Lionel 153IR controller

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

Hi everyone,

I am new to the site, and have a very basic Lionel O27 setup in my basement. I have a question concerning the Lionel 153IR. I have a die-cast mainline signal that I would like to use, but I don’t want to use the supplied 153C contactor to operate it. My track is completely screwed down, and I like it that way. Can I use the 153IR to control my signal? I would like it to work as intended (green light when block is unoccupied, and have the light to change from green to red as train moves through). Will the 153IR do this? If not, I may just go to a simple, unlighted semaphor instead. Thanks for any info.

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[#welcome][#welcome]

Welcome aboard.

The short answer: Yes

The long answer: I use the 153IR to control a green/red signal, but the location of the controler dictates when the lights change. If the IR does not see movement, it would let a signal change back to green. There are some other controllers on the market that measure the rate of change of current draw in the track to operate the signals. Maybe someone else can help with that area.