Crossovers with Lionel Switch Machines

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to have a crossever using two Lionel switch machines? I would like to crossover from an outer loop to the inner loop and back again. I am finding out that a short occurs when I hook all of this up. Can you help me?


Crossovers are entirely possible and not difficult. You never said
> whether your switches are 1121 or 1122. The 1122s have two sections of the
> running rails isolated to implement the "anti-derailing" feature. The very
> early 1122s have these entirely within the area of the switch; but the later
> ones (1122E) use the entire running rail from the frog out, which must
> therefore be isolated from the rest of the track with an insulating pin.
> A problem arises when two switches are connected to make a crossover,
> that there is an insulating pin in both running rails and therefore no
> connection between the running rails of the two loops. The fix is simple
> once the problem is understood: Make a power connection to both loops.
> The obvious way to make a crossover, with the straight part of each
> switch as part of one of the loops, unfortunately requires that the tracks
> be about 7 3/8 inches apart. You can get this down to 6 1/4 inches by
> locating the crossover in a corner. In fact, you can put two crossovers in
> the same corner. Use the curved part of two switches, with the points
> facing each other, for the curve of the inner loop. Connect each straight
> part of these switches to the curved part of another switch in the outer
> loop. Then fill in the corner of the outer loop.
> There is more than enough room for an O27 curve here. You can put a
> straight piece 3 5/8 inches long at each end of the curve or one straight 5
> 1/16" long between two O27 curves. However, what I like to use is two Marx
> O34 curved sections, with about 1/2 inch straight between them. (You can
> probably cheat and just pull these together.)
> When you wire the switches, I suggest that you put both switches of each
> crossover on a single controller. Just get the switch terminals matched up
> so that both throw for the main lines together and both for crossing over
> together