There might be Chuck, I'll have to measure it up. I never thought of doing that, in fact, I think I used two 072's back to back when I had tubular track. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check that out. Darn shame the thing won't work like it is, it's all wired and in place, Jake
Jake, does it work when you connect the center terminals of the switch machines directly to the transformer's terminal B, leaving the diode, resistor, and capacitor out of the circuit? You don't want to do that permanently. But if you can make it work that way, it suggests that your trouble is with the capacitive-discharge circuit. However, if it still doesn't work, there is something wrong with the control-rail wiring. Whichever one it is, I think you might have the same problem with two ordinary turnouts.
Photographs showing how it is wired and how the rails are gapped, or a diagram like you posted before would indeed be a big help.
Bob Nelson
I'll diagram it all out, and take some photos as well and post them and see what can go from there.
You asked if it worked without the garbage all hooked up, but I was afraid to try & run the trains across that mess for fear of burning up the switches. Would it be OK to run them across it a few times, just the Engine and tender? ? Jake
Yes. There should be no danger in operating the coils for the few seconds that that would involve.
What I've made is a small V shaped piece of metal from very thin stock, actually it's a feeler gauge blade from a wrecked set of guages, it's paper thin, but retains it's spring quality, It's soldered to one end of the track near the " cut " in the control rail, and as a train runs over it, it bends down and makes a very positive contact with the switch. Problem solved! Jake
PS. I hope the subsequent cars running over it will not place some weird charge into the switch. Can anyone see a problem with that?
Jake,
Have you thought of using an IR detector to throw the switches?
Me neither Bob, but it just doesn't want to work for some reason. Are you on Atlas track or tubular? Seems like isolated blocks of track worked better on tubular, and I know that's just plain silly. Metal is metal to a point.
Will the Circuitron thing I have throw the switch? Seems like with the photo cells, it would burn up the switches as the current stays steady until the photo cells are uncovered. Jake
If it acts just like a contact closure and you use it to make the connections to ground that the control rails would make, then the capacitive-discharge circuit should protect the switch-machine coils. But I don't know any particulars of the photocell gadget nor how you would be wiring it up; so I can't say.
I'd still like to see a picture or diagram of the slipswitch and its wiring.
Seems like isolated blocks of track worked better on tubular, and I know that's just plain silly. Metal is metal to a point.
The main difference is the way the outside rails are isolated on Atlas or most solid rail track. Tubular ties both outside rails together through the metal ties. Solid rail has a natural tendency to make isolation rails. No need to make special track sections, but you still need to monitor placement of insulating track joiners.
I'm not sure how the photo cells work but they are easy to wire. Two cells are placed before your crossing, two after, they read by light sensitivity. When the train goes over them, they complete the circuit through the board, sending electricity to your crossing gate, etc. etc. There is a ground wire as well as four leads going to the photo cells, so I'm going to guess this could all be done, but again, I'm so darned close to making this all go. Unless maybe the switch itself is not conducive to the MTH Shay or the MTH Blue Comet. I don't know. I have not tried to wire without all capacitor, resistor, and diode yet to try the train that way, although I might give that a shot before I get out of dodge.If THAT works, then I'll by a flurry of activity when I get back trying to make this all go. Jake
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Well well well, now I see what I've done. I'll have to reverse this today before I leave tomorrow! Thanks Bob, Jake
PS. is this the problem would you guess? Why does it still work when connecting a screw driver across the gap?
Your control rail is activated by the directly opposite outside rail not necessarily from the rails fore and aft.
Click here for an IR;
http://www.lionel.com/Products/Findex.cfm
MTH also makes one.
I'll say it again, "...the U terminal...should connect to all the outside rails except the control rails."
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