I’m going to use red and green LED dwarf signals to show position of turnout points. Which side of a turnout is the signal to be on, where bouts in relation to the frog or points, and how far away from the track? Thanks for your help, Hal
Are you using signals approaching from each end of the turnout? Generally, signals would be located at the clearance points and to the right of the turnout (usually, trains are governed by the signal to the right of the track). They should be far enough off the track to clear your equipment, but not much farther.
Nick
Nick: Was thinking only one, but I guess you are indicating the prototype would have 3 … at each end of the straight through, and at the end of the diverging? I guess they would be wired in parallel, but would the diverging signal be same color with the through, or always read opposite color to the ones on the though? This is strange territory for me! Hal
Hal,
That is correct on the prototype, in signalled territory, there would be three. The two at the frog end would be red/green (red when the turnout is lined against the movement and green lined for the movement) and wired so that one displays green the other displays red. The one at the point end would display green for normal movement or yellow for diverging movement.
In non-signaled territory, some roads used switch position lights or lighted targets, that displayed the same light to both directions. The colors varied between roads - red/green, green/yellow, or red/yellow.
Since you want to use just one, I would would place it on the most visible approach to the turnout. And pick the two color combination that strikes your fancy. I like green/yellow, although red/green is easier to find.
Nick
My belief is that targets on switch stands indicated the switch position. Dwarfs and similar signals denote route (thus some signals were dependent upon switch position) and train movement permission, controlled by an interlocking plant, CTC, or similar system. Thus, you won’t usually see dwarf and similar signals in industrial and yard areas off the mainline.
Where a signal is placed between two parallel tracks, the tracks should be about 19 feet apart instead of 14 feet at the position of the signal. Signals should be about 8.5 feet from the track center. (If the signal is 2 feet wide, its center should be 9.5 feet from track center.)
Thanks guys, you’ve really helped me. Hal
Was someone reading the Digitrax SE8C documentation again? Seems they still have not corrected their odd terminology - they call the lower head of a two-head signal (typically the indication for the diverging route) a ‘dwarf’ for some unknown reason.
–Randy