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Gary: one of the layouts I operate on had something like that installed so I figured out a way it could be done. (Note that the frog is still powered.)
We have a lot of operators and a lot of trains and we pass trains between controllers but it was still possible for two trains to approach a switch. I think this is even more possible in DCC.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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From looking at your set-up, couldn't you integrate a DPDT switch to power the frog and tracks beyond (the "dead" section), and have it "thrown" by the pushrod itself..??
Just a thought....
Gus (LC&P).
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Gus, that is a definite possibility. That solves the problem of the layout shutting down and solves the derailment problem. Only thing is, it takes the operators off the hot seat...
As it is now, when someone runs through a misaligned turnout, everyone in the room knows it!
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Back to the locks. The operators at the last session liked the locks. They said it added to the fun and realism and wasn't tedious at all. I went ahead and added the modified hasps to all the mainline turnouts, 20 in all. I figure this gives me options... if the crews want locks, we'll use them, if not, we take them off and ignore the hasps.
Photos of the mechanisms - the first is for a turnout that is aligned to the main when the knob is pushed in, the second for when the turnout is to the main when the knob is pulled out. All the locks are keyed the same, and each operator has a key on a lanyard to wear around his neck for convenience.
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Gary S Wrote:Gus, that is a definite possibility. That solves the problem of the layout shutting down and solves the derailment problem. Only thing is, it takes the operators off the hot seat... As it is now, when someone runs through a misaligned turnout, everyone in the room knows it!
Don't forget the hand-in-boiling-water suggestion.....
Gus (LC&P).
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Something that could work as well as a lock for less cost and no keys needed would be what Home Depot calls a safety pin. (second row down, extreme right.)
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I could be tethered to the fascia by a small cable, and used to lock and unlock the turnout operating device much like the pad lock. At $1.40 for 2 a bunch of these would be much less expensive than locks.
