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[Souder]

When was the first automatic crossing gate used? If it was in the 40's or early 50's, where can I purchase HO scale models? Reference source please>

[Lord Atmo]

i used to have an HO crossing with a gate. i cant remember the company name that made it though... it was unrealistic too as the gate was pressure activated. so it flung down in a split second when the locomotive pushed down on the weight in the crossing track. there are better ones i have seen in shows. some even have working bells. but the ones that worked all were activated by means of electric current transferred by the locomotive so that the lights flashed and the gates lowered about as slow as the real ones. if you find who makes them and where to buy them, please let me know as well. i would love to add that little gem to my HO layout, despite it being a lame layout (a big oval with a few sidings >_<)

[coborn35]

It takes a substancial amout of work to get the crossings actually working.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The earliest known automatic crossing gates of which I'm aware were Standard Automatics which were used on the North Shore Line and the Chicago Aurora & Elgin in the 1920's. There are probably others.

I may be off-base here but in my reading I have the impression that the crossing watchman position seems to have served as a form of light duty for injured and aging railroad employees. This may explain why automatic signals did not become more common until after World War 2.