Yard and pull-off spur Wiring Question?

[KRM]

lionelsoni

Yes.  All my connections to the track are soldered directly to the rails (which are also mostly soldered together too).

Bob,

 I think that is the way to go in the end but for now I am only doing the mock-up and it will all have to come off for ground cover. After that I think I will solder most rails too.

 Thanks,

Kev.

[lionelsoni]

Yes.  All my connections to the track are soldered directly to the rails (which are also mostly soldered together too).

[KRM]

Okay, Thanks Bob,

 I thought so but wanted to be sure. I have almost all new track so I should be good. I may just use CTCs on the 4 sections of track shown in the pictures because I have them and more connections to common can't be bad. In the yard I will only hook to the center rail I have isolated with the fiber pin with power from the control switchs.

When you say connecting the outside rails how are you doing it? with solder and a jumper wire?

 Tks,

 Kev.

[lionelsoni]

There should be no need to interrupt the connections among the outside rails anywhere except where, as at a turnout, there is a control rail.  Even though only one outside rail is connected to the main line through a turnout, the other one is amply connected to that one through the metal ties.  I don't see how the common would be involved at all in switching the center rail of any siding.

If you have reason to worry about the outside rails' connection to the turnout's outside rail, you can just supplement those connections with short jumpers under the turnout to connect everything together.

I also recommend connecting outside rails together here and there around the layout so that there are multiple common paths to any point on the layout from the transformer.  With that and any kind of decent track joints, I doubt that you need any common feeders at all on a layout of that size.

[steve24944]

  You want to make sure you have good electrical connection to all tracks, so it is good to have a connection to the #1+2 contacts on all your CTC Lockons  for each block.  I use thermostat wire, that has 2 conductors in a sleeve, red to the center rail, white to the outside rails.   I run a set of wires for each block from my control panel to the track connection.  If you want, you can feed the outside rails for a given block from a close by CTC Lockon.   When you have fiber pins on one outside rail at a switch for the non-derailing feature, then the outside rail for the track past that point has only one track pin connection.

Steve

[KRM]

I am now deep into doing all of the finer wiring for the layout mock-up. Console wiring is done and I am now running to table. I have all nine remote switches now working.

I pretty much think what I am thinking will work but thought I would ask some opinions before I go ahead.

To reduce wire usage and the associated mess of more wire than needed I have been tying grounds together wherever I can in the console. I have done this on all of my switch control switches sending only two wires to each switch and have a common ground tied to the center post of all of my switch control switches. I have also tied a common ground to my pull-off and spur live power switches.

For the pull-off and spur switches I am wondering if I should use CTCs with ground and power or just run power to the center rail by soldering a wire to the rail to power them up. This would require only one wire out to the track where if I send ground and use CTCs I will need to send two wires out.

I would let the cut off sections get the ground from the existing ground off of the side rails because to kill the sections I am using fiber pins in the center power rail? On the pull-offs or pull–overs next to the non derailing switches I will be not only cutting the center rail but the fiber pins in the switches will be also making the inside ground rail dead as well. The yard spurs will still have both side rail grounds  so I see no problem there. I have plenty of CTCs so that is not an issue. Just a question of if I need to send all those grounds or not.

See the attached pictures.

I hope I have made this clear, if not just say so.

Thanks,

Kevin