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Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving. 1st, I wanted to Thank you all for the help and advice. You have ALL been a great resource and help as I get back into this hobby. 2nd, so I have block signals, crossing gates crossing signals, bridge signals, that show 153 or 145 contactors. I have some 153 but none of the 145. I m hoping to use isolated rails rather than contactors. I have the lionel accessory wiring book and greenberg's 7th edition 45-69. Additionally I read a few of Bob Nelsons post from another forum  but its way above my knowledge base at the moment. Can any body give me an idea what I can and can't wire with Isolated rail, any alternatives to using contactors, with a diagram, i might be able to understand. I think I can do gateman with isolated and possibly a door bell like switch but I am in the weeds and not sure where else to turn. Thanks again and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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Happy Thanksgiving.

You can use it to activate things like signals, the gateman, crossing gate, the 445 switchtower, etc.   Essentially, any accessory that you would operate with a push button.  Wire the accessory as per the instructions but use a wire from your insulated section for the ground connection.  Any train with metal wheels and axles will trigger the action.

@Danr posted:

Happy Thanksgiving.

You can use it to activate things like signals, the gateman, crossing gate, the 445 switchtower, etc.   Essentially, any accessory that you would operate with a push button.  Wire the accessory as per the instructions but use a wire from your insulated section for the ground connection.  Any train with metal wheels and axles will trigger the action.

Thank you Sir. I have figured, from looking at the drawings in the books, that should work . I guess the signal bridge and block signals are the ones giving me some pause. I will work thru it and as I run into road blocks I will ask more questions. Thanks again !

Happy Thanksgiving

Here is the basic diagram for using the insulated rail to provide track power and switched common/ground to the triggered accessory. To use fixed voltage, disconnect the wire from lockon clip 1 and connect to your selected accessory voltage post on your transformer.


Basic Insulated Track Section

The Bob Nelson method for two-light signals using an extra bulb is fairly straight forward except for the signal bridge which requires isolating the heads from the bridge so the common is not shared between the heads.  

An alternative method for two-light signals is to use a relay with SPDT contacts(triggered by the track in the above diagram) and discussed in THIS THREAD and HERE.

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Last edited by ADCX Rob
@ADCX Rob posted:

Here is the basic diagram for using the insulated rail to provide track power and switched common/ground to the triggered accessory. To use fixed voltage, disconnect the wire from lockon clip 1 and connect to your selected accessory voltage post on your transformer.


Basic Insulated Track Section

The Bob Nelson method for two-light signals using an extra bulb is fairly straight forward except for the signal bridge which requires isolating the heads from the bridge so the common is not shared between the heads.  

An alternative method for two-light signals is to use a relay with SPDT contacts(triggered by the track in the above diagram) and discussed in THIS THREAD and HERE.

Thanks Rob. Even in the discussions I've read it talks about relays. Is there a specific one i should find at say all electronics supply?

@ADCX Rob posted:

Here is the basic diagram for using the insulated rail to provide track power and switched common/ground to the triggered accessory. To use fixed voltage, disconnect the wire from lockon clip 1 and connect to your selected accessory voltage post on your transformer.


Basic Insulated Track Section

The Bob Nelson method for two-light signals using an extra bulb is fairly straight forward except for the signal bridge which requires isolating the heads from the bridge so the common is not shared between the heads.  

An alternative method for two-light signals is to use a relay with SPDT contacts(triggered by the track in the above diagram) and discussed in THIS THREAD and HERE.

Rob. Thanks for the links to the other discussion. I bookmarked them. I m sure I will have more questions

Thank you john. Is there a specific  relay?

Rob,

The relay I use is from Azatrax. I just happened to have one so I wired it up for my block signal. There are plenty of choices for relays out there, including lower cost than this one (which I think was 20 bucks).

Check out their website as it has some good information.

http://www.azatrax.com/

Smooth operation as the train hits the insulated track piece.

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