# Pressure-operated crossing gates/signals



## wiley2012 (Dec 8, 2012)

One "classic" HO-scale model train accessory that has always interested me was the railroad crossing gates. I think the first one on the market was Revell's in the late 1950s...









The "grade" covers a small lever set that the train would roll over, lowering the gate. This typically wouldn't be effective, and on some types the gate would keep going up and down as the train passes. However, it still looks pretty neat to me. Revell's model also apparently came with flashing lights, but I have never seen one in action though...









Athearn, in its early days, also offered a crossing gate, but this was unique for it featured dual gates and you would set the track in the piece yourself (you'd still need to provide the grade, though.

Perhaps the most famous kind was Tyco's...








First offered in 1968 and was still available until the end of Tyco's model railroad line in 1993. In the original version shown here, you would hook up the small tab that connects to the gate with a small rod underneath the base. It also used an Atlas 9" straight brass track section that could be removed, but in the mid-1970s it was replaced with a permanently-attached track section, again brass until 1978, when Tyco switched to steel. (On mine, I replaced the brass track section with a nickel-silver track section to increase performance on the trains.)
A "Nite Glow" variation was also offered from 1979 to 1981.









From 1980 to 1982, Tyco also sold a unique variation, the "Lighted Crossing Flasher," with flashing lights and a wind-up bell. The lights would alternate pretty fast, and the bell didn't sound that authentic, but it was still actually pretty cool. My version's lights don't work (maybe they need to be rewired or something), but the bell works pretty well. The bell is pressure-operated, hence it being wind-up, and the lights are powered by the tracks.









From 1982 to 1986, Tyco offered yet another variation, this time without such a base. It was billed as an "Operating Crossing Flasher," and was pressure-activated. However, the lights would not actually flash; when a train passes over both lights would come on and stay on as long as power is sent to them. It was not as effective as the previous crossing signal accessory.










Bachmann hopped onto the bandwagon in 1976, and made their own response to Tyco's version. It looked similar to the Tyco version but with dual gates (the signals and gates themselves look very similar to Tyco's version, but with the crossbucks inverted and no "STOP ON RED SIGNAL" under the flashers. It was included with some of Bachmann's train sets in the 1980s.









If you thought the crossing gates so far were cheesy, try it with a bell and lights! Bachmann tried doing better than Tyco's version in 1979 with this variation. The bell is housed inside that small shack, and dings REALLY REALLY fast while the lights both strobe on and off (no alternating effect). Pressure sensors were also included so the train could trigger the signals before lowering the gates. Nice concept, but it didn't work that well. It was available until after the 1980s.
I have one of these, but it's kind of a pain to work with, so I am definitely not using it on my layout.









With the introduction of E-Z Track, it was inevitable Bachmann would come up with a compatible version of their crossing gate (though you could use a Tyco crossing gate with E-Z track, if you use two sections with the hooking-tabs removed on one end each.) They also offered a version with the little shack on the base, a leftover from the flasher/bell version, except there isn't anything in it. Some time in the 2000s, Bachmann repainted the base to have a more green ground, and the gates getting the more modern red-and-white color. It currently retails for $42. That's kind of a cheat, if you ask me. (It should be at least $20 for an E-Z Track accessory like that!)










Since AHM was also a big competitor with Tyco and Bachmann during the 1970s, it was obvious they'd come up with their own version. Theirs was more of an "old-fashioned" sort of crossing gate, and like Athearn's version, you would supply your own track section. Later in its life, a version with crossbucks was included (the same kind similar to Tyco's stand-along crossbucks), and Model Power also rebranded this version for some time.










Naturally, Life-Like would also respond with their own version. First made in 1978 and still being sold today. When it was first offered, it seemed suspiciously similar to Tyco's accessory; the base and the signal were identical, but with different colors, and more decorative features added. I imagine this was simply because Life-Like probably had their crossing gate originally made by the same Hong Kong-based company that made Tyco's crossing gates.









A dual-gate version was also introduced in 1996, designed to work with Power-Loc track. This made it less Tyco-like. It is still included in some of Life-Like's train sets. This is the crossing gate I currently have installed on my layout, as it came with my Freight Runner train set, but I use Power-Loc adapter tracks to connect to the conventional and True-Track I use now, and I also modified/decorated the base so it wouldn't have that white color visible.


Usually these crossings signals are good for nostalgia, but you probably won't find them on many layouts today. However with today's technology, you could modify one of these by motorizing the gate(s) and adding flashers into the signal(s) and possibly a bell sound. I am thinking of doing that to my Life-Like dual crossing gate someday. I'd like to see someone else do so too! (The Tyco crossing gate looks pretty easy to modify this way...)


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## wingnut163 (Jan 3, 2013)

i have two up for grabs in the pass it on section.


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