Lionel Illuminated Bumpers Question

 yes. They do, and Atlas O, Lionel Tubular, etc....good luck.

I have several of them employed on Ross track. Note that Ross and some other manufacturers do not electrically bond their outside rails together. Because that bumper only uses one of the outside rails to complete its lighting circuit, you need to make sure that particular rail is connected into the common side of your track power or you will have a dark bumper. I know this seems obvious, but I forgot to consider it when I was implementing my isolated rail scheme and had to chase down a couple of said dark bumpers after the fact.

One other note: the copper tabs on those bumpers can be finicky with Ross track and may need some adjustment to ensure good electrical contact.

Len,

Because that bumper only uses one of the outside rails to complete its lighting circuit

Actually, both outside rails are used by the bumper. That's what the copper strips on each side of the bumper are intended to do. Sometimes, however, thy may not make good contact if the bumper isn't secured to the rails properly.

Hi Barry, perhaps I have a different version of these bumpers or misunderstood the model involved, as there is only one strip making a connection to a single outside rail (the rail to the right when facing back down the track). The second connection is made on the center rail. The other outside rail is not connected. Maybe it is a just a case where my bumpers were made on a Monday or Friday. 

One other item I didn't discover until too late is that bumpers have 4 "tabs" that fit between the ties in order to fully seat the bumper onto the track.

Some versions of the bumpers (and I don't know if these are early or late production) have the front tabs quite a bit longer where they won't fit into my Atlas track.  I have no idea if the tie spacing on Ross is any different.

See pics for what I mean.

As some folks have discovered, there are at least two versions of the metal 260 bumpers. They were modified to fit Super "O" track.
I don't recall which is which. I suspect that the ones with the smaller feet are the later ones, that fit Super "O", and also fit Carl's Atlas track.

I personally like them and use a lot of these bumpers.

CW, that makes perfect sense. Didn't even think about the Super O implications.

Thanks for pointing out that point.

...more lights, the better!  ��

The current model of the ones posted by Carl Orton above are #6-62283 die-cast lighted bumpers. I use these with my Atlas track and I imagine they would work with almost all (if not all) other tracks as well. 

These are the bumpers I was referring to in my original post.

The plastic type will clip on to GarGraves rail but slides along freely.  You'll need to drive a brad or two into the ties to anchor it.  Another problem is that the center rail strip on the bumper is too high off the rail to make contact.  You might want to consider the 260 bumper instead.

The light serves a real handy purpose if you have kill switches for your spurs.  Instant verification that the line is live or not.

Bruce

I tried the ones pictured first, before I found the die-cast bumpers, and had the same problems as brwebster describes here, especially with the center rail contact trying to use them with Atlas track.

The product number I posted above for the die-cast bumpers (which I believe are the modern version of the #260's) should be more compatible with many other (if not all other) track systems. I don't have any Ross track, but I would almost bet the die-cast bumpers would work well with it.

With Ross track I am sure one can't go wrong with either version. I use the plastic version the OP was referencing in his first post, and once I accounted for the situation I described in an earlier post, and also adjusted for the center rail item brwebster mentioned, they work great; I've had no problems with them. 

This peaked my interest so I tried one of the 6- 62283's and they work fine.  Hopefully as with GarGraves, Ross has ties that can be slid along the rails to correct spacing for the bumpers 4 lower tabs.  This allows perfect alignment so that the 3 set screws seat against the rail webs.  No center rail contact issue either with the 6-62283.

Bruce