Carey Lening wrote:
Totally fascinating stuff ... Thanks for the explanation.
I'm curious though -- wouldn't the car on the track have created a
sufficient conductor? Or was it insufficient due to the rubber of the
tires?
The context of your question isn't clear, so let me try a couple of answers:
Rail cars will indeed provide an adequate current path to shunt the rail
circuit and trigger the signal system. That's the whole point.
Automobiles have non-conductive rubber tires, so won't trigger the
system. Yeah, only sometimes they'll trigger it when upside down, but
since paint is also an insulator, they have to flip *hard*.
Do either of those answer your question?
Bruce Metcalf,
Lake Buena Vista
