In 2017 I visited the Southern California Railway Museum and took a short clip of a working Wig Wag – a form of railway-road crossing protection, similar to the flashing lights (with or without gates) that have become common throughout North America.
Many years before that trip, I picked four operating Wig Wag models at the O Scale March Meet – an annual event in the Chicago area. Any layout I build to scratch my California Dreaming itch will require a place to put these to good use, protecting motorists from passing trains.
I recently unpacked one of the O scale models that I’d mounted in a Mason Jar so I could enjoy the wonderful mechanism that animates these pieces – and decided I needed to share a video. So… here it is.
The models were built to order by Charles Morrill. I’m told he no longer offers this service.
The Model Railway Show 