I am debating putting in a third rail. Thinking an N scale rail sitting right next to the outside rail. But I am also realizing that it being so close to the rail it could cause electrical glitching, due to how close the truck actually sits to the rail.
So am I being paranoid, or is this a legitamate concern. I was trying to think of ways of insulate the system so that it wouldn't short the DCC or the DC system. It also needs something looks realistic.
Images Replicas makes a third-rail system for HO, using Code 70 rail:
http://www.imagesreplicas.com/accessories.htm
Assuming that you're not really going to power the cars with the third rail, you could use plastic "rail" instead.
I'd be worried about any physical contact between trucks and a third rail system, though. It's probably not appropriate to put this on a shared line that would also be used by freights.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
On the prototype the third rail is about 20" from the gauge side of the running rail. Over running or under running? Check out modelmemories.com.
MisterBeasley I'd be worried about any physical contact between trucks and a third rail system, though. It's probably not appropriate to put this on a shared line that would also be used by freights.
Well the only place that this would be used would be into a coke retort for the coal and then for the tank car full of distillates. I have seen overhead wire into coke retorts for the coal, but after further research they used a third rail to go into the tank car areas.
You can model an under-running third rail pretty accurately with a stripwood rail. The ones I'm familiar with (NYC in New York City in the '50s) were encased in wood to protect passersby from potentially lethal encounters with the powered rail.
Incidentally, in third rail territory the rail joints in 39 foot stick rail had BIG jumper cables welded around them - equivalent to about #18 stranded wire in HO - both rails. NYC didn't trust rail joiners to conduct power...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with simulated catenary and real joint jumpers)