Relay Box Specificarions?

boleyd

Well-known member
How many switches can a relay box support and what is the maximum distance to a switch?
I am asking about the relay box with the attached battery. Control Box Tipton 02
 
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Note: I understand that the Relay Boxes are not active elements. I ask to insure some adherence to reality as I place these "reality enhancements". So, I have a rule on my railroad that no more than 2 switches can be managed by a relay box and a 50ft distance from a switch to a relay box is the maximum.

These boxes seem to be good targets in war for disabling some unknown amount of track with a hand-grenade.
 
I am referencing the grey boxes located near a switch/turnout that controls them. They are "Control Box Tipton 02". I looked at the Tipton website but did not see any specs on number of switches for that box. There are larger controllers that may be appropriate in yards but I do not know how many switches are controlled by each box. So, I stay with the Tipton 02 everywhere, rather than guess. Model "02" must mean 2 switches which is all the info I have.
 
I don't know how many relays are in the cabinets but from what I've seen, they appear to contain a lot of them, depending upon the location, and purpose.

They're not large and are rack mounted in banks. The number of relays may depend upon how much a cabinet controls in an area. It may also be a way to separate the control for various switch combinations.
 
Most relay boxes have large fiber optic cables and conduits running underground to trackside signals and grade level xing signals. There are lots of variables as to how many to use, set distance from signals and xings. Todays circuit boards are smaller than older signal huts needed to house banks of relay switches.
 
I arbitrarily made it 2 switches per controller box. But I may increase that to 5 switches controlled per box. They are a nice "official" piece of art for a PC run railroad. Nobody will ever see this route, so the only imagination is mine.
 
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