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How to Wire a Lionel Crossing Signal

The iconic Lionel Trains are a part of many model train collectors' sets, and their systems allow for a world of flexibility. One of the many features you can add to your train set is a crossing signal, which you can install simply and wire to a specialized contacter plate. The contacter activates when a train gets near and sets the crossing signal to go down and block traffic. Setting it up is easy, if you connect to the right materials.

Things You'll Need

Wire stripper
10- to 14-volt power supply

Instructions

- 1
  Place the contacter plate beneath your track. If you have tacked the track to a board, you may need to loosen the tacks so the plate lifts up a few inches of track. This set up makes it so the train pushes the contacter down when it nears the crossing and releases the contacter when the train has passed.
- 2
  Strip 1/4 inch from each of the wires you are working with. Do not work with any wires currently attached to an active power supply. Disconnect all power before stripping wires.
- 3
  Attach two wires to the spring clips on the crossing model. Push down the upper half of the spring clip and insert the stripped end of the wire into the two clips.
- 4
  Connect a wire to the contacter plate, the clip labeled 3, which is on a side on its own.
- 5
  Wire the outer clip on the contacter (labeled 2) to the ground on your power supply.
- 6
  Connect the other wire from the signal to the open clip on the power supply.
- 7
  Test the signal crossing by driving a train over the contacter plate. If your signal crossing doesn't move upward, you need to switch the clips on the crossing signal plate.

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