Hello.

Sorry it has been some time since I was last on the form. I have been in and out of hospital.

I have tried this on this forum before I lost the plot.

I have two platforms at one end of my layout which go into a single track. The single track works it's way to the other side of my layout and the goes into two tracks agin. Know what I want to do is this, set one lok on it's way and when it gets to the other end is for the turn out to switch over auto so that the second lok that was sent on it's way a few seconds later than the first one will go into the other the other siding/platform. The loks will wait for the set time I have put in the CS2 and the they will each work there way back and the same will happen again. I do have 4 pieces of contact track in stock and I also have 2 S88 working on the lay out already.Please can you help me. If you can please can you tell me in very simple terms as this sort of thing I am not good at.

Charles.

Hello David.

It's nice to hear from you. I hope you and your family are all well. Lets hope someone who will do a a diagram and I can have a go at the weekend.

Charles.

Charles. Looks like nobody is riding to your rescue at the moment. You could try posting in the Cave and see if you can get a reply.

dave

Hello Nevw.

I am a bit confused as the guy is asking the same sort of questions and is talking about cutting the power which I do not under stand and he says about using a computer to do the job. I have contact tracks in place on each track both ends and all wires back to the S88 but it will only work some of the time.What happens is it will run fine for a couple of times then one of the contact tracks stops working. ie will not switch the turnout if you flick the little pins on the contact track it will not work. I have checked all the wiring to see if I have a loose wire or dry joint but that seams ok. If you take the faulty contact track out and move it to one of the other places it will work fine.
Then you can run the two shuttles for a couple of times then the problem starts all over again.

Charles.

Charles,
What can happen, your contact track is opening or shutting a sequence.
If it fails to go back to its neutral position, the command is still open and it will not allow any other contact track to follow on the next command.
It all depends on your command wiring, it may happen as you said for a couple of times and than it stops.
Make sure your contact track (few people had problems with), before any train operation occurs, does go back to its neutral position. You may have to add a very tiny tiny drop of superglue (place onto a toothpick) to secure the 2 plastic rods with the contact plate but insuring under no circumstances any glue does flow over to the mechanism.
To operate these wipers by hand is not a very good idea but in most cases can't be avoided, thus loosening the small plate.

A second problem occurs when the micro switch spring activated lever within the contact track is too week to send the wiper back to its neutral position.
Someone has corrected it by unsoldering the switch, taken the switch apart and corrected the spring problem.
This of course takes some precise handyman workmanship and is not recommended for someone who has'nt got this ability.

If you are using S88's you may be better off by detecting the wheels (AC) of a train (easy to setup with k-tracks), either as a whole section (no other train will enter this section while it is occupied until it is free of any wheel contact) or a small cut in the track to activate your command, instead of a wiper from an unreliable contact track.

If your train travels forward and backwards on the same track, my method may not be suitable (small cut in track) because your contact track's wiper can switch 2 commanda independently from each other, either direction.


John