For the last five years I've been running my trains through a reverse loop Yesterday, The locos stopped dead entering the loop. I replaced the Lenz 100 reverser. Nothing. I then put another loco facing toward the loco and everything goes on. What's going on?
I'm stumped!
Douglas Edwards
dougedw4@aol.com
Check your gaps to make sure none of them has closed up. Also check to make sure your feeders are in place, and no wires have come in contact that shouldn't be.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thank you for your advice.I hadn't checked that
Doug Edwards
how about an update , Doug. has the problem been solved? thinking of putting a couple of these reverse loop gizmos in ,so this is of interest to me...thanks Jerry
BIG JERRthinking of putting a couple of these reverse loop gizmos in ,so this is of interest to me...thanks Jerry
Jerry, I've got two of the Tony's Trains reversers. They have worked perfectly since I put them in. They cost more than some of the others, but they feature all solid-state switching. This makes them both faster and more reliable than cheaper relay-based reversers. They also have circuit-breaker protection built in, which is another nice feature.
Doug - yes, please let us know how you resolve your problem. These reverse-loop problems have a lot of different causes, and they're among the trickiest to solve. Any more information you can pass back to us will help solve future issues. Thanks.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
BIG JERR thinking of putting a couple of these reverse loop gizmos in ,so this is of interest to me.
Hey Jerry,
You may already know this but since I just had this problem I thought I'd mention it. My reverse loops using the reversers Mr B mentioned have been working flawlessly until today. A short developed and after a lot of searching I found that the rail in one of the insulated joiners appeared not to have a gap. I used a razor saw and a rail nipper to widen it. Problem solved.
Evidently the pressure from the rail in the joint was too much for the plastic insulated joiner.
A 1/8" gap is recommended and the gaps should be staggered.
Hope this helps.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
I just went through this and got some good advice in a thread I started titled "I'm stumped...AGAIN". If you are interested, you can read through my problem, the advice I received, and the steps I took to remedy it.
I can tell you that while the performance of my reverser has improved significantly, I am still having sporadic shorts which I find unacceptable in such a critical location as the entries and exits to my loop staging yards. I am beginning to suspect the reverser might be on its last legs and I am considering replacing it. I'll make that decision after I get a better idea how frequently this problem will occur.
jecorbettI just went through this and got some good advice in a thread I started titled "I'm stumped...AGAIN". If you are interested, you can read through my problem, the advice I received, and the steps I took to remedy it. I can tell you that while the performance of my reverser has improved significantly, I am still having sporadic shorts which I find unacceptable in such a critical location as the entries and exits to my loop staging yards. I am beginning to suspect the reverser might be on its last legs and I am considering replacing it. I'll make that decision after I get a better idea how frequently this problem will occur.
Much, much, much more likely that there's another wiring problem, or an intermittent short. Do some testing using a screwdriver to bridge the gaps, and try to narrow it down. I don't remember what kind of reverser you have, but electronics generally don't fail gradually, it's more all or nothing.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
thanks guys, and yes I was looking at Tonys reverser's/breaker . mine is a simple loop in the fact there's no switch ,Id call it a long dog bone with all the strait parallel east/west track/w cross overs being one zone and each loop at ends being the reverse loop zones, If I'm understanding how they work ,this wood be simple . like I said if I understand correctly ,that's where my fear is. Jerry
BIG JERRthat's where my fear is
Hi Jerry,
As I understand your track plan you have a double track main but it joins together at both ends of the dogbone to create one loop at each end.
Bite the bullet and call Tony's 800 # and order two reversers. Tell them what you're doing and they will steer you straight.
The reversers will come with instructions plus you can count on the others who have posted to this thread, very knowledgeable by the way, as well as others to help if you have a problem.
They did it for me.
It's possible to save some coins and use only one auto-reverse module for both ends of your dogbone layout IF you're absolutely sure that you'll never have two different trains in the ends at the same time.
I have three reverse sections on my home HO scale layout connected to one PS-REV module because they are so far apart that there's no way one train can ever be in more than one of them at a time.
And following Tony's instructions to stagger your rail gaps at least 1/8 inch at both ends when using his PS-REV insures reliable operation.