one tofit your pikeandera
isprobablyavailable. If one
of themanyproductionunits
availabledoesn’t fit your
desires, then someof the
same folks arewilling to cus-
tombuild signals for you.
Non-modelerswill tend to
be impressedwitha lighted
signal. Rail enthusiastswill
notice that the signal is
alwaysgreen. Some folksmay
find itdisconcerting for the
signal to remaingreenwhen
there isa train in theblock.
But this isaquickandeasy
way toget somepizazzon the
layout. Some folkswill argue
that setting the signal perma-
nently redwouldbebetter.
Installing thecorrect signal andwiring it constantly showone
color, andgettingpower from theDCC rails, isaquickway toget
somethingon the layout andcanbea stepping stone tomore
correctlyactivated signals.
Whichway ismy turnout?
Displaying turnout status (closedor thrown) isoneway that
signals canhelp themodel trainoperator. It isnice to stand
several yards (meters) awayand see clearlywhichdirection the
turnout is set.
Tortoise controlled-turnouts
WhetherDCorDCCcontrols the trains, ifone isusingTortoise
switchmotorsorother similarproducts, thecontacts in the
motor canbeused toactivate twocolorsof signal.
DCC ImpulsesColumn - 2
1: Bachmannnonoperating
HO signal. Eyecandyonour
club layout.
.
1
2: Tomar H-857 is permanent
green light, but the fact that
it never changeswill bother
some folks.
.
2
Static structures
Regardless of your control system, if all youwant is some
eye‐candy for the trackside, consider a simplenon-operating
display, like theBachmannunit shown infigure1. These guys
run about $10 for apackageof four and they help set the
stage. These signals provide aquick bit of scenery if this style
of signal is approximately correct for the railroad andera you
aremodeling.
Thedownside to these signals is that there is no life in them.
They just sit there. Infigure1, the foreground signal is the
basic one fromBachmann. In thebackground is the same sig-
nal with a ladder added and
appropriatepainting. This
showswhat you can accom-
plishwith abit of “signal
bashing.”
Statically lit signals
I’ve seen folksovercome
thenon‐operating signal
by installinga lit signal that
doesn’t changeaspect (color).
Forexample, one thatdis-
playsagreen lightonall the
time. TheTomar signal shown
infigure2 isanexample.
Theadvantagehere is that
manydifferent stylesof
signals areavailable from
manydifferentmanu-
facturers: BLMAModels,
IntegratedSignal Systems,
NJ International,OregonRail
Supply, andTomar are some
of themorepopular. The
MRH-Apr2014
