> How goes the ballast?
Tom, I neglected to answer this question when you asked it a few months ago. I should be done with the ballasting in one or two days. The mainline and mainline sidings should be done today.
My wife and I have joked that we should do a golden spike ceremony when the ballasting is finished. Completing the track work to me is easy compared to ballasting.
Thank you Sparky Rail for confirming it is the right part to order.
Edit- Duh! December 2023 MR. I just hadn't got that far yet!
The relay you found is exactly what you need.
Hi John-
By they way you move I'm guessing you've already solved this, but I'll chime in anyway. The relay in your link matches your quoted description perfectly. I do not have the article you are refering to but I'm assuming maybe it's a pin actuated by a tortoise, with a polarity reversing circuit thru the relay contacts, and that the relay coil is held in via either a pushbutton held in by the liftout, or via wiring plugged in with the liftout? Either way that relay would work fine.
How goes the ballast?
-Tom
I found Fowler's Protecting a Lift Gate Automatically Article in the December 2023 issue of MR very interesting. I would like to replicate this approach. I am wondering if Mr. Fowler or someone more knowledgeable about electronics can provide a list of the components and where they can be ordered. For example, I have no clue where to order a "12V DC, 8-pin ice cube relay with double-pole, double-throw pins installed in a relay socket." Would this be what to order:
https://www.amazon.com/Electromagnetic-Socket-Mechanical-Indicator-LY2N-J/dp/B07T12WLMT/ref=asc_df_B07T12WLMT/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=366352800385&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14669444412381541582&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9017216&hvtargid=pla-784762124809&ref=&adgrpid=71490159330&th=1
I have dead zones that kill the track when I lift out the bridge, but I live in fear of a locomotive with a keep alive going over the edge or stupidly backing up a train to have the freight cars take a plunge. Mr. Fowler's approach is just what I have been looking for, something that works automatically when I left out the bridge. Having a pin pop up automatically in the middle of the track is ideal.