You might want to use blocking your track with a feeder to each block, electrically isolating each block from the others, if it's DC.
Chu Chu,
If you haven't got the information you need from the above, I suggest you start a separate thread for a specific area of question. That should peak the interest of those that can help.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Cheers, the Bear
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Welcome to the forum!
Having a lot of HO experience and only a brief time in N, the only area of question I can address is power hook ups. I "assume" this is a DC powered loco (vs. DCC). If so, and assuming you have a single run of track about 110 ft long, I would hook up power every 10 feet or so.
I suspect you could get away with say 15 or so feet, but you will never regret putting in more feeders vs. less.
The power pack that came with the set might work ok, but I think its "iffy" and in any case may not hold out for long. So I would definitely replace it with a bigger one - preferrably from MRC.
The auto reversing feature is out of my league, having only experienced that with some Lionel units from my youth.
Good luck to you - and know there are a lot of folks here willing to help out!
Hi all! First post!
So my 10 year old and I are about to embark on a new adventure building a train system in our main family room. This will be up near the ceiling along an existing wooden lighting system. This is just a track, no scenery, no crossing, no cute little cows or farms or drive in movie theaters. The train would run back and forth for maybe an hour a week. I've figured some things out but still need some help with layout. I'll be using Atlas 55 flex track due to the low profile. Here are some of my questions:
1. Due to the overall track length (110' total), I understand I need to wire the track up at certain intervals due to voltage drop. How do I know how often to bring more power to the track? 20ft? 50ft? Do I need to check voltage drops with a multimeter.
2. I have a dead end. My goal is to have it automatically slow down, hit a reverse signal of some sort, and head in the opposite direction. I've seen a 'kit' that does something like this, but I'd like to understand how to do it without a kit. Also, because I'm usuing flex track without any track bedding (is that what it's called?), the kit won't even work in my case since it comes with track similar to Kato track.
3. How do I go about deciding what controller to purchase? Out of curiousity, I did buy the Kato Commuter series starter set just to get the feel for N scale, speed, etc. It has a basic controller. Could I just use that or do I need a special controler for my setup?
I know I can spend weeks or years learning about this, but hoping I can get a jumpstart from you kind folks. Also plan on stopping by my local train club and chatting with them for a bit. Thank you so much for any help you might send my way!!!