The "DEAD RAIL" trick! :-)
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Very slick! Thank you for the video.
The dead or insulated rail, as in tubular track, works so much better than the contactors that are usually supplied with Lionel signals, crossing gates, flagmen, etc. That video was very well done.
Who is the manufacturer of the crossing bell sound? Sounds as real as it gets.
Sparky74 posted:Who is the manufacturer of the crossing bell sound? Sounds as real as it gets.
MTH
Well John, your video was spot on for demonstrating this most basic 3 rail principle. It's perfect for beginners.
One small bone to pick though: your nomenclature of "dead rail" and "trick" is a bit off. The correct term is "insulated rail", and it's not really a trick as it has been well documented by Lionel for over 75 years. Perhaps a better word would be advantage or phenomenon.
One important point that you failed to mention is the type of track that you used for this demonstration. As far as I know, there are only two brands of track on the market that naturally lend themselves to doing this. They are GarGraves and Atlas (edit: oops I forgot Ross). All other brands have their outside rails tied together electrically, and require special measures to insulate them so they can be used for this purpose.
On a personal note, my railroad relies heavily on this principle, though not for activating devices, but rather for detecting where trains are along the mainline. Wires from all the insulated track segments are run back to a panel, where the occupancy values are sent to a computer which returns signal settings to the layout.
The insulated rail is a very powerful tool, and should be taken advantage of whenever possible.
This is the primary reason I switched from a mix of GG and tubular track to all GG/ross. If there is another video there should be one demonstrating how relays make this tool even more powerful.
I've used insulated rails for years on my PW-style layouts. I used to keep some of those old pressure contactors around for a genuine PW look and feel but what a pain they are! 
Have recently incorporated some simple relays to trigger trackside signals.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:
One small bone to pick though: your nomenclature of "dead rail" and "trick" is a bit off. The correct term is "insulated rail", and it's not really a trick as it has been well documented by Lionel for over 75 years. Perhaps a better word would be advantage or phenomenon.
"Dead Rail" is a term used by the battery/RC operation folks.
https://www.deadrailsociety.com/
I used insulated rail sections back in the 1980's on my old 3-rail railroad that I used to take to shows. I controlled crossing gates, banjo signals, the flagman, the switch tower and extended the anti-derail range of O22 switches. Worked flawlessly every time.
Rusty
Rusty Traque posted:
I know that Rusty. That term has been claimed within the hobby, though few here are aware of it. 
I have a buddy who is into that. Great for outdoor railroading, because the track never needs cleaning for electrical purposes (just clear any debris). My friend is doing On30 indoors. It is all about battery technology and small RC. Lionchief is RC, just not battery.
John, whatever anyone calls it, your video is wonderful for beginners and novices. Thanks for taking the time to make it and post it. I subscribe to you on You Tube as I enjoy videos of the Glacier Line.
Big_Boy_4005 posted:Well John, your video was spot on for demonstrating this most basic 3 rail principle. It's perfect for beginners.
One small bone to pick though: your nomenclature of "dead rail" and "trick" is a bit off. The correct term is "insulated rail", and it's not really a trick as it has been well documented by Lionel for over 75 years. Perhaps a better word would be advantage or phenomenon.
One important point that you failed to mention is the type of track that you used for this demonstration. As far as I know, there are only two brands of track on the market that naturally lend themselves to doing this. They are GarGraves and Atlas (edit: oops I forgot Ross). All other brands have their outside rails tied together electrically, and require special measures to insulate them so they can be used for this purpose.
On a personal note, my railroad relies heavily on this principle, though not for activating devices, but rather for detecting where trains are along the mainline. Wires from all the insulated track segments are run back to a panel, where the occupancy values are sent to a computer which returns signal settings to the layout.
The insulated rail is a very powerful tool, and should be taken advantage of whenever possible.
Elliott:
I used those terms as that what they are referred to commonly in my neck of the woods. I should have stated the type of track I was using. Having only been in O scale 6 or 7 years, I'm NOT familiar with all the track bands and their respective nomenclature.
Regardless, the video has been viewed over 300 times in the past 8 hours now with several nice compliments. I wrote it before but the stuff that you assume everybody knows they don't. I was two or three years into "O" before I ever heard the term "dead rail trick." People also refer to the insulated rail and now because of comments made I understand.
You have the advantage of being in this scale for multiple years. I was an HO guy for 40 years. I've got a long way to go to catch up with you. I predict that I won't make it.
It's funny - I've used this principle for many years, but had never heard it called the "dead rail trick". I had always known it to be referred to as an insulated track section.
Nice demonstration John. This is the same principle I used to create sparks for my subway.
great and understandable explanation
unlike that of my calculus teacher in high school
thank you
A demonstration is worth a thousand words. For those relatively new to 3-rail trains, it is new. I never thought of the concept, probably because of over 40 years of 2-rail trains.
