Phasing/using a CW-80 with postwar transformers?

[Dave Farquhar]

Got a question for the CW-80 experts out there... I've got an 8x8 layout with essentially two loops--my track plan is a ripoff of Spankybird's 5x8 circus layout. I'm powering it with a postwar 1033 and 1034, one on each loop. For the types of trains I run, they do OK.

I'm about to wire it for accessories, and I'll power my switches and all the lights off a third transformer. I could put the 1034 on that duty, or my CW-80. I'd rather use the 1034 on accessories, since the wattage is lower. If I remember right, it delivers about 63W of usable power (it's rated for 75), while the CW-80 will deliver very nearly 80W.

I'm doing bus wiring with a common ground. I know this is a no-no for DCS, but I'm running conventional and plan to keep it that way.

I suspect the CW-80 might not like being yoked with a 1033, since the CW-80 doesn't create a true sine wave. True? Also, can the 1033, 1034, and CW-80 be on the same common? The voltage range of the 1034 is a bit lower. I have run the 1033 and 1034 phased together with the U posts connected in the past (they aren't now) but I don't know if that was something I shouldn't be doing or not.

Thanks for your advice!

[lionelsoni]

Dave, usually the U of a single-control Lionel transformer is not the natural choice for the common. A or B works best if you are using the accessory voltage and need it to have the same common as the track voltage. It seems that you have not had accessories; so using U as a common is no problem unless you have modern locomotives, in which case the whistle control will ring the bell.

Since the secondaries of the 1033 and 1034 are completely isolated, there should be no problem wiring them with the same common as the new transformer. However, I cannot say what might happen if you try running from loop to loop, with one loop powered from the CW80. As you may have noticed, I preach against this practice in general as unsafe. There may be an additional problem in connecting a CW80's output to an ordinary transformer's, however briefly as you cross the gap.