Lionel 1122 Switches

[Fred Bear]

Do the 1122 switches always spark? Mine spark like crazy, I can seem to find a combination of insulating pins to keep this from happening. If I use masking tape on the rails, it will work, but looks like ***. Anyone have a fix for this? Will 022 switches spark also? I do not notice any sparking at all from my 072's. Thanks, Jake

[mitchelr]

I have eight 022 switches on my layout. No sparking here. Unless I run a loco too fast and derail her...[;)]

Mitch[C):-)]

[ADCX Rob]

The control rails sparking incessantly on the 1122 & 1122E, and the modern era decendants, are part of the charm! Unless you deactivate the non-derailing fuction, permanently or using micro switches, they will always spark... or you could get fancy and use a CD circuit to provide the snap in the opposite direction.

Rob

[Fred Bear]

OK, if I have this correct, 022 switches do not spark, but the 1122's & 1122E's will always spark? Does the sparking hurt anything? If it doesn't, I'll just run em'. I figured something was wrong with the wiring I had set up. Thanks to all that replied, Jake

[phillyreading]

Not sure if the sparking will hurt anything other than the appearance or shape of the wheels. I have gone to Gargraves switches & don't have this problem.
Lee

[Anonymous]

Fred, I'm interested in knowing the brand of O72 switches you have. Are they Lionel? I want to use Lionel's O gauge O72 switches but I have read their operation is unreliable.