Unusual Railroad Crossing Bell Malfunction (And Its Replacement)

[@VoidsDemise5443]

Definitely must have had water get into it. That logic board must be messed up.

[@vintagesimplexfirealarmsof6440]

that mechanical bell looks better/sounds better

[@wildtraingamer3146]

Yay the m-bells are back on the signal! Question where do you get all them crossing bells from???

[@RailroadSignsandSignals]

eBay usually. I ended up buying my last (collection worthy) mechanical bell last month and plan on getting no more. Not much of a bell collector but do need some bells to run on the signals I have as well as a couple replacements for those bells.

[@BBFHD7216]

Wc Hayes E-Bell can do that sometimes too. And fixed it, or replaced with a new bell

[@nstrains4001]

I think thats what it is that he replaced

[@Indianarailproductions]

What equipment are you going to install at the other crossing? I assume it also sees rail traffic? Edit: in the videos from a few months ago, how did you make that crossing bell? What circuit board did you use?

[@RailroadSignsandSignals]

Regarding the “can man” bell, I used a custom style replacement board that I found from eBay (no longer available). The housing was one I decided to create with what I had and though not perfect, it was definitely was a good way to learn how E bells actually worked. As for the other crossing projects I am doing, I am not going to mention too much until I post them on my channel. You can look forward to seeing a double cantilever setup, a gated crossing with a button that anyone can use to activate the crossing, a complete wayside signal setup and a whole lot of other big projects that have yet to be confirmed. I have many other smaller projects I will be doing too but these are the big ones I am currently working on. I am also assisting and visiting other signal collectors on their crossing setups which you will see more of as well.

[@Indianarailproductions]

@@RailroadSignsandSignalsthanks. I’m trying to make a few crossing bells myself using probably a custom pcb. Cantilevers.. that’s really interesting. Amazes me how collectors get so much stuff. Wishing you luck on your projects!

[@Pikachu-h8d]

Good

[@theeyum2]

I have a question, I'm starting to get into actually having Rail road crossing equipment (that is no longer in use and cannot be used on actual crossings due to not complying with regulations) but im not sure where I can buy them at nor how expensive they are. Any ideas on where I can start? Edit: BTW if you can send me the malfunctioning WC hayes E-bell I can try and fix it (aka cleaning the potentiometers of any corrosion from water damage, et cetera)

[@OtterMan310]

Railroad crossing bells, lights, and crossbucks are on eBay, gates and signal bases idk

[@SoCalRailroadCrossing]

IIRC the speed changing is caused by bad memory. The rate adjustment literally doesn't do anything at that point.

[@RailroadSignsandSignals]

The actual cause and reason for failure was found after this video was recorded. The variable resistor that was on the repeater circuit was having issues with making good connection as well as the volume variable resistor though not as bad. This was due to the bell sitting in water before I had received it (which had since dried up) and that was confirmed due to pitting lines found in the housing and water left in the variable resistors. This was not the case of bad memory on the IC (though I could see why it may appear that way) but the repeater circuit that causes the stored memory (sound) to be replayed was increasing the resistance of the repeater circuit which caused the bell to play the whole length of a WCH bell ring rate which is around 3 seconds. That is why it never rings slower than that. There is a lot more that goes on after a failure is repaired or replaced after my videos are filmed. Anything that fails on my system that is on an active crossing is always documented and the cause of failure determined before that part is able to be put back into service or removed from service. Wish I could add the part where we see what the cause of such failures in the solid state equipment in my videos are but I cannot.

[@SoCalRailroadCrossing]

@@RailroadSignsandSignals Gotcha. My friend’s bell had an issue with the stored memory rather than the repeater circuit with a similar effect. Interesting how these simple mechanisms have so many different ways of breaking haha

[@nstrains4001]

You should try and fix the E-Bell, I like those

[@OtterMan310]

I like mechanical bells better but thats just me

[@Pikachu-h8d]

Can you make it reaplased with an ebell they are better than mechanical ones

[@RailroadSignsandSignals]

Eventually yes but for now I don’t have any I can put up.

[@adensrailfanningproductions]

Mechanical bells are better than E-Bells. Plain and simple

[@Pikachu-h8d]

@@adensrailfanningproductions the e-bells are quiter

[@adensrailfanningproductions]

@@Pikachu-h8d Thats the problem. Railroad crossing bells need to be loud

[@demetrusbarnes544]

❤

[@hotbytesB]

Please do a video today, please

[@SamuelElevatorFanAndTrainsMore]

WCH E Bell Broke