Thanks for all your guidance and now that I am at the point of scenery, buildings grade crossings etc. Question: What is the easiest, but also cheapest method to set up working crossbucks or gates? Does anyone have experience with Circuitron, Azatrax, or Logic Rail. When I looked at Circuitron, just to purchase the flasher, optical detector, and a bell circuit for one crossing, it's over 100.00. That cant fly on someone with fixed income. Suggestions? Thanks
Take a look at the below link. I have bought other items from him and they work.
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/AGC11.html
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
I have built a crossing with automatic gates. Here is a link with some notes and information that may help you.
http://waynes-trains.com/site/NeatStuff/GradeCrossing/GradeCrossing.html
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Excellent tutorial, Elmer!
I have a half dozen gates with flashers, Logicrail Grade Crossing Pro controllers, Tortoises, of course, and some of the bell crank remote linkages. Your plan of weighting the gates open and using the Tortoise to lift the weight is pure genius!
I wonder? Is there a better sound module out there than the ITT products one? I have one and paid almost $40 for it and to me, with today's digital recording technology, I think it sounds awful. There's no ramp-up or decay and the background noise sounds like the New York City Subway (sorry LION). I have my own crossing bell in my back yard. I'd rather figure a way to record it and play it on an MP3 player or something.
I'll be getting out the tools and hardware in the next couple of days... Thanks!
Ed
caboose62 Thanks for all your guidance and now that I am at the point of scenery, buildings grade crossings etc. Question: What is the easiest, but also cheapest method to set up working crossbucks or gates? Does anyone have experience with Circuitron, Azatrax, or Logic Rail. When I looked at Circuitron, just to purchase the flasher, optical detector, and a bell circuit for one crossing, it's over 100.00. That cant fly on someone with fixed income. Suggestions? Thanks
The guys at the LHS just chuckled and walked me through all of the separate components that needed to be assembled to complete such a project.
And, then, of course, I was financially horrified to add it all up in terns of total cost. My calculation was somewhere north of $150 for a single grade crossing.
It is true that the Circuitron flasher (FL-2) retails at $20, the bell ringer (BR-1) at $45, and the occupancy detector (DT-1) at $40 adds up to $105. Add in a pair of Tomar crossbucks without gates(#H-862), and you are up to $165. If you want working gates and the Tortoises to operate them, you are approaching $250.
Here is what I did. I bought the Circuitron FL-2 at MB Klein for $16. I skipped the bell circuit which could be had for $35. Instead of the DT-1 which could be purchased for $30, I bought the NCE BD2 for $12.
Working gates and Tortoises? Forget it, they don't appear all that realistic when operating anyhow.
So, for $45, I picked up a pair of Tomar crossbucks at MB Klein and they come with lights on the front and back, neat. I bought the FL-2 for $16, and the NCE BD2 for $12. Total cost: $73.00.
I have to say, I don't miss the bell or the gates one bit. Just seeing those flashing red lights is good enough.
Alton Junction
Layout of LION: Grade crossing elimination project completed.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
What you need is one of those one-shot MP3 players that allows you to record. The output from the GCP or whatever can just as easily trigger your MP3 player as it can their bell module. One of the Fantasonics players might do the trick.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Are you running DC or DCC. Logic Rail works with either one. Circuitron is for DC. It will work with DCCbut you need to add a switch.Look up the instructions on their web site. Not sure about Azatrax. I have 2 Logic Rail units on my DCC layout.They work great. Joe
ba&prr Circuitron is for DC. It will work with DCC but you need to add a switch.
Circuitron is for DC. It will work with DCC but you need to add a switch.
gandydancer19I have built a crossing with automatic gates. Here is a link with some notes and information that may help you.
Thanks for investing the time to create the tutorial and share it with the rest of us.
I was curious why you chose to raise and lower weights to operate the gate rather than linking it directly to the tortoise. Also, did you consider operating both gates from one weight?
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
I don't use circuitron. I read the manuals on their DR-X unit and saw for DCC you needed a switch for it to work. Joe
ba&prr I don't use circuitron. I read the manuals on their DR-X unit and saw for DCC you needed a switch for it to work. Joe
Logic Rail's unit uses photosensors, so there is no interface with the track - works with DC, DCC, 3 rail Lionel - bury them in your driveway and it can work with your family car. It's not cheap, but it does operate in a prototypical manner and handles situations liek the train enters the activation zone but then stops short of the grade crossing, or the train passes through the grade crossing and then backs up. Only negative could be the photosensors, if you operate both with the ligths on for daytime operation and shut off the lights for night operation. Might need to supply a fixed light source for the sensors so they always work regardless of ambient conditions.
rrinkerOnly negative could be the photosensors, if you operate both with the ligths on for daytime operation and shut off the lights for night operation. Might need to supply a fixed light source for the sensors so they always work regardless of ambient conditions.
Haven't looked at their circuits, but IR sources (usually an LED these days) and sensors should be pretty easy to substitute for visual light sensors.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehman rrinker Only negative could be the photosensors, if you operate both with the ligths on for daytime operation and shut off the lights for night operation. Might need to supply a fixed light source for the sensors so they always work regardless of ambient conditions. Haven't looked at their circuits, but IR sources (usually an LED these days) and sensors should be pretty easy to substitute for visual light sensors.
rrinker Only negative could be the photosensors, if you operate both with the ligths on for daytime operation and shut off the lights for night operation. Might need to supply a fixed light source for the sensors so they always work regardless of ambient conditions.
I have a pretty good stock of Logicrail Signal Animators and Grade Crossing Pro setups. In the early days there was only photocell sensing avsailable. I got around the "day—night" conundrum in most places by placing a strategically located light source, say a switchman's shanty with an outside light that would shine on the photocell when the room lights were out but the layout lights were on. Worked pretty well...
The GCP grade crossing setup is a bit trickier so I just adjusted the sensitivity for ambient room light and the effect is pretty good. I have a two track main protected with the crossing lights so I have two GCPs and a total of eight photocells
I thought about converting them to IR detection but I don't have the ambition to drill and mount all those TX-RX IRs. [that would be a total of sixteen rx-tx sensors!!]I did use some IR detection for block signals with the SA signal animator BUT I'm using quite a bit of LED room lighting and these seem to put out quite a bit of light in the IR spectrum and they confuse the IR detectors so there was no real benefit over the photocells. I have since shielded the IR detectors and re-aimed the lighting but I still get some false triggering. Makes the engineer nervous when the signal drops in front of her 90 car coal drag!
Bottom line is that there is NO perfect solution unless you want to go the route of current detection through the rails and therein lies a whole other can-O-worms. Other threads here deal with the ups-n-downs of installing grade crossing gates and the subject of signal actuation always pops up now and then.
If you want true-to-prototype signalling and crossing protection you will need to have deep pockets indeed.
I have found that after the first few trains pass the crossing and the lights are flashing and the gates are down, the visitors are impressed enough and move on. Then I switch them off and no one seems to notice...
It's all for show...
Enjoy, Ed
carl425 gandydancer19 I have built a crossing with automatic gates. Here is a link with some notes and information that may help you. Thanks for investing the time to create the tutorial and share it with the rest of us. I was curious why you chose to raise and lower weights to operate the gate rather than linking it directly to the tortoise. Also, did you consider operating both gates from one weight?
gandydancer19 I have built a crossing with automatic gates. Here is a link with some notes and information that may help you.
A couple of things led me to the weight system for the gates. One is that they are removable from the top of the layout with no physical connection other than the plugs for the LED flashers. This allows them to be removed for scenery work easily. Another reason is there is just a small hole for the monofiliament rather than a larger one that would be required for a wire. Another reason is the elevated station platform is also removable, and the gate on this side has to be removed in order to remove the station platform.
The gates were too far apart (two tracks) to use one weight, but that also meant crawling under the layout any time one of them needed to be removed.
Thanks for all your info, and it looks like I am going with the Logic Rail GCP. Aside from the Grade Crossing Pro and my two NJ international signals and the bell circuit, is there anything else I need or is the flasher, and the detectors all included in the Grade Crossing Pro? Thanks for the help before I spend the bucks. Hehe
Sensors, light flasher, and driver for the gate motors are all part of the GCP unit. You add gate motors, gates, and the actual signals with lights or LEDs. ANd a bell circuit.