Automatic layout: eliminating problems with lighted passenger cars

[cruikshank]

Hi, I've posted many questions here about our club layout.  We run several trains on one mainline with passing sidings using isolated tracks for stop tracks and trigger tracks.  We have a problem with lighted passenger cars completing the circuit from live tracks to the stop tracks, and occaisionally allowing trains to blow through the stop track, causing the dreaded cornfield meet.  I'm looking for ideas that we may have not thought of to correct this.  So far on the MTH passenger cars with pickups on both ends of the car, we removed and insulated the pickup on one end of the car, we also made sure that all of the same ends were insulated.  Anything else we could do to eliminate this feed thru ?  Thanks,  Dave

[phillyreading]

Maybe all that is needed is to move the insulating pins or points back a track section or two, sounds more like your insulated section is too short than anything else.  Are you using single or double pole toggle switches for block control?  Isolate both wires with a double pole double throw switch, and you may cut down on problems that you are having, run both positive and negative throw the double pole switch with positive on one side and negative on the other side then to the track section.  Another possible cure is to insolate all three rails on the siding.

Lee F.

[otftch]

I had the same problem with MTH subway cars running on the same track with a Lionel bascule bridge.No matter where we insulated ,the cars would bridge the gap and the rollers of the cars kept completeing the circuit.We finnally removed one of the car's pickups and run it dark It was not the best solution,but the only one that worked all the time.Why don't you try to completely remove all rollers in your baggage car.They were usually dark anyway and your problems will be solved.Now the current won't bridge the gap as the trains run.

                                                                                      Ed

[lionelsoni]

Put two small bridge rectifiers in each car, each bridge powered separately from one of the pickups and the frame.  Connect the DC outputs of the bridges together in parallel and connect all lamps to the combined output.  Either bridge will then power all the lamps in the car, but the pickups will be isolated.

Since the lamps are getting DC, you can also add an electrolytic capacitor in parallel with the lamps, to pretty much eliminate flickering.  In fact, with the capacitor, you may find as I do that you need only one pickup in the first place.