Christmas street car

[Alvarinb]

Hi, i'm new to all this train modeling hobby. I recently bought a Large scale Christmas set that came with the christmas street car. When i watched the DVD i saw that the trolley went from one side to the other automatically... how can i do that?? what do i need to buy??

Also, (this may sound like a stupid question but...), i have the 46605A speed controller and i see there are two buttons on top, what are this for??

[the Bach-man]

Dear Al,
The only auto reverse streetcars we make are in On30 and HO.
However, Aristocraft makes a reversing circuit that will work.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[rperego]

If you get the Aristocraft auto reversing unit, for less money you can get just the reversing unit and install your own diodes at the splits in the rail, rather than buying the unit where the splits are incorporated into the RR crossings.  Also, some of my cars didn't like going over the ART RR crossings.

Word of advice - if you're planning on a minimum of track beyond the splits in the rail, test for a given speed how far the trolly will slide before stopping.  The ART unit doesn't do a soft stop due to the design of the unit.  If you run it fairly fast, it will slide a fair distance before coming to a stop.  If you want a unit you might be happier with, check with Stan at www.stanstrains.com.  When I was at his place this summer I think I saw a unit than does a soft stop.  Also, because of how the ART unit works, the lights in the trolly go out when it stops - unrealistic - watch your step getting out in the dark

Another tid bit with the ART unit is to put some extra gaps in the track to make it easy to move the diode if you wind up putting a longer trolly or whatever on the reversing track.  If you have any kind of car pulled by the trolly, the diode has to be farther from the stopping point at one end.  I attached my diodes to the bolts on ART split rail joiners.  If you already have some splits in other places all you need to do is move the diode.

Another thing about the ART unit - don't be surprised if you change the trolly speed while it's running.  The unit operates by the drop in current when the trolly passes the diode.  It thinks this is happening if you slow the trolly down while it's running.

Have fun...

[rperego]

The unit Stan (stanstrains) uses is an LBG 10340.  Here's his Email to me about it:

I have the most recent version of the 10340. There have been several versions, but don't ask me why they didn't change the model number. In this version, you can configure the unit in the "Basic" mode, which offers adjustable acceleration and abrupt braking, or the "Prototypical" mode which allows adjustable acceleration and braking.

A further refinement of the "Prototypical" mode allows you to put a second set of gaps in the track which will cause an emergency stop if the soft stop fails to halt the train in time.

The "station stop time" can be set from 2 seconds to 8 minutes.

The unit comes with a pair of diodes which has caused a lot of confusion. It turns out the diodes are only used to put across the second set of gaps for emergency stopping. I use only the one set of gaps, which does not require use of the diodes.

He gave me PDF of the instructions - let me know if you want them Emailed to you.

[the Bach-man]

Dear All,
Split Jaw Rail Clamps also has an excellent circuit with intermediate stops.
Have fun!
the Bach-man