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Realistic Ditch lites

S Scratchbuilder1-48OGR Forum Member

A good friend of mine designed and made a ditch lite board running off the serial data from my 2 railed Lionel TMCC trains.

I have used TMCC forever , since 97 , never had a board failure . I took scale 3 rail diesels and 2 railed the trucks , then just attached the wire for the center roller to the wipers touching the insulated wheels , simple.

Here is a video clip of the ditch lites , on current MTH or Lionel diesels the ditch lite flash on and off , this goes Dim to Bright like the real thang ! I know it looks like it is 3 rails , but is 2 rail , that is a test track so I can check 2 or 3 rail trains AC or DC.

This is triggered when the horn is blown ,and resets to full on after 30 seconds . I could have chosen  a shorter timer but for me 30 seconds is what I wanted.

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S Scratchbuilder1-48OGR Forum Member

We also have the TMCC running on batteries on board , my friend Tom , who worked for NASA as an electrical engineer made the circuits for the ditch lites and the interface to run the AC Lionel TMCC off of 12volt batteries on board , after Lionel told us " nice idea , but it can't be done " , well we have been running on batteries for 2 yrs . Now I can post video , I will provide a clip with a train running  .

 

Bernie

P pitogoOGR Forum Member
I've seen something somewhat similar. A DCS user who put batteries in a G scale car with the TIU attached and the TIU output clipped to the PS2.0 G scale engine's power input.  It was a battery operated wireless DCS system hehehaeh but the car was big enough to have the TIU roll around. hmmm... I wonder... DCS remote commander attached to a O scale car.  You guys got me thinking.  The only issue I can see would be if the remotes all talk the same IR frequency.
 
 This guy here is certainly small enough to fit and can run on DC power, just attach a couple of LiPo cells.
http://www.mthtrains.com/content/50-1033
 
 
 
Originally Posted by Scratchbuilder1-48:

We also have the TMCC running on batteries on board , my friend Tom , who worked for NASA as an electrical engineer made the circuits for the ditch lites and the interface to run the AC Lionel TMCC off of 12volt batteries on board , after Lionel told us " nice idea , but it can't be done " , well we have been running on batteries for 2 yrs . Now I can post video , I will provide a clip with a train running  .

 

Bernie

Mike DeBergMike DeBergOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Erik from Midwestern Model Works has a real nice effect on his ditchlights.  The alternating ditch light function is demonstrated here in this video clip. Magnetic sensors, mounted behind the pilot on the locomotive, detect magnets placed in the roadbed before and after a crossing and trigger the starting and stopping of the alternate flashing. This function is automatic so you never have to remember to trigger them by remote. They can also be set so they do not alternate at crossings by choosing a specific command on the remote.  

  

He also added a fading effect to make the operation more realistic. When the power is interrupted to a real locomotive headlight, it will dim suddenly and then slowly fade out as the filament cools. Miniature light bulbs simply blink out instantly. Notice how the ditch lights fade while alternating. Like the prototype, these lights barely fade out completely before they come back on. This effect has been implemented on all headlights.

 

Last edited by Mike DeBerg
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