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Hello Everyone!

 

Two weeks ago I started acquiring track, engines, rolling stock, etc.....  The GG1 I bought appears to have come from a set according to the instruction manual in the box.  It is brand new.

 

I'm currently powering my loops with a refurbished ZW-R in great shape.  Now the question:  When running the GG1 from terminal A I can power the horn.  When I power it from terminal D, I get the bell.  According to the book - this GG1 was part of a set that came with some rolling stock and a CW-80 transformer.  The CW-80 has two buttons - one for the horn and one for the bell.

 

So.......  How can I choose between the horn and the bell without swapping terminals?

 

I hope this makes sense!

 

Anyway - it's nice to jump back into this hobby since my first train set 55 years ago!

 

John

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As RJR says, giving the mfr and model number of the GG-1 will help, but, in a feeble attempt to help....

 

From the earliest days, whistle actuation was accomplished by injecting a small amount of DC voltage onto the tracks, which are normally powered by AC. The motors in all of our trains work on either AC or DC, so they don't care.  Sorry, but I don't know which way the polarity was arranged for whistles. Not extremely important for my simple explanation.

 

When bells came about along with newer electronics, we needed a way to invoke two separate sounds. So, all they did was reverse the DC polarity for the bell.  As an example, (dunno which way is true, so just go with it...), if DC+ were applied to the center rail, the whistle would blow, and if DC- were applied, the bell would ring.

 

All hope is not lost for you, though.  There are sound activation buttons available that allow you to add the second sound relatively inexpensively, if you did not want to replace the ZW-R or get a different train. Some even came with the earlier bell-equipped loco's in the 1990 timeframe because most transformers only had one (whistle) sound function.

Guns,

   Now that is one great little horn/bell control set up! 

 

Ponz,

   Got to tell ya this however, in all the time I road the passenger trains pulled by the real GG1's here in Pa, they only used the big horn, never heard the bell even in the stations as we traveled back and forth to Fort Dix.  I am not even sure the real GG1's had an operating bell, if they did it was used very seldom.

PCRR/Dave

Originally Posted by Pine Creek Railroad:

Guns,

   Now that is one great little horn/bell control set up! 

 

Ponz,

   Got to tell ya this however, in all the time I road the passenger trains pulled by the real GG1's here in Pa, they only used the big horn, never heard the bell even in the stations as we traveled back and forth to Fort Dix.  I am not even sure the real GG1's had an operating bell, if they did it was used very seldom.

PCRR/Dave

I ran the GG-1 for GONERAIL!!!...never moved in a station without bell ringing!!!  Early bells were brass located under loco...operated by air!!!

I started with the PC, then to ConRail, then to NJ Transit...
 
Ponz
 
Originally Posted by Ron Blume:
Originally Posted by Pine Creek Railroad:

Guns,

   Now that is one great little horn/bell control set up! 

 

Ponz,

   Got to tell ya this however, in all the time I road the passenger trains pulled by the real GG1's here in Pa, they only used the big horn, never heard the bell even in the stations as we traveled back and forth to Fort Dix.  I am not even sure the real GG1's had an operating bell, if they did it was used very seldom.

PCRR/Dave

I ran the GG-1 for GONERAIL!!!...never moved in a station without bell ringing!!!  Early bells were brass located under loco...operated by air!!!

 

Originally Posted by Ponz:
 
Don't become confused by the home made circuitry, Ponz.  Add a second sound activation button as the factory recommends.  It's the simplest way for the novice to access the bell and whistle/horn.
 
You mean I have to take the Sound Actuation Button box apart and rebuild it????  Jeez - If that's the case I'd rather settle for just the horn...
 
Ponz
 
 
Last edited by brwebster

Trust me - the engineers I worked with pulled sparingly on the horn. You had to. It was earth 'rumbling' if you laid on it all the way for very long.  It was a different sound than the electrics.  It was operated by compressed air along as was the bell.

.

 

On another note, if I may - I've been scarfing up old 027 track (various curves).  Every now and then I'll spring for new......  A lot of the cheap, old, missing pins and dirty track will need a good cleaning when the time comes (bigger house down the road).  What is the easiest way to clean it aside from rubbing each piece down?  I was hoping there was some kind of solution I could just soak them in, then air or alcohol dry?!??

 

Thanks a lot for chiming in guys!

 

Ponz

Big show. Gotta be a TCA member. ?

 

Burned up a couple ? Sure its the buttons? How many motors in the GG-1? Pulmores?

Two pulmores under load may be more amps than that can handle.

 

  A single diode alone vs "a bunch" can be used similarly if you don't mind a small voltage drop. For a bell, your normally not moving anyhow, because your just starting, or your slowing down. Go to a 10amp stud diode, and thicker wire to be real "safe".

 Even on post war whistles, the 5v boosts aren't always welcome. Post war whistles wont care if you use the new "no boost button", or the transformers with the 5v boost.

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