2.5 volts and something in the neighborhood of 130 mA is needed. Can anyone suggest how I can safely apply the whistle voltage to the track? I would rather not have to get inside the transformer/power supply to gain acess to the circuitry - or is that the best way? Seems to be Lionel should make something for this application but I can't find it on their web site.