I purchased The Conductor Gateman for my Christmas tree layout about 1.5 years ago at the York train meet. Today I set it up for the first time using Lionel's Plug-Expand-Play Accessory Activator Track Pack (Item 6-81317). The problem with it is when the solenoid which moves the conductor activates, it draws a lot of power (amperage). So much power is used to activate the conductor that it stops the train and the green light on the CW80 transformer blinks. Also, I believe the solenoid gets hot, and then is turned off by the unit. This happens after about 30 seconds (or less) of use.
I know I can connect a larger transformer, but that does not eliminate the heating problem. I also thought of possibly buying a replacement solenoid, but I do not want to do this if the new solenoid is going to draw just as much amperage.
What I was hoping is someone else had this unit, and could shed some light on my problem. Thanks
