Need direction for installing signals

[Bsklarski]

And I am going to go away now

[John]

And I am going to go away now

LOL ..

I use only 2 heads on my signals .. even for the interlocking  .. its a cost saving measure, and I can get all the aspects I need for the model railroad.  Since I am not doing the intermediate signals.

[randgust]

OK, so looking at the track plan, yup, given sidings and possibilities, that's the way it should be signaled.

But I'm going to question the 800-pound gorilla in the room.    How do you run more than one real train out on the main line at one time anyway?

That layout is basically designed for one train on the main and one yard switcher, really.  I mean you COULD tangle up two trains fighting each other, but the passing sidings are really short, unless that's really your goal here.

The other thing to consider is that you can pepper the layout with signals, but the logic to power all three functions; track alignment, direction of travel, and occupation, are really difficult with that track plan.    Track alignment means that you're going to have quite a logic function built just out of switch position; Tortise machines have enough contacts to handle most of that but hand-throws don't unless you develop a home-brew.  Direction of travel can be dispatcher assigned by a simple toggle or be calculated from occupation.   Occupation and logic is another animal entirely unless you 'cheat' with some of the new toys out there that automatically clear the signal.

On my own layout, I absolutely love the look of signals, but my basic layout is stupid-simple in design; a two track main line loop with one single-track connector section.   I've wired everything for track logic and dispatcher-assigned direction of travel on 3 base sections; the two main lines and the center connector.  Both mains are bidirectional (as per prototype) so there's a lot of red signals against the assigned direction of travel.   I don't do occupation, just 'more than I need' as I run long trains on the main and there's not really room for two on the same track anyway.

So if you want the look of lit signals and don't necessarily need the full bag of detection and logic, you can still have a lot of fun developing proper signal indications for track conditions, and dispatcher-controlled CTC overrides to establish direction-of-travel.   You can also decide if just the loop is the main line and that reverse loop is 'dark' territory too, which would simplify things a bit.

I've been having just a blast with the new tricolor LED target signal heads.   The system I have built could evolve into full occupation and might yet, but frankly, it doesn't have to, its already useful to the operator and wonderful to just look at.

During my teenage years I hung out at the Erie-Lackawanna tower at Falconer, NY.   The operator let me set the routes, AND the signals, I was always fascinated that the signals had to be thrown separately at the interlocking and showed on the model board.   The main-line signals were automatic and occupation-controlled, but the junctions and interlockings were set by the tower operators right up to the bitter end.  Each route had to have the signal latched in as the final step.

[Kisatchie]

Lawdy! I don't understand nothin' bout wiring up no signals!


Hmm... when Kiz goes to
sleep tonight, I'm gonna
try to rewire his brain...

[eric220]

Go to position lights. You only need two arms for all possible aspects.

[C855B]

Better yet, B&O/C&O CPLs - a single head with modifiers. Very elegant system.

[Bsklarski]

I am partial to this set up, Its what I run on at work.

[Ian MacMillan]

I am partial to this set up, Its what I run on at work.

Same here. Double targets on CR and triples on NHN

[alhoop]

If you have MR's 75 years on CD or can get a copy or MR for Nov 1950 there is an article
with an in depth treatise on signaling and the track plan used as an example is almost
exactly like yours.

Al

[Denver Road Doug]

Great stuff!   This one has "Best of..." all over it.   Signalling is one aspect (no pun intended) of model railroading that I am both interested in AND ignorant of, although I've studied it quite a bit.  One reason my wiring on my current small layout is taking so long is that I'm wiring for detection so I can do some testing of detection and signalling for future layouts.

[davidgray1974]

http://www.benscale.com/
Has anyone heard of or purchased  any signals from beNscale before.  Just found them on the web this evening and was curious.

[railnerd]

http://www.benscale.com/
Has anyone heard of or purchased  any signals from beNscale before.  Just found them on the web this evening and was curious.

I've got a few of them.  The modutrak guys have more experience with them.

[peteski]

http://www.benscale.com/
Has anyone heard of or purchased  any signals from beNscale before.  Just found them on the web this evening and was curious.

There is a thread here, by Skibbe, with a great photo tutorial of assembling those signals.

[lashedup]

There is a thread here, by Skibbe, with a great photo tutorial of assembling those signals.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=29917.0

And here...

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=31256.0

We have a few more signals installed now and wired up a real searchlight that runs in parallel with one of the layout signals. I need to get it on video.  Still waiting on a big order of more signals for Caledonia/Franksville modules. I'll cover that in a different post.

- j