The Northern Pacific was a big time user of the semiphore signalling system. Are any of you using working semiphores and DCC together? If so, can you tell us how you have gotten the system to work, the componants you have used and any pitfalls of the system. Is there helpful books, websites?
As far as I know, only Circuitron and N.J. International offer working semiphores. Do you know of any other Manufacturers? Have you made your own?
Any information you might have, or could lead me to, would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
We use semaphores as train order signals on the Operations Road Show layout. My brother, who designed and built the system mostly from scratch, gave a clinic describing how he did this at the Capital Crossing North Central Region NMRA regional convention in Lansing, Michigan last month. Once he gets the last of the drawings to me this weekend, I’ll be adding his presentation to the Operations Road Show web site.
Mike,
I have not installed my semaphores, but I plan to use the Tortiose motor/adaptor from Circuitron. Digitrax/Logicrail/Altras(???) all have signal circuits that support the semaphores - it is just sort of ‘spendy’ to do signalling. The Digitrax system appears to need a computer interface, the others are ‘stand-a-lone’ at least for ABS or APB block signals. They should work with any DC or DCC system…
Jim Bernier
Mark D,
I operate on Steve Barkley’s layout which is modeled after the Northern Pacific. We have installed something like 27 working semaphores (several dual head) and 4 train-order signals on the layout. An article in Model Railroader, I believe the September 2003 “Computers in Model Railroading” section, detailed how he and his crew built a state-of-the-art layout with off-the-shelf stuff. There is a picture in the article of a test stand with a semaphore and the Tortoise motor and Circuitron activator. We modify the activator by using the pivots from RC plane ailerons, and we replace the actuator wire in the semaphores with a longer, stiffer wire. We build an offset for the actuator(s) below the semaphore, especially for the dual-head semaphores, so that it is easy for us to adjust the linkage. The new Digitrax signal driver will do all three aspects. Steve’s layout had the initial beta versions of these drivers and the folks from Digitrax came by to see them in action! Read the September 2003 article for a simple description of how he programmed the signals.
Mark C.
As I promised last week, we’ve added my brother’s presentation on designing and building a system which uses DCC components (Digitrax, in our case) to control the train order signal system on the Operations Road Show layout to our web site at http://www.railsonwheels.com/ors . This presentation can be found under “Building DCC-Controlled Train Order Signals” in the left column menu.
In addition to what was presented at the Capital Crossing 2004 NCR-NMRA Convention in October, he has also added a set of mechanical drawings showing how he built the sempahores and the semaphore mechanisms to be removable to meet the transportation requirements for this modular layout. This includes artwork for the semaphore blades, too.