Trip to the hobby store

Before going back to studio, i took another visit to Toad Hall, a toy store in the exchange district that specializes in train hobby supplies. I spoke with Barry there about the use of O scale and how the mechanism with the engine works. Apparently the o track , using three rails vs the modern 2, was a creation in the earlier 1900's and has never died since. The use of three rails facilitated the power supplies used back then, and prevented short circuits when the track would loop onto itself. The middle rail acts as the positive of the electric circuit. Apparently the technology worked back then but the cars and rails were never changed for modern times. Barry showed me a old catalog of the lionel trains and it has these amazing drawings of the mechanics and assembly of these hobby trains. I figure i could use that as a starting point to explore my own creation of a train assembly, that interacts with the site.

I came across these part diagrams of the motors and wiring of the locomotives:
I am fascinated with a device they call an e-unit, which acts as a switch for reversing the motor direction. Generally its a solenoid activated switch, with a drum, which rotates when pushed by the solenoid pin, to switch an h bridge circuit. If only i knew of this 5 months ago. The unique thing about the o scale and the use of a third, middle rail, is the act of switching from forward to neutral to reverse, a three step process. Now a days the circuit boards take care of it, but the o scale still embraces this old technology. A physical switch rather than a digital one. Here are some pics