# Switch Indication Product Idea



## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

I've been messing with an idea for my own layout situation, and am stuck in a hotel room. I don't have a model or schematic yet, but here's the gist of it.
[*]Appearance[*]Fits between ties, beneath the rails & tie-joining plastic[*]Can add it to any layout[*]Looks like a tie, in color / texture[*]But, it's longer, and has a vertical bulge at each end --- themed perhaps as a barrel[*]Those ends contain LED assemblies that indicate which way the switch is thrown[/list][*]Construction[*]Ideally, the device is cast epoxy resin or other elastomer[*]The LED assemblies are waterproof[*]The LED assemblies permit inexpensive diodes and lenses that are both interchangeable in color [*]User can choose what color means what, depending on switch throw direction[*]The device clamps onto the rails above it with screws[/list][*]Electrical[*]Circuitry, LED housings, and perhaps non-heating electronic components, are entirely encased within the casting[*]The device can take switch direction input via several means:[*]Microswitch imbedded within the switch drive[*]Contacts integrated with the switch drive[*]Microswitch actuated by screws installed on switch throwbar [/list][*]The device can be powered via several means:[*]DCC (via clamp screws & internal diodes)[*]DC (via clamp screws)[*]Bus (via plug) [/list][/list][/list]The picture in my head is that when I look at my layout, day or night, I get a color indication of how switches are thrown. And, the color-logic is up to me. For example, if everything's green or blue, it's safe to do a continually-running mainline. But if something's yellow, orange, or especially red, that means that perhaps unattended operation of a train on the main line isn't the best idea. But that's just me. The interchangeable bulbs and lenses can take on whatever meaning is useful to the owner / user.

For myself, I'm only (theoretically) designing for a particular scenario, using Train Li ProDrive actuators and Proline switches. And I'll most likely not get to it for a year or two. And when I do, I'll probably use cheap sealed boxes, not epoxy castings. But that's one of the cool things about our forum here, we can talk about ideas.

The main thing I can't figure out is how to shut all those LED's off. They could be really annoying in some cases. I looked into DCC DIY accessory decoder possibilities, thinking that the needed interpreting components could be baked into the resin product. No joy, way too complex. So maybe the answer is to have an indicator bus, segmented as needed, controlled by one or more stationary DCC decoders or manual toggles to a DC pack or whatever. 

Well, that's the thought.

===>Cliffy


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## izzy0855 (Sep 30, 2008)

Cliffy, 

I hate to burst your bubble, but; we have already designed, tested and we are currently in production of the RailLinx Remote Trackside Switch Control. It can throw up to 30 switches remotely from any RailLinx 900 hand controller. This is all DC powered from a 12V 7amp SLA battery that you can hide in a building. Each trackside transceiver can through up to 2 switches at a time and we have Green/Red indicator LED's on each side of the box that you can see in sunlight up to 50 ft., with no problems of glare. Green indicates mainline, Red indicates sidetrack. We've tested this for three months of constant power 24/7 without any recharge to the battery. The casing is 99% waterproof and works with Piko, LGB & Aristo switches and comes with a wall charger. 

I'll have more information in the next two weeks on our website, but we our goal is to have this ready for sale by Mid-August. 

Rick Isard 
Cordless Renovations, LLC 
RCS America


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Since Cliffy is DCC, you cannot burst his bubble.







You could only point him to a product he can use, or not. He's not trapped in a proprietary system.









Now if you had a DCC system I'd be interested too.









BTW, we don't use 7 amp sealed lead acid batteries in DCC, we can run right off the track for a power bus.









Greg


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Note that the pro drive can have a SPDT micro switch mounted inside and there is a 2 pin socket for a light/led to be attached.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

What about forgetting the electronics, and just putting a target on the throw bar like you see on a prototype switch stand? You wouldn't need a manual switch throw at all. I'm thinking that you'd put the "target" on a pivot mounted on the tie adjacent to the throw bar (some switches already have these, others can be added fairly easily from wood or similar). This target would have an arm that attaches to the throw bar by some means (insert into a slot, or mount a loop on the arm or something.) You may have to extend the throw bar depending on the switch and throw mechanism. When the throw bar moves (by whatever means moves it; electricity, air, finger, squirrel), it pivots the arm on the target, turning it to indicate the direction. 

Hmm, another project for the Winter... 

Later, 

K


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## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

This is an idea I've been looking at myself, especially that after years of procrastination







, I've *finally *gotten around to remoting some of my turnouts.







All 3 of the turnouts currently remoted had LGB switch machines installed on them from the time my mainline was built (*@ *10 years ago!







), while I dithered on whether or not to install a dedicated "track-map" style control panel (for when I'm running live steam, since 2 of my 3 live steamers have uninsulated wheels). In the meantime, it was relatively easy to just walk up to a turnout & flip the points manually, or allow heavier locos like my Shays to just push the points over if running through a turnout thrown against them. Just recently, I decided to salvage the Digitrax DS-54 stationary decoders originally used on my old indoor layout (which I've abandoned any attempt at keeping a "serious" model railroad, & about a year ago modified it to better serve the way it's acctually been used the last few years, as a storage & test track for equipment that now normally runs outdoors). I installed the 2 DS-54's in a waterproof electrical enclosure which got bolted underneath the layout (my "Watuppa Railway" is an elevated outdoor layout built @ 2 feet off the ground); I'll take some pictures of the install in the near future. Connected to the mainline power feed for both power & DCC signal inputs, I'm now controlling the turnouts from my NCE wired & wireless ProCabs.









A remaining issue, though, is knowing which way the turnouts *are actually thrown.







**- *My distance vision has never been great, & sometimes the only time I realize a turnout is set incorrectly is when a wreck occurs.







Since I run mostly geared logging locos at prototypical speeds, usually the only injury is to my pride







- but during the past year I had a *major *wreck when my Bachmann Mallet charged up my "dead-end" mining / logging branch with a 5-car coal drag (all Bachmann Spectrum 1:20.3 hoppers) & my Bachmann Spectrum long caboose in tow at about a scale 35 MPH; & *blew through the Aristo bumper at the end of the branch like it wasn't there, crashing 2 feet to the ground! *







(I was watching a train at the other end of the railroad at the time & facing the opposite direction, only realized something was wrong when I hear the coal drag's coupler slack run out *violently. *







). Amazingly, damage to the Mallet was minimal, considering I found it upside-down in the grass; the back-up light atop the cab & turbogenerator were knocked off, & the front uncoupling lever broke loose; about an hour on the bench & it was back in service.







Thankfully also, the remainder of the train of $100 hopper cars & $150 caboose remained on the track; the cause of the wreck was that I had inadvertently left the turnout for the branch thrown when I pulled the remaining cars out at the end of my last operating session. I've since removed a rail joiner at the beginning of the branch to form an electrical gap, & installed a temporary *"branch permission" *toggle switch across the gap, to stop any train inadvertently running up the branch* long before it reaches the replacement track bumper*. (I intend to eventually disguise the switch with a manually-operated semaphore; moving the semaphore arm to the "clear" position will allow power to the branch trackage







). 
At this point, while I know I want some sort of turnout position indicator, I'm debating exactly how I want to accomplish it; whether to go with a "prototypical" looking indicator (thinking at this point, scale LED switch lanterns mounted near the turnouts, perhaps a switch target at well mechanically linked to the throwbar), or simply a red / green LED indicator mounted nearby. To activate the LED's in either case, I've got two options; one being the LGB EPL DPDT switch assemblies that mount to the switch machines (which may be either unavailable / hard to get / or expensive), or my alternate idea, using a micro rare-earth magnet mounted to the throwbar to close reed switches to turn on the appropriate LED (the way I'm leaning to go, just have to get around to "prototyping" it).









Tom


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

"My distance vision has never been great, & sometimes the only time I realize a turnout is set incorrectly is when a wreck occurs."

Tom, that's where I'm coming from. I have to get right on the points to see for sure. Also, I'd like to be able to choose what color means what. For another example, I'd like to reserve the color green to indicate a switch is lined up for through-traffic on the main line. That way, I should be able to loop a train continuously.

===>Cliffy


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Posted By izzy0855 on 25 Jul 2013 07:18 PM 
Cliffy, 

I hate to burst your bubble, but; we have already designed, tested and we are currently in production of the RailLinx Remote Trackside Switch Control. It can throw up to 30 switches remotely from any RailLinx 900 hand controller. This is all DC powered from a 12V 7amp SLA battery that you can hide in a building. Each trackside transceiver can through up to 2 switches at a time and we have Green/Red indicator LED's on each side of the box that you can see in sunlight up to 50 ft., with no problems of glare. Green indicates mainline, Red indicates sidetrack. We've tested this for three months of constant power 24/7 without any recharge to the battery. The casing is 99% waterproof and works with Piko, LGB & Aristo switches and comes with a wall charger. 

I'll have more information in the next two weeks on our website, but we our goal is to have this ready for sale by Mid-August. 

Rick Isard 
Cordless Renovations, LLC 
RCS America 
No bubble burst here; I'm not a manufacturer. 
And like Greg says, what I'm talking about is a simple snap-on gizmo. If it acted off a magnet or cam on the tie bar of the points, there would be no wiring at all (for DCC). 
But good luck on your launch, it sounds like a nice system. 
===>Cliffy


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

To complete my initial post, I finally got round to a schematic of the rough idea.








Again, the thought is not only indication of direction, but control over what color is used. 

BTW, the advantage of the user-supplied 12v bus is that you can shut the whole susbsystem down. Like I mentioned at the beginning, it might be annoying / unslightly at times. 

===>Cliffy


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Tom, I like your idea of a "permission toggle" for more dangerous spurs. I've got several of those, and that sounds like a dang good safeguard to put in....


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Here's a rough model of the notion, in the random timbers "theme"...










It ain't real though; I'm just pretendin'.










===>Cliffy


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