The Costerfield Line - Rebuilding the Great Caravan Railway
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Updated 24th January 2015





In many examples I have shown above I have used simple electrical switches and relays. But Mark has a lot of the classic black keyswitchs. These switchesd have a lot of contacts and can do a lot of complex switching. most can have a two dpdt contacts on each side. So that makes them good for the home/starter situation.

with the situation, when the keyswitch is OFF we want both signals at RED. When you select HOME or STARTER only one signal will come off. So the wiring is easier with the black keyswitch.




Looking at the circuit on the left.
  • As shown the key switch is off. This leaves "B&C" connected, both signals show RED
  • When you select HOME the "A&B" are connected, the signal shows Green, the other side hasn't moved so shows RED.
  • When you select STARTER the opposite occurs. The "A&B" are connected, the signal shows Green, the other side hasn't moved so shows RED.
One aspect I dare to mention is signage and labels. Many of these black switches are in use on the layout. and I think they need labeling. This helps the newcomer work out all the switches, and helps the oldtimer to remember.



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This is maintained by David Head.
david@hotmail.com