beardog posted:it may not be relevant to the switch solenoids, but I had a
marx crossing gate that would hum when it was operated. drove me
nuts, too. I finally figured out it was because the solenoid was not going
the full distance so it would sit there and chatter/hum trying to
complete its cycle until the power to it was shut off. With the crossing gate
I solved the problem by trimming off a bit of the downrod on the gate
so the solenoid could go the full distance. As you can see, the rod no longer
touches the table, the solenoid goes full distance and so no noise
John
Beardog, how did you solve the problem of the long end of the gate coming loose and flapping around? I've had two of those crossing gates, and sooner or later (usually sooner), the brass rivet that holds the extension on comes loose, rendering the whole thing more or less useless. All the Marx crossing gates I see at train shows are the same way. I've tried crimping the rivet with pliers, but that's only a temporary fix.
Your gate in the photo is dead-straight. How do you do it?