Watts or Amps and voltage used by Lionel crossing gate?

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I am doing some power sizing estimates for accessories I don’t have yet, but would like to get.

Can anyone share how many watts or amps Lionels #12714 crossing gate uses, and what voltage was used to obtain those numbers?

Thanks,

Chris

2

Chris,

I do not have amodern unit. My original PW which also has a light for the warning lights on the gate that I got as a kid many eons ago measures:

0.7 amp at 14 VAC (9.8 watts)

0.6 amp at 12 VAC (7.2 watts)

3

Roy,

Thank you!

I was estimating 9 watts (~0.7 amps) [edited to change ~7 to ~0.7] at 12 volts. That sounds like a good number to go with based upon what you shared.

My estimate was based upon measurements I took for a 1990’s era semaphore. I thought the solenoid type mechanism would probably be similar in a crossing gate and semaphore.

Again, thank you.

Chris

4

You must mean .7 amperes.

5

Bob,

Thank you for catching that mistake. Yes, I meant ~0.7 amps. The post above was edited to reflect your catch.

Chris

6

Chris,

I hooked up my 12714 crossing gate to my PWC ZW with volt/ammeter last night. At 12V, the amp reading was 0.2A; at 13V, it was 0.3A. I’d use the higher value, equivalent to about 4 Watts.