Isolating track

[sailor38]

Well, here I am again with yet ANOTHER question.
I want to isolate some of my yard track. It won't be a return loop or anything fancy. I just want the ability to have stubs powered or unpowered. Can I do that with just a simple SPST switch?

[NZRMac]

You can just isolate one rail with a plastic joiner or a gap and then wire both sides of the gap with the spst on off switch.

Ken

Opps I meant SPST [:I]

[SteelMonsters]

DPST I think you are refering to NZRMac. I have a bunch of DPST relays instead of SPDT from a simular mistake.

To make the difference more clear. Pole is the number of poles or commons, and Throw is the number of positions the common can contact.

Dual Pole single throw means you have two commons and only one contact per common. It's either on or off. A single pole Dual Throw means you have one common and it connects to one contact or the other..

The exception to this rule is Dual Throw switches with a center off. They have three positions but are still called dual throw.

Yes you can do that with a SPST switch. Simply gap the rail you want to kill, both sides if it's a run around. Isolate the feeders to the switch, and connect the bus wire that used to power the rail to the other lead on the switch. There are two uses for doing this. Parking locos on a DC layout, and turning off lights on sitting cars on either DC or DCC.

[challenger3802]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NZRMac

You can just isolate one rail with a plastic joiner or a gap and then wire both sides of the gap with the spst on off switch.

Alternatively fit double isolators across at the track joint and wire through a DPST, thus ensuring the complete block is isolated - no chance of an engine getting power.

All my sidings are double isolated and wired through DPST switches, I know with the switches in the off position there's no chance a loco will pick up current from one track and fly off unexpectedly!

Ian

[Anonymous]

You can use power routed turnouts on the stub tracks. When the turnout is thrown to the other route from the stub, the stub is not powered. This type of turnout uses the points to direct the current. It will save you the cost of a switch as these turnouts are no more expensive than the other type which has power to each route no matter which way the turnout is thrown.

[Anonymous]

I am a new modeler myself and I would like to do the same sort of thing. I just doen't understand some of the terms used. I want to, at least until i get DCC., to have two seperate lines. One will be bringing full ore or coal cars down the mnt. to a processing plant and bringing up the empty cars to a staging area. the other will be bringing the empty cars down through the mine. At the bottom, it will exchange the empty ones for the full ones. The bottom of the mine will be attached to the back of the processing plant so that the cars will keep getting switched. this way two people can play at the same time. Hope this is a good explanation. The question is making a dead spot in the middle of the two staging areas so that each line can acess the cars from either end.

hope that was not too long winded. fishingfan