NEED HELP WIRING FOR MTH COMMAND CONTROL!

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone...I'm new to the forum and new to the toy train hobby as I never got that "much wanted" Lionel set that so many kids of the 50's received. I'm now 59, and FINALLY getting into the hobby. For my last birthday, my hubby bought me two gorgeous MTH sets and for Christmas Command Control plus the AIU, the switches I needed, wire, cables and TWO more engines.

Since I have severe rheumatoid arthritis, I have good and bad days...days when it would be nearly impossible to do a lot of difficult wiring as well as impossible to get on my knees under the layout. I did build my own layout this past summer in a spare room which is a bit small since I have collected village houses, people, etc. for many years and wanted a year 'round Christmas theme layout.

I didn't have ANY problem learning how to use Command Control and have all four engines running at the same time...and WOW....is it FANTASTIC!! I LOVE THE SOUNDS and just hooked up the mic. Also found the train crash sound, but hope I don't have one!

Now everyone....my problem is the wiring. I have about eight switches to wire in. I have done some reading about them, but all the books I have cover the OLDER methods of wiring...plus...well...let's just say I DO NOT UNDERSTAND ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES and NEED "WIRING FOR DUMMIES"!! I have an extra MTH transformer and have decided to run my switches via the extra transformer and NOT track power as I've read it's more reliable. My problem is in knowing HOW TO WIRE as the MTH booklets just do not cover wiring in great detail. I wired a small layout a couple of years ago using the ordinary red, green, yellow and black color-coded idea written in a book by a "Stan T." (can't spell his last name off-hand). But that layout is "long gone" as my hubby needed the plywood!!

I used REALTRAX on this layout which is a PERMANENT one, and I just LOVE it as it looks so nice and realistic, too.

So...my BIG PROBLEM IS WIRING!! Does anyone out there know of a MODERN book about wiring specifically for MTH TIU, AIU, switches and all MTH products?? I have a few old and VERY complex wiring books, but they just do NOT seem applicable. I want to operate my switches using another transformer, too...so that I don't have to run off track power, but I NEED TO KNOW how to wire all this stuff!! Mike needed to write a WIRING BOOK for his new products when he came out with MTH!!

Thanks anyone for your help as I'd like to get my switches working.

Katrinka

[wrmcclellan]

Katrinka,

The best book about MTH basics is the book "Model Railroading with M.T.H. Electric Trains" by Rob Adelman (2002).

Amazon.com has this book.

Classic Toy Trains magazine had articles on DCS wiring tips in both the July and September issues of 2005 (both articles happen to start on Page 62 of each issue).

You can contact CTT at 1-800-533-6644 or via e-mail at [e-mail] to order a copy of the articles or a copy of the back issues if available.

Good luck!
Roy

[daan]

Welcome to the forum Katrinka, Nice to see that not only men love the trains and all the goodies like sounds and smoke..
Running track switches of the trackpower is not a big issue if you use digital control. It's more referring to conventional layouts, since trackpower there controls also the trains speed, meaning that the voltage on the track is sometimes too low to operate the switches. In digital control the track power is constant at about 15 to 18 volts and, as long as the transformer delivers the power (Amps), your switches won't stop to work.
A switch only needs a very short boost of power to throw.
However, if you run 4 trains with lighted cars and sounds at once, you have about 10 amps power consumption only on trains. With those power consumpions, you could have problems with the switches. Did you have any problems yet?

[spankybird]

You can pick up either the DVD or VHS tape from either MTH or OGR. It covers wireing switches with the AIU

http://www.mth-railking.com/detail.asp?item=60-1191

[Anonymous]

I want to thank EVERYONE who answered my post about wiring. First off, I'm going to order Rob Adelman's book and also check out some past articles in Classic Toy Trains. About the power consumption, daan, one of my diesels has five passenger cars with lights in each car...plus with the sounds, etc., I just felt I would be better off using a separate transformer for my switches as I know from reading and a little bit of experience that switches are often the biggest problem. Sorry everyone that I don't have the "wiring expertise" that so many of you have that have been in the model train hobby since childhood, but I'm learning! :-))

Three of my trains are steam with LOTS of smoke...really GOOD "smokers" as I call them and one is a large diesel. And BOY...those sounds!! Did anyone hear the "train crash" with the "moans" and "Are you alright?" I called my hubby upstairs to my "train room" to listen (he's not "into" model trains), but thought the sounds were just great! ;-)) And I hooked up the mic to make my own "broadcasts".

As I mentioned, my folks were far too poor to afford that much wanted Lionel set I DREAMED of....back in the days when Sears cleared out the basement area before Christmas and set up those wonderful Lionel displays. Plus our tiny home would have been far too small for even a "teeny" layout. I SURE remember Mom leaving me off in the Sears store with all the other kids to watch the trains run, and BOY was I mesmerized!! Of course...since I was about six years old, to me it was all "MAGIC" , and I just wanted to REACH OUT and touch the little "train man" as he popped out of the station!! Hehe

Now with Command Control, I'm hoping that more kids do get into the hobby since today's kids grew up with computers, etc. When I figure out how to put pics on here, I'll post a pic of my layout....which is not yet completed as I'm still changing things around. I have TONS of Walmart stores and houses I've collected over the years for our annual Christmas village as well as some Lemax items, so they are all a part of the layout.

Anyway.....I thank everyone who so kindly answered my post about wiring. I also noticed the nice and friendly atmosphere on this forum...something I did not find on other forums where the "newbie" was treated as a "dummy". And yes, I do subscribe to Classic Toy Trains, read it from cover to cover, love the articles, and once built a very, very small layout quite a few years ago just for running old Marx wind-up trains. A neighbor was throwing out a box of TRAINS at the time...CAN YOU IMAGINE??? , and so I asked for the box and was surprised to find a red engine with all the passenger cars and two black engines also with the cars and old track that wound up and still worked great! Also got a neat electric Marx tinplate with great lithos on it....probably from the early 50's. I built a tiny portable layout for my "finds" as during that summer, I had broken my ankle and needed SOMETHING to do where I could sit down a lot. I also wired it so I can use it for running an electric train. No switches on the layout, though....just a battery operated train station with a cool whistle that was also in the box of "throw aways" and an old Marx station that I wired in that lights up. This little layout has a handle on the side so I can carry it if need be. And that was the start.

Now I just CANNOT believe I have these gorgeous MTH engines with command control!! So.....guess I'll be studying a lot about wiring as well as thinking about creating a "Second story" of sorts at some point on my layout...sort of an upward spiral. And yep.....I dream about TRAINS at night! :-))

Cat

[wrmcclellan]

Katrinka,

Good luck, have fun, and let us know how we can help as you proceed.

Regards,
Roy

[daan]

Well Cat, the same over here. In days long gone I had only h0 trains and dreamed about the sounds and special effects. Now I'm running my own, yet very small empire with sounds and really BIG trains. In Holland this is something very special and slowly the bug starts to bite a few here.
It's nice to have a hobby and enjoy your layout, it can give you release from the disease you have and that is very important!! Keep on going that way.
And indeed you should worry a bit about power consumption on your layout.. in your case it's not a bad idea to keep the switches away from the trackpower. Guess the train you mentionned with 5 lit cars alone uses about 4 amps..