I've not been on this forum very long, and all my knowledge is from the 60s, with a small update in the early 80s. I have a lot of tubular track, but I liked the fastrack 6-81317 accessory activator. I thought that would be much easier to use than the constant (at least it seems that way to me) adjustment of the 153C connector. I connected that package with the male pigtail power cable, and the 6-12040 O Gauge transition pieces. I had to fool around with the wires at the end to connect to the switch tower. In the end, I connected red to #1, black to #2, and white to #3. The little guy comes down the stairs when the train passes over, and the light in the tower always stays lit.
Again, I'm a bit of a newbie, and electrical connections are definitely not my thing. Perhaps this is elementary knowledge for y'all, but I hope this helps somebody with my level of expertise.