Crossovers with Lionel O27 Switches

[Anonymous]

Bob, The layout that I am building, now consists of an inner loop, and an outer loop which do not connect. I would like to connect them by using the switches. Is a crossover possible, or do I have to insulate one of the rails? Is it possible to have a crossover that takes you in the inner loop and one that takes you back to the outer loop?
This Lionel AC is Greek to me.
Thanks again for the help.
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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.

I have both types of switch machiness 1121 and 1122