Good reference material for signals?

[mbinsewi]

gregc

this looks interesting: A Primer on Railroad Signals

That is interesting, i just kind of "thumbed" through it, also has references and links to the other authors that are mentioned in this thread.

Thanks gregc.

Mike.

[NVSRR]

Allen keller did a video on a layout with a guy who is a signal maintainer. in the how to section,  the maintainer did a lot of explaining of how those systems work and how they are set up.  A good starting point to figure out how to set up your signals. Then you can have an idea where to go from there.      I dont remember the video edition off the top of my head.  I will look unless somebody else can name it.    The railroad he modeled was the C&O

 

 

wolfie

[Dannyboy6]

As stated in other posts, signaling is complex, and I'll add expensive. Since I'm a NMRA member, and try to support our standards, I'm going the LCC route for the layout I'm building. I have purchased enough LCC products from RR-CirKits (http://www.rr-cirkits.com/)to signal one siding ($100-$150 per siding depending on how complex you make it). I am only doing mainline sidings, which will meet my operational needs (at least as I see them today). After I learn to program one siding accurately, I'll acquire more LCC products as my hobby budget allows (public thanks to my CFO for making my hobby part of our monthly budget!) Dick Bronson from RR-CirKits has been great while enduring my many dumb questions. He has many NMRA presentations on his website that explain LCC and signaling.

I will have 10 sidings and a helix to be signaled when all is said and done, so this will not be inexpensive. I know that LCC is in it's infancy, but LCC's potential intrigues me. I like that I can use JMRI to program the signals on the LCC bus, and once they are programmed, they can run independent of any compute device, or not. I am scrounging BMLA signals and making dwarfs out of Plastruct styrene and LEDs from https://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/. I could make up my own, but I choose to spend my modeling time elsewhere.

Good fortune on your signaling efforts!
Dan

 

[gregc]

this looks interesting: A Primer on Railroad Signals

[ATLANTIC CENTRAL]

7j43k

Things are changing pretty quickly in model railroad signaling.  I expect any book you bought would be, in some important ways, out of date:

BLMA signals, probably the most accurate signal models, have come.  And gone.

Maybe 15 years ago, someone made some equally exquisite semaphores.  Not now.

Atlas produced what I guess was a plug-in signal.  Came and went, I believe.  Not very popular.

Arduino has arrived.  And the need to do coding.  Unless you don't want to.  Because you don't NEED an Arduino or a computer.  Usually.  But some projects can be MUCH easier and cheaper if you DO use one.

DCC control of switches and maybe signals is here.  I guess.  I'm not that interested.

Detection is also changing.  The optical detectors I use now weren't available when I did my first signal installation.  I ripped out the old, installed the new.  For good reason.

 

But real signaling changes very slowly.  And learning about that can be done on-line.  I've seen some very good sites, but I don't have them handy.  Start thinking of search terms, and you're off.

 

I thought Bruce Chubb's recent series in RMC was quite good.  I'm not even sure if it's completed yet.  It seems like another installment shows up now and then.  I'll (again) throw in that you don't HAVE to have/use a computer to do model signaling.

 

 

Ed

 

I don't use computers, only solid state current detectors and a few relays........

Sheldon

[7j43k]

Things are changing pretty quickly in model railroad signaling.  I expect any book you bought would be, in some important ways, out of date:

BLMA signals, probably the most accurate signal models, have come.  And gone.

Maybe 15 years ago, someone made some equally exquisite semaphores.  Not now.

Atlas produced what I guess was a plug-in signal.  Came and went, I believe.  Not very popular.

Arduino has arrived.  And the need to do coding.  Unless you don't want to.  Because you don't NEED an Arduino or a computer.  Usually.  But some projects can be MUCH easier and cheaper if you DO use one.

DCC control of switches and maybe signals is here.  I guess.  I'm not that interested.

Detection is also changing.  The optical detectors I use now weren't available when I did my first signal installation.  I ripped out the old, installed the new.  For good reason.

 

But real signaling changes very slowly.  And learning about that can be done on-line.  I've seen some very good sites, but I don't have them handy.  Start thinking of search terms, and you're off.

 

I thought Bruce Chubb's recent series in RMC was quite good.  I'm not even sure if it's completed yet.  It seems like another installment shows up now and then.  I'll (again) throw in that you don't HAVE to have/use a computer to do model signaling.

 

 

Ed

[ATLANTIC CENTRAL]

Signaling is a complex subject. It cannot be explained in a sound bite or two - sorry.

But the best way to understand its application to model trains is to read the early work of Bruce Chubb and Ed Ravenscroft in Model Railroader, back in the late 60's and early 70's.

Don't worry to much about how, focus on what they made the signals do in relation to their layouts. They took complex prototype practice and extracted its most important elements that apply to our model layouts.

You need not understand every detail of prototype signal operation, just the basics.

We need not over complicate or over simplify signaling for our models. There is a realistic balance that is easy to achieve - but it does take some "learning", and some work to impliment - it is never plug and play..........sorry Millennials.......

So if you have access to the MR archives, start buy looking up those two guys, and start reading - reading, what a silly concept.

Then ask me some questions about my signal system, which leaves out all kinds of prototype functions, but actually helps operators and looks relistic.

Understand too that signals for a layout set in 1990 and signals for a layout set in 1940, or 1950, are dramaticly different.

Sheldon 

[gregc]

Bruce Chubb wrote a series of articles in Railroad Model Craftsman, I think starting Dec 2015.   He discusses route and speed signaling.   The later parts discuss how to implement them.

Brian Solomon has a couple books on prototype signals.    He discusses various types of signals, lower/upper quadrant  semaphores, Hall as well as more common lighted signals.

[willy6]

I have searched the net a few times trying to find a simple understanding of how signals work and their meaning. To me, most of them were confusing and some were railroad specific. I got the BLMA signal bridge and the Logic Rail signal animator circuit. I'm going to wire it as per directions and give up on trying to figure out prototype signaling. I know what the Red, Green and Yellow indicate and that will get me by. My father in law worked for a major railroad and got me a signal manual and it was confusing because I did not know the "railroad" terms that were used. To me it's like reading a generic book on how to tune up a car not knowing what a spark plug is.

[NP01]

Unfortunately no. 

www.wiringfordcc.com is a good starting point. 

There is a forum member here by the name of Gandydancer ... he has a great website I learned a lot from. But I cannot find it right now. 

Several forum members are knowledgeable about signals. 

I say jump into it! People here will hel you along. 

NP. 

[richg1998]

Check the below site. I have used a couple of his other circuits. They work as advertised.

http://www.circuitous.ca/CircuitIndex.html

Rich

[ruderunner]

are there any good all in one books or website about model signaling?  I'm aware of numerous articles about various ways to do it.  I'm hoping to find something that covers detection, control, wiring diagram and the various options for the above.

I'll likely buy or build the signals themselves but that's dependent on the control system to a certain extent.