im in need of some working crossing arms (at least lights working! arms working is a bonus). any suggestions on companies i can look into? so far ive only found NJ Intl.' also how would i control such a device especially if the arms work? my display uses a kato controller to control my switches and a digitax zephyr (v1) for locomotive running just fyi. i will be getting a couple of signal lights too so maybe that will factor into what people suggest. thanks!
Berkshire Junction makes some pretty decent looking ones. I've never tried them but have heard some good things about them. Here's the link: http://www.berkshirejunction.com/
It looks like the Berkshire ones are just the crossbucks...I didn't see any one with arms on their site. The NJ International ones are the best I can think of, as far as I know, and they seem to come in multiple varieties.
As I never tire of saying, a realistic, working, easy to install and use, grade crossing is the most common thing on the real railroads that is not available in N scale.
Someone at a LHS told me one time that it would be almost impossible in n-scale for working lights on crossbucks but that was many years ago, now with new technology such as fiber optics, there might be hope. Good Luck!!!!!!
"How about working N-scale crossing arms (something that could be motorized)?" The NJI can be motorized with a piece of wire and a slow motion switch motor. There are also mechanisms that have been published in Model Railroader that could also be used but some modifications will be necessary since the measurements would be changed. As far as something "simple" goes, no, there isn't anything available. The operation of such is left up to modelers to figure out but it isn't overly difficult to do... it just is not a drop in installation. As far as the Berkshire signals they are not much better than some of the other early signals that use to be available... I would just as well go with the NJI models, they are well detailed and look reasonably correct, not just a reasonable stand-in like some of the other models.
I'm in the process of installing a set of crossing gates, and it is NOT EASY! The gates will be NJI 2164s. I'm using the Azatrax MRX1 controller, and am going to try using a Tam Valley Depot servo motor, rather than a slow motion switch motor. There's a photo on the Azatrax site with description. My first attempt was through a lot of foam and wood - and it didn't work. This time, I am hollowing out the foam and trying the lift out approach. The servo motor is a lot smaller, so I think I have a better shot. Getting the signals to work isn't too difficult, it is the gate. You have to put the wire in at an angle for smooth operation, and there is very little movement needed.
really all depends on how involved you want to get... The digitrax bd4 and the bdl168 are occupancy detectors that can be made to trigger the effects. The simplest would be the bd4....essentially you could use the led outputs to trigger an electronic switch that would activate the switch machine (for the arms) and whatever lighting setup you decide to use. It should be fairly easy to find schematics for alternating lights. As for signaling, I use the digitrax se8c, which controls 8 switch motors, and will control lights for signals. The digitrax system is set up so that you could use the occupancy detectors to trigger signals/switch motors using a pc program like jmri (free) via usb interface. I have it set up so that the signals change according to switch positions (the non-computer interface way); when I type in and activate a switch motor on the keypad, a cascade of commands controls everything else. I dont remember what digitrax calls this kind of nesting, but it should be in the manual...not sure if zephyr will do it. The best resource for all of this is a series of articles written in Model Railroad News in 2008/9, called "Project DCC; Integrating Operation and Automation" by Phil Scandura. I highly suggest you get in touch with MRN to get the back issues, as the series was the absolute clearest explanation of how to do it with different systems, and the philosophy behind each method.
Try a BD4 and a DS-64 to control your gate. With this you can control up to 4 gates or; one gate with 3 extra functions for block detection and/or turnout control and turnout routing.
I'm hoping advances in nanotechnology can provide for a tiny motor INSIDE the crossing arm, within the next 5 years...for both N and Z scales.
