I was asked to explain this so thought I would start a new thread. I did it with all off the shelf train items, Circuitron for the electronics and Walthers wig-wag lights, got it all at Hobbylinc, best prices I could find and they give reward point discounts, had a bunch stored up. The only thing that has to be done is one track rail has to be isolated before the crossing so it can be de-energized to stop the truck. In the pic I put red tape where the gaps are. You basically remove the negative rail then cut it so there is a 3/8" gap between it and the ends then replace it and the end pieces in the track, I use E6000 to glue it back in. Then you solder a wire to the isolated section, solder a wire between the ends for overall track continuity, then solder a wire to either end to power up that section when the relay is closed/off. The flasher unit has to have optical sensors installed in in the rail trackbed to work. I put one about 2-3 feet before the crossing and one just after the crossing, you have to drill two tiny holes in the track bed to install them, some E6000 on back to hold them down. The rest is just a lot of soldering, they sell crimp ends that I used but soldered them on, you can solder directly to the circuit board terminals but I like to be able to disconnect everything.
It's pretty simple the way it works, only took me a month to figure out , I was trying too hard. You connect the optical sensors and wig-wag flashers and the relay all up to 12V power source, I used a small distribution block , connect all the flasher wires per the instructions then the two wires from each track section to the relays, then the trigger wire from the flasher to energize the relays when the train passes, tot urn it on or off to stop the truck when the relay is energized. The relay is single pole double throw so it switches the power source between two poles, you use the normally closed pole and leave the other one disconnected. You can also get a bell ringer from Circuitron so it rings when the train goes by. The only thing to watch out for is the correct size resistor to drop the voltage from 12 down to 2.3 for the wig-wags light led's. I accidentally blew one out so I replaced all of them with red micro led's I use for 1/32 slot car tail lights, have solid copper wire and just fit, much brighter too. I wouldn't recommend doing it though unless you like macro electrical work and they have to be cut in half to get to the wires. They sell some low cost chinesium ones too, guys seem to like them. I may put the one sensor a little farther up the track, it can get a little close sometimes if the train is going fast but keeping the track after the brake section energized lets the truck just it clear before it gets hit. If you stop the truck on the track you're out of luck. I used two relays because I have the lanes each on their own power pack. You could probably use one relay on a regular track if the negatives track share the negative from the controller. You also need a good pencil tip soldering iron and solder and 22 AWG and some smaller 28? AWG wire for the led's, the 22 would work but is a little bulky for that.
It's pretty simple the way it works, only took me a month to figure out , I was trying too hard. You connect the optical sensors and wig-wag flashers and the relay all up to 12V power source, I used a small distribution block , connect all the flasher wires per the instructions then the two wires from each track section to the relays, then the trigger wire from the flasher to energize the relays when the train passes, tot urn it on or off to stop the truck when the relay is energized. The relay is single pole double throw so it switches the power source between two poles, you use the normally closed pole and leave the other one disconnected. You can also get a bell ringer from Circuitron so it rings when the train goes by. The only thing to watch out for is the correct size resistor to drop the voltage from 12 down to 2.3 for the wig-wags light led's. I accidentally blew one out so I replaced all of them with red micro led's I use for 1/32 slot car tail lights, have solid copper wire and just fit, much brighter too. I wouldn't recommend doing it though unless you like macro electrical work and they have to be cut in half to get to the wires. They sell some low cost chinesium ones too, guys seem to like them. I may put the one sensor a little farther up the track, it can get a little close sometimes if the train is going fast but keeping the track after the brake section energized lets the truck just it clear before it gets hit. If you stop the truck on the track you're out of luck. I used two relays because I have the lanes each on their own power pack. You could probably use one relay on a regular track if the negatives track share the negative from the controller. You also need a good pencil tip soldering iron and solder and 22 AWG and some smaller 28? AWG wire for the led's, the 22 would work but is a little bulky for that.
Last edited:
