Originally Posted by
Tom Nied
Model railroading, the only real estate problem is getting the wifey give in. No AMA card needed.
Ive still got several large boxes full of my Lionel trains , the hobby that went dormant for me about 45 years ago when I financially had to choose between them or RC airplanes . My best setup had all the signals & other operating equipment activated by my own homemade sections of track that had one of the outside rails insulated (in the same way the middle rail was) . The normal setup had the middle rail insulated and the two outside ones connected together , But the train really only needed the middle rail and one of the outside rails to bring it power . By insulating the other "unused" rail , and wiring it such that when the train passed over with it's solid metal wheels electrical contact was made to the other outside rail , an invisible switch was made that activated whatever signal the train passed by . I had folks who really knew electricity stumped , looking under the table for the "hidden" switch that was activating these devices and the system worked flawlessly .
And no model railroad inspectors ever knocked on my door .........
