Is there a reason that MTH outside rails are not connected together?

[SleeperN06]

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Last year I ran another line and I used MTH Realtrax. I didn’t notice it at the time, but I decided to solder drop down feeders around the layout because the track connections are lousy.  So I’ve been careful to keep all my connections on the same rails, but I’m not sure what to do about the other rail.

[wrmcclellan]

Hello Sleeper,

I cannot justify MTH's decision but not having the outer rails connected provides an advantage when one is using one of the outside rails as a "control rail" for signaling systems and accessory activation.

Atlas O (with the exception of their new track line that is similar to Lionel's Fastrack) and Gargraves do not connect the outside rails either.

Regards,

Roy

[SleeperN06]

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Thanks I was taking pain staking measures to insure that same outside rails were connected all the way around, but now I’m wondering if I should have even bothered.

[wrmcclellan]

Sleeper,

Probably good practice to keep the same outside rail as the common and then add a jumper between the outside rails everywhere you have a power drop. If you add an outside rail activated accessory or signal, easy to do by gapping the outside rail and making sure there is no jumper or drop on the isolated portion of rail.

[SleeperN06]

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Thanks, I guess I’ll do that. I’m just about ready to glue down the track so now would be the time.

I don’t know if it makes a difference, but most of my locos are Lionel Steam, but I have a Williams Amtrak Genesis and I do plan on picking up some more Williams diesels. Does both sides of the Loco pickup the same power? I was just wondering if it would make a difference on which direction the loco would be traveling.

[gunrunnerjohn]

Three-rail O-gauge locomotives have all the wheels common, so the power comes from either side.  If you have traction tires, some models have them on one side, which makes having power to both rails a really good idea for reliable operation.

 

[SleeperN06]

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Thanks! That’s what I thought but really got confused by the Realtrax configuration and I thought maybe Williams Locos might be different.

I don’t have a lot of experience with Williams and I haven’t been able to run my Amtrak Geneses on my original track because of my small turns. I do remember that there was something that didn’t work right when I tested it on my Lionel system but can’t remember exactly what that was. It might have been something with the C80 controller.

Well my new line has larger turns so I'll find out soon