Curved Operating Crossing?


paper-tiger

paper-tiger

Member
Hi, guys!
I'm looking for recommendations on how to achieve "working" lights and if possible mechanical gate arms for "working" crossings. Because of my layout, each of the three places my road crosses are over curved track, so a snap fit crossing type is not going to achieve it.
I am wondering if you have any "working" crossings and how you achieved it? Or recommendations for products? I'm working in HO scale on sectional track, wired for DCC and still working out some of the bugs. My accessory wiring right now is minimal, but I do have a power pack for it.
 
This is probably the cadillac model here, I think I have seen less expensive stuff on ebay.

H-863.jpg

This one is $190.00 (I hope it is a set). I think I have seen them on ebay for around $50 (maybe a different manufacturer.

You can look here:

https://tomarindustries.com/signals.htm
 
Holy buckets, I had no idea it was so expensive! I was imagining a detector attached to a mechanical lever and a switch.
Do you have this on your layout?
 
paper-tiger said:
Hi, guys!
I'm looking for recommendations on how to achieve "working" lights and if possible mechanical gate arms for "working" crossings. Because of my layout, each of the three places my road crosses are over curved track, so a snap fit crossing type is not going to achieve it.
I am wondering if you have any "working" crossings and how you achieved it? Or recommendations for products? I'm working in HO scale on sectional track, wired for DCC and still working out some of the bugs. My accessory wiring right now is minimal, but I do have a power pack for it.
Click to expand...
Working crossing lights are a lot easier than the gates.
Lights could be triggered with a light beam, reed switch (magnet), or electric occupancy sensors in the track. There are many companies that make all these components. Unfortunately I don't know any off the top of my head. Circuitron would be a good candidate.

As the others have already pointed out there are basically two kinds of gates the really cheapo ones that work on a pressure plate and the really expensive precision ones that require a slow motion stall motor to operate. With some effort a stall motor could be connected to one of the Lifelike / Bachmannesque gates. Get a straight crossing gate section and carefully remove the gates from the pressure plate mechanism. Mount them where needed on the curve and then replace the bar from the pressure plate to go to a stall motor mounted below. They could probably activate from the same circuit as the lights.
 
If it's built for curve, I would actually be very happy with a pressure plate version. I saw a vintage one yesterday in a hobby shop for sort-of-decent, but it was based on straight track. I've never found curved crossings.
 
Well working crossing are going to cost a bit no matter what you get.

I just installed two sets of these- NJ International #1165, last ones on the page.
https://www.azatrax.com/ho-scale-crossing-gates.html

This is the sensor system that I used also, The MRX2 Flasher controller.
https://www.azatrax.com/controller.html

I also used the R/C servos not the tortoise machines, they also work very nice, easy to install.

Look through the pages because it shows the installation and how the system works. I'm very happy with the way they came out. Wasn't really that hard for a first attempt at doing anything like this too.

I'll give you a ballpark from this outfit, 2-main boards, 2-extra single boards because of dual tracks at one crossing, 2-pairs of gates assorted odds and ends, wire, connectors and so on it all came to about $300.00, just for the electronics and gates was right about $250.00


Thanks,

David
 
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I don't think the real gates are curved anyway, of course the radii of real track is nowhere as sharp as a model trains, especially set track. Best you will probably achieve is to position the arms sufficiently away from the track, slightly on an angle, that they won't foul (catch) on any of your engines or rolling stock as they pass by i.e. allow for the amount the ends of engines/cars 'hang out' on the outside of the curves, and the middles of same 'hang in'. A bit of experimentation required.
 
You could find detail kits that have the gates at a very cheapo price, you add your own lights etc and mechanism, be as inventive as you can and it will cost very little. A tortoise could be connected to a gate, then have a relay DPDT design to reverse the polarity, a simple circuilt with electric eye detector in the rails triggers the circuit to close the relay with a delay circuit to open it. There are however manufacturers who make crossing kits also. I dont reccomend the pressure plate at all, because of the rail movement etc, its really toyish. But if you really must, its time again to get clever-inventive and do some kit modding of a straight thru to a curved design. We've had engine kitbashers, why not a crossing kitbasher...
 
If there are gates on a curved or angled road the gates are set back further from the track to allow clearance for the swing out on the curve. A prefab kit won't work unless you kitbash it ... your best bet is building your own road crossing over the track and using the gate kits that come without a base
 
tootnkumin said:
I don't think the real gates are curved anyway, of course the radii of real track is nowhere as sharp as a model trains, especially set track. Best you will probably achieve is to position the arms sufficiently away from the track, slightly on an angle, that they won't foul (catch) on any of your engines or rolling stock as they pass by i.e. allow for the amount the ends of engines/cars 'hang out' on the outside of the curves, and the middles of same 'hang in'. A bit of experimentation required.
Click to expand...

This.

There is a curved crossing right by my house for the Baltimore Light Rail. The train makes a hard left turn right in the middle of the street.

The gates aren't curved. They just sit 20 feet back from the tracks on the inside of the curve.
 
Skipjacks said:
This.

There is a curved crossing right by my house for the Baltimore Light Rail. The train makes a hard left turn right in the middle of the street.

The gates aren't curved. They just sit 20 feet back from the tracks on the inside of the curve.
Click to expand...

What I suspected.
 
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