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Reply to "MTH Operating Box Car w/ Signal Man: bell button or uncoupling/unloading track to activate?"

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone interested in a DIY modification to the operating signalman caboose.  The MTH 20-91636 operating Santa caboose apparently simply replaces the signalman figure with a Santa figure as the online manual is for the "generic" N6b Operating Caboose.

You'd have to be willing to poke around the internal wiring, take photos, etc.  From the manual:

n6b operating caboose

I believe the PCB on the right near the signalman is the bell-detector.  There is a 2nd PCB on the left near the fingers with all the connectors.

The first step would be to make a wiring diagram accounting for all the connections from track/UCS power pickups, from the mode selector switch (bell trigger vs. UCS trigger), lamps, gearmotor, cycle limit switch.

Next step would be a discussion about what would options make sense or that there is interest in.  Earlier in thread I showed how to modify the operating boxcar to make it wireless.  I believe the same can be done for the operating caboose.  Or, as noted above, the Lionel operating car apparently activates the signalman periodically.  That could be an option.  There was another OGR project where the UCS sliding shoe pickups in an operating car (I think it was a dumping coal car) interfered with the track system; so the shoes were removed and the car was modified to activate from a small lamp in the track bed; in that case the coal cars obviously don't need to be activated "anywhere" on the track or else you'd have a mess!

This would be a collaborative project for the common good.  I do not have one of these cars myself.

P.S. I asked this on OGR last Christmas too with a chirping crickets response ... but folks may have more stay-at-home time this holiday season.  

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Last edited by stan2004

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