Detail: Crossing Flashers
Bachmann 7004 — Plan A
Originally I was going to use the vintage Bachmann flashers...
NJ International 2095 — Plan B
Then I came across a whole bunch of NJI prefabs I'd been stockpiling for the Black River & Western. They weren't doing any good sitting in a drawer, so I decided to use them.
Chinese Cheapies — Plan C
Once I installed the NJI signals, however, I decided they looked "too good" amongst all of the period kits and models, so I switched to cheap Chinese ones, which looked the part of an early product but with modern LEDs.
When they arrived, I was faced with a dilemma: they were awful—far worse than expected. Except in height, they're much closer to HO Scale than N. One came damaged, and in the process of attempting repairs, I wound up completely dismantling it, which led to my attempt to right the worst of its wrongs. Although it had me seriously considering Plan A, I stuck with this junk, not that the modded version I made thrilled me.
The first thing I did was unwire it: they had the most awkward wiring arrangement, with the leads running up the outside of the pole and down through the top. I ground a small hole on the back below the lights and ran the wires down through that, and also shortened the pole. Then I replaced the crossbucks—which were nearly ten scale feet across—with properly-sized ones, and omitted the rest of the signage. Paint touchup completed the modding.
Compare the before version, above, with the after version, below left. Below right provides before-and-after side views.
Flasher
The signals are powered by a pair of cheap, generic flasher units I found on eBay that work surprisingly well.
