Aerojet
Active Member
Well I am always on the hunt to find things to make the pike more enjoyable, and I thought I had found another -- NOT.
Action is always fun on a model railroad, things which move, things which do things, like flashing lights, strobes, "fire", "welding" etc. It gives the pike life as it was. So I was out looking to add an O scale type item to my HO pike -- and -- looking for a section of "trip track".
This was an HO item long gone which acted like the O scale trip. It was a section of track with a spring contact which you could adjust to suit the weight of your cars. this would trip or turn on and off an accessory, like crossing lights.
So I was out on the net looking for one of those long gone things, when i came across this item ---
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I had something similar on the old N scale was not totally happy with it, but it worked - and better - this one came with flashing lights and a BELL! There is a version without the lights and bell I might add just to cover my bases.
Problems from the start. there are supposed to be two "plugs" to go into the back of the crossing bucks to secure the lights. No plugs in the bag or box. Next was getting into the pike. Where to put it?
Well out front was one possibility, it could be seen and look good, It would have over the front edge a bit, like an inch or so - but -- so now to get this thing onto the tracks and try it out.
The unit sits on it's own hunk of 9 inch straight and will be compatable with either code 100 or code 83. it must be someplace in the middle as the locos and cars don't jump all over the place going over it. Next there are two outboard units on about a foot long wires which are the electrical switches which need to go under the tracks to trip the lights and bell. One tie sits on the contact switch and trips it off.
Problem 1 - it will not go over the existing 1/4 inch Woodland Scenics road bed. It sticks up and the train goes over it like a ski jump trying it out. Remove the roadbed from both the crossing and where the trip blocks will go.
Okay, now try it... powered from the switch 12 volt supply.....
Too fast. That is the bell just buzzes and the light really "flash" like mad. Go to my 6 volt stabilized power supply for other lights which need 6 volts. Bell runs slower but now the light are dim and still flashing too fast. There is ONE bulb in each crossing buck - it sits in the middle on the back and that could also be contributing to the dim problem.
The trips are a pain to get to work. Screwed around for an hour shimming one way, then the other, finally figuring out that the trip boxes need to sit between the ties, and this spacing is for code 100 track. Trim off the offending tie ends on the code 83 track , both sides so that the track / one tie - sits on the trip switch. There are two on each trip box which interfere with the thing working.
Okay it now sort of works. The train comes along, the first box triggers the lights and bell, and the gates?
Well like the N scale unit they bob up and down as the wheels run over the gate trip, the big plastic thing in the middle of the crossing, and the lights continue to flash until the second trip is cleared.
BELL? The bell sits in that little "house" behind the crossing and is some kind of motor thing with a trip pin slipping a hammer on a spring to ding the bell. First problem here is the hammer sits on the bell. it seems to be some kind of electrical connection for when i move things around either the bell won't ring or we are back to the "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" - ding - "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" sound. All you can hear is the motor grinding out the gears and moving things around.
The motor sound is more than the DING! Not what I wanted either.
Screwed around with the light flash problem, and it is either fast on 12 volts or a bit slower on 6 volts but dimmer. Not exactly what I wanted either.
Another good idea which went south. Oh well - on the net on Ebay they want almost 60 bux for this thing but Bachmann says 32 on their web site. I found one on a close out for 20 bux and free shipping so I am not out that much.
Toss it back into the box, fix the roadbed, and we are back to looking for something which will work better.
This is again my experience, and another hard learned lesson - thing don't always go as they seem. Your mileage may vary but this is what I went thru on a Saturday morning.
The Aerojet
Action is always fun on a model railroad, things which move, things which do things, like flashing lights, strobes, "fire", "welding" etc. It gives the pike life as it was. So I was out looking to add an O scale type item to my HO pike -- and -- looking for a section of "trip track".
This was an HO item long gone which acted like the O scale trip. It was a section of track with a spring contact which you could adjust to suit the weight of your cars. this would trip or turn on and off an accessory, like crossing lights.
So I was out on the net looking for one of those long gone things, when i came across this item ---
[
I had something similar on the old N scale was not totally happy with it, but it worked - and better - this one came with flashing lights and a BELL! There is a version without the lights and bell I might add just to cover my bases.
Problems from the start. there are supposed to be two "plugs" to go into the back of the crossing bucks to secure the lights. No plugs in the bag or box. Next was getting into the pike. Where to put it?
Well out front was one possibility, it could be seen and look good, It would have over the front edge a bit, like an inch or so - but -- so now to get this thing onto the tracks and try it out.
The unit sits on it's own hunk of 9 inch straight and will be compatable with either code 100 or code 83. it must be someplace in the middle as the locos and cars don't jump all over the place going over it. Next there are two outboard units on about a foot long wires which are the electrical switches which need to go under the tracks to trip the lights and bell. One tie sits on the contact switch and trips it off.
Problem 1 - it will not go over the existing 1/4 inch Woodland Scenics road bed. It sticks up and the train goes over it like a ski jump trying it out. Remove the roadbed from both the crossing and where the trip blocks will go.
Okay, now try it... powered from the switch 12 volt supply.....
Too fast. That is the bell just buzzes and the light really "flash" like mad. Go to my 6 volt stabilized power supply for other lights which need 6 volts. Bell runs slower but now the light are dim and still flashing too fast. There is ONE bulb in each crossing buck - it sits in the middle on the back and that could also be contributing to the dim problem.
The trips are a pain to get to work. Screwed around for an hour shimming one way, then the other, finally figuring out that the trip boxes need to sit between the ties, and this spacing is for code 100 track. Trim off the offending tie ends on the code 83 track , both sides so that the track / one tie - sits on the trip switch. There are two on each trip box which interfere with the thing working.
Okay it now sort of works. The train comes along, the first box triggers the lights and bell, and the gates?
Well like the N scale unit they bob up and down as the wheels run over the gate trip, the big plastic thing in the middle of the crossing, and the lights continue to flash until the second trip is cleared.
BELL? The bell sits in that little "house" behind the crossing and is some kind of motor thing with a trip pin slipping a hammer on a spring to ding the bell. First problem here is the hammer sits on the bell. it seems to be some kind of electrical connection for when i move things around either the bell won't ring or we are back to the "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" - ding - "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" sound. All you can hear is the motor grinding out the gears and moving things around.
The motor sound is more than the DING! Not what I wanted either.
Screwed around with the light flash problem, and it is either fast on 12 volts or a bit slower on 6 volts but dimmer. Not exactly what I wanted either.
Another good idea which went south. Oh well - on the net on Ebay they want almost 60 bux for this thing but Bachmann says 32 on their web site. I found one on a close out for 20 bux and free shipping so I am not out that much.
Toss it back into the box, fix the roadbed, and we are back to looking for something which will work better.
This is again my experience, and another hard learned lesson - thing don't always go as they seem. Your mileage may vary but this is what I went thru on a Saturday morning.
The Aerojet
