Transformer hookup

[Eric Train]

Hello! My name is Eric and I am new to railroading. I have 2 train sets, a penn flyer and a new york central. I combined the lionel fasttrack from both into one bigger track to run one train. I have the 80 watt and a 40 watt transformer. I want to use both transformers to power my track. Is this possible? My problem may be something else entirely, but i think it might be a power problem. The trainsounds car that came with the new york central just quit working all of a sudden, and it seems like my train runs slower. the penn flyer runs much faster and the whistle car works fine when i swap out the sets. i thought maybe i needed more power to power the new york since it has more features like the magnetic rollers and such. the whistle buttons and bell buttons do not respond at all to the new york train, but they work for the penn flyer. Any help would be appreciated. I don't currently have the funds to invest in to much more accessories right now so i am trying to use the extra transformer i have and hope it works. just don't know if it is safe to hook up to same track or not. Maybe the trainsounds car is the problem, i just don,t know. Thank you for your help.

[lionelsoni]

Do not connect both "transformers" to the same track.  No good will come of it.

[Anonymous]

Eric Train,  here is a link to a recent post that handles a similar question to yours.  It doesn't deal with the New York Central  trainsounds problem, however,  it has plenty of information on connecting multiple power sources.  Hooking two power sources to the same track to get more power is not a good idea. But, you probably already know that.

http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/197865.aspx

Byron

[gunrunnerjohn]

80 watts should be plenty to power that train, I'd suggest looking elsewhere for the problem.

 

[jd5504]

I am looking for hookup wire for O gauge train set up (4X10). Any recommendations on what gauge wire to buy or where to buy it.

Thanks

[lionelsoni]

Use wire heavy enough to carry the maximum current that your transformer can put out, 14 AWG for 15 amperes, 16 AWG for 10 amperes, 18 AWG for 8 amperes, 20 AWG for 5 amperes.  You can buy 14 AWG (and larger) at home-improvement stores with various colors of insulation.  Solid and stranded wire of the same gauge are electrically equivalent:  Stranded is easier to work with.