Reverse loop

[Anonymous]

I am a beginer at model railroading and i am havig some trouble. There is a reverse loop in my track so i bought some plastic insulators. I am not quite sure exactly where to put them, and i am wondering if i am going to need some kind of switch to reverse the polarity in the track. Maybey you can help me out .

[preceng]

Atlas (www.atlasrr.com/) makes a switch called the "Controller" that makes the wiring easy for a loop. They also have a book "BASIC WIRING FOR MODEL RAILROADERS" that shows you how to wire the switch.

Have fun

[IRONROOSTER]

Here is one way. Using the insulated rail joiners isolate a length of track in the reverse loop long enough to hold your train. This could be the whole loop beyond the turnout if there are no other turnouts in the loop leading back to the mainline. Use two insulated rail joiners at each end. You need two dpdt toggle switches. Wire the power to the isolated section through one and the mainline through the other. When the train is in the isolated section flip the switch on the mainline. You need to have the isolated switch set to match the mainline track polarity as you enter the isolated section. Note this will differ depending on which leg of the turnout you use entering the reversing loop.

This page http://www.nmra.org/beginner/wiring.html has a discussion with some drawings of wiring a reversing loop that is part of an oval as well as other wiring information.

Enjoy
Paul