does anyone know of a website that has a diagram for wiring a lionel automatic gateman. i did a google search and all i found was thousands of people selling them but no helpful info.
Try this one, I believe you’ll find it here, in PDF format.
http://www.olsenstoytrainparts.com/
Check this post from earlier today. Last time I looked, Olsen’s link on the #45 gateman was not working. My greenburg book does not have it (surprisingly).
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=59492
Roy
The olsenstoy link to the Lionel #45 Gateman is broken. However, the link to the Lionel #145 Automatic Gateman is working as of this morning.
The 45 and the 145 are somewhat similar, but the materials and wiring are different. If your device has a plastic house and roof, it is probably a 145. (The 45 was all metal.) For a specific link to useful instructions, repair hints, and a wiring diagram for the 145 try:
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=253
Be patient; the link needs a little time to load.
wolverine49
The Doctor Is In!!! I looked in both of my Post-War Repair books(greenburg & K-Line) and they have the gateman listed in both of them. They show how to wire the unit with the #145C & #154 track connectors, But nothing about insulated track sections. There was a bunch of articles in CTT a few years ago showing how to hook up crossing gates and such, I think the gateman was covered and I think they showed the insulated track hook up also. This may be of help.
Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble Yet Strangly Evil Doctor!!![}:)]
Instructions for connecting the gateman (and other accecories) to operate with an insulated rail are toward the back of the Greenberg Repair Manual, under “OSS and OCS Track Sections,” pages 722-3 in my copy. (OSS and OCS are the old catalog numbers for insulated sections of O-gauge track; these were primarily pre-war items, but according to Greenberg’s accessory volume, they were offered in 1946 and 1950 as well.)