Running Multiple trains

[northernpike]

Hi

I have a large layout, powered by two kws.  There are 4 separate loops, not connected in any way to the other.  Can I run two trains on each loop?  Is it a manner of putting the e units in forward for example and spacing them out?

Thanks

 

[lionelsoni]

I think you will find that, after a while, one train will catch up to the other.  There is a simple way to make each train stop at a particular point (at an optional signal) and wait while the other makes its trip around the loop.  Would you be interested in that?

[northernpike]

Hi Bob,

That would be great-Is that what is known as a block system?

 

[phillyreading]

Hi

I have a large layout, powered by two kws.  There are 4 separate loops, not connected in any way to the other.  Can I run two trains on each loop?  Is it a manner of putting the e units in forward for example and spacing them out?

Thanks

There are basicly two ways to do this besides using the e units. The first is to use block sections by inserting insulating pins in the center rails and using toggle switches to interupt power, spacing needs to be longer than your trains.  The second method is to use relays with insulating pins, Bob Nelson can help you with that I think.

Lee Fritz

[lionelsoni]

No relays.  Have no gaps in the center rail all the way around the loop.  But, in the outside rails create a "stop block" in which both outside rails are connected to each other but isolated from the other outside rails generally.  Make this block long enough to hold an entire train.  Also create an "approach block" leading up to the stop block.  In this block, isolate only one of the outside rails and connect that rail to the otherwise isolated rails of the stop block.  Make this block long enough that as the moving train approaches the stopped train, there will be enough time for the stopped train to move out of the stop block before the approaching train hits it.

Here's how it works:  When the moving train reaches the approach block, it connects the isolated rails to the non-isolated rails through its wheels and axles.  The stopped train then has voltage on its track and begins to move out of the stop block.  The approaching train moves into the stop block until is fully inside it and then stops because the isolated rails have become isolated again.

It is important that the couplers do not conduct electricity from car to car, since the current might pass through the tiny knuckle springs of metal couplers and damage them.  So, unless one coupler at each joint is plastic or a dummy, or the wheel bearings are plastic, you will need to insulate the knuckles with a bit of tape.

You can also add a signal at the point where the trains stop.  Connect the green light to the center rail, the red light to the non-isolated outside rails, and the signal's common terminal to the isolated rails.  The signal will be green when the train is moving into the stop block and red when it stops.