Hello all,
I have recently put in the benchwork for a new (and first) railroad, and I have a bit of a snag. Due to my lovely wife allowing me to have a decent section of the basement for a layout, I had to make some compromises. One resulted in a liftout, and this is my quandry.
I was looking at said liftout, and have learned that my electrical skills and knowledge are lacking (learning is fun). I could not come up with a good way of having a plug that I can plug in when the liftout bridge was in place and unplug when not. I know that there are some examples of these switches/plugs on the forums, but I have had problems with the search function on this site to find them. If anyone has even a bookmark from earlier posts or has any idea, that would be great. My current plan involved a sacrifice of an extension cord, and I just can't imagine that being the best method.
Thanks
Try a flat 4 or 6 pin trailer plug for wiring a trailer. It is what we use to connect our moduler layouts. It is also what I use for my own lift out on my layout . Any Auto parts store should carry them.
Kurt 56chevytimes2
I think this may be what you're looking for. I haven't done this yet, although I may have a need for it on the next layout. Seems like microswitches are the way to go.
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/140145.aspx
Chris
The trailer plug sounds like a good plan, I couldn't quite figure out the microswitch system, not sure why.
Trailer plugs are a great way to go - usually they are keyed, and they can handle the pwoer requirements. If you use microswitches to disconnect the pwoer, you still need plugs of some sort if the section is completely removable. Combining the pwoer disconnect with the plug makes it easy - don;t forget though you want power killed on the fixed portion as well as the bridge itself so you don't send trains falling to their doom because someone forgot to put the bridge back.
The switches aren;t difficult - if you look how you use a couple of pins inthe plug to provide a path for the power so that with the plug out, it's interrupted - the switch goes there and serves in place of the looped wire in the plug. Lift up the bridge, the switch is open and no power flows. Nothing complicated - although if you really MUST you can really make it fancy and complicated and set signals and everything. But that's not really necessary.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
As Randy mentioned trailer wiring plugs will work as will computer power splitters.
The micro switch is typically used to disconnect the power to the tracks leading onto the lift-out to prevent a train being run into the chasm in error.
I've used a simple speaker connection for my lift out bridge.
But you should - other than me if you're not so lucky
use any safety device.
I have had luck! The train stopped and I wondered why it stopped.
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
Clear evidence of why the dead section on the approaches should be closer to a train length versus a few car lengths.
I'm guessing the one that almost fell and probably even the second unit were in dead track and the third one pushed them until it too hit the dead track.
I guess it's pretty impossible to be 100% failsafe against a backing maneuver, if you make the dead part the length of your typical train and then you have one with 2 extra cars.. or there's always the mechanical block method, a piece of masonite or similar material that is held down when the bridge is in place but pops up when you lift it off. Might not prevent damage but it should be less damage than if the rolling stock or loco hits the floor.
Wolfgang, you sure were lucky. I'd go out and buy a lottery ticket after that incident! Why didn't the trailing locomotives keep pushing the others off the edge, or were they dummies?
Randy, yet another method would be to have a detection unit a little ways back from the edge so that no matter what triggered it--a locomotive or a caboose from a train being backed up--it would cut power to a big enough section of track that it would catch the locomotive at the other end of a train going backwards. Even if it had to cut power to half the layout, that's better than going over the edge.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
If all that is on the lift out section is track, so all you need is 2 conductors, heavy audio patch cords like you use to hook up your stereo will work. They are cheap, maintain polarity (cannot be plugged in backward) and available everywhere.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
rrinkerClear evidence of why the dead section on the approaches should be closer to a train length versus a few car lengths. I'm guessing the one that almost fell and probably even the second unit were in dead track and the third one pushed them until it too hit the dead track.
I've no dead section and all are powered. I guess, it's a about 20 car covered hopper train on a 1.7% grade, the two engines on the track had not enough power. Furtunately.
Phoebe VetIf all that is on the lift out section is track, so all you need is 2 conductors, heavy audio patch cords like you use to hook up your stereo will work. They are cheap, maintain polarity (cannot be plugged in backward) and available everywhere.
The idea of using audio patch cables made me wonder if a fellow used a 2 conductor TRS,(phone) jack with a N.O. switch in it you could disconnect power to the lift out and break the track power circuit for the blocks leading to/from the lift out with the pull of one plug...or am I out in left field with that one?
Phoebe Vet If all that is on the lift out section is track, so all you need is 2 conductors, heavy audio patch cords like you use to hook up your stereo will work. They are cheap, maintain polarity (cannot be plugged in backward) and available everywhere.
I was wondering if using those was possible and safe. I ended up getting a trailer hookup, but now that I see this .... I do have more audio cables than I know what to do with. Hmmmm.
Thanks all for the help (and thanks for the visual recommendation of why to have electrical cutoffs nearby the bridge as well).
petvet Phoebe Vet If all that is on the lift out section is track, so all you need is 2 conductors, heavy audio patch cords like you use to hook up your stereo will work. They are cheap, maintain polarity (cannot be plugged in backward) and available everywhere. I was wondering if using those was possible and safe. I ended up getting a trailer hookup, but now that I see this .... I do have more audio cables than I know what to do with. Hmmmm. Thanks all for the help (and thanks for the visual recommendation of why to have electrical cutoffs nearby the bridge as well).
SHould be, unless you are using O or large scale and have single locos drawing 4 amps or more. Phone plugs might be a little small for really high current, but for HO on N, plenty. Unless your bridge happens to also be your loco terminal, there will only be one or two locos on it at a time, and the phone plugs could easily handle that.