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4 Way Crossing
Bob has a 4 way crossing and wants advice from experienced model railroaders and asks:
“I have a 4 way crossing on my layout that will have any four trains going through the crossing at the same time. What I need is some way to stop two trains, say east and west bound, if I have a train going north or south bound. The trains that will be stopped might have several dcc engines or even a helper engine in the middle so I can’t have it stop the first engine because it would cause the other engines to try to push the train through. What do I need to do please?”
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2 Responses to 4 Way Crossing
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Bob,
If I understand your question correctly you may be able to wire the track sections on either side of the 4 way crossing with light sensors mounted under each of the four tracks. If wired properly, while one train is passing over a sensor while running through the crossing, it will kill the power to the perpendicular approach tracks causing any trains on those tracks to stop. Once the running train ‘clears’ the sensor, the power will be restored to the perpendicular track and the other train(s) in those sections will resume.
You’ll have to figure out how long to make these ‘on/off’ sections of track on either side of the crossing with the scale you are using playing a part in the decision. I would think that 18 inches for HO scale would be a safe length to start with since trains still coast a bit even when the power is cut.
Hope this helps,
Geof
bob, if you have dcc you should be able to consist all the engines in one train togather, so then you can stop them all at the same time, if i understand you right this is what you are trying to do,if you are familiar with such as a digitrax system you can consist many engines to one train, my group has hooked up at least six several times, you might check this out….Herb Sr