In the Atlas Seven great track plans I have wired my 2 transformers and my # 205 connector exactly as shown. However I can switch transformers ny moving the 4 switches up and back but my problem is I cant get 2 trains to run independently. Ideas?
Glad you got you post over here in the right forum. If you are not running DCC, you can not run two train indepedently. That is why they invented DCC. You could always have two seperate "loops" on the same layout but they need to be insulated from each other.
'Independent' operation on a 2 cab layout like that goes somethign like this:
Train A starts in section 1, that Selector is switched to power pack A. Train B starts over in section 6, that Selector button is set to power pakc B. In their own blocks, you can control each train indepdnently witht he power pack assigned. As the train moves past the boundaries to the next block, you must switch the next Selector button to the correct power pack so the train keeps moving. When the train clears a block, put that Selector switch back to the middle so nothign unexpected happens. Atlas track plans usually divide up passing sidings on two different sections of a Selector, so you can set the main to pack A and the siding to pack B and set the turnouts and runt he trains around one another. If the trains aren't longer than the siding, you can do this without stoppign either one, but it takes practice. Best to stop one or both the first few times til you get the hang of which switches to flip and when. At no point can you allow one train into the block occupied by the other, or now both trains will be controlled by the same power pack, and independent control is lost.
---Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
When our club started in 1982, we had four cabs and fourteen blocks. You had to pay attention to what you are doing and a dispatcher was needed to control the block selection..
I have lost track on many times I have heard, Who has my train?
DCC is far much easier
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
NP RedIf you are not running DCC, you can not run two train indepedently.
Not strictly correct. Before DCC there was cab control through multiple blocks. Although it's clumsy to do it with the Atlas components, it has be done for decades. But the two trains must be in separate electrical blocks.
Although he didn't mention it, the layout he built is the "Great Eastern Trunk", which is designed with multiple blocks including two concentric ovals. So it should be possible to run two engines. Not as easily as DCC, but certainly possible.
Chitty ChittyIn the Atlas Seven great track plans I have wired my 2 transformers and my # 205 connector exactly as shown.
You didn't mention the 3 Atlas Selector #215 components that are part of that layout's bill of materials. Do you have those and are they wired as the book suggests? Did you use insulating rail joiners and separate feed wires to create multiple independent electrical blocks on the layout as in the instructions?
The #215 Selector has four double-throw switches, so you can connect it to power pack "A" or power pack "B" and then to the individual track blocks. The Atlas #205 Connector is only a single throw switch, so it is only "on" and "off". The #205 Connector can't be used by itself to connect two power packs to the layout.
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I have DCC trains and I could and later will invest in DCC pack but, it just sounds too easy right now. I need the challenge first, then I may decide to go the easy route. Since my first post last night and a good breakfast today and some additional reading, I figured it out. Something Atlas doesn't tell you in the plans that if you want to run your trains in the opposite direction you need to insulate both side of the trak + and- not just C. Thanks for your help. Chitty
To me DCC is like buying a handicapped van that would help me inside. I am not handicapped (yet).
NP Red Glad you got you post over here in the right forum. If you are not running DCC, you can not run two train independently. That is why they invented DCC. You could always have two separate "loops" on the same layout but they need to be insulated from each other.
Glad you got you post over here in the right forum. If you are not running DCC, you can not run two train independently. That is why they invented DCC. You could always have two separate "loops" on the same layout but they need to be insulated from each other.
Exactly, Thank you for your time. Chitty
rrinker 'Independent' operation on a 2 cab layout like that goes somethign like this: Train A starts in section 1, that Selector is switched to power pack A. Train B starts over in section 6, that Selector button is set to power pakc B. In their own blocks, you can control each train indepdnently witht he power pack assigned. As the train moves past the boundaries to the next block, you must switch the next Selector button to the correct power pack so the train keeps moving. When the train clears a block, put that Selector switch back to the middle so nothign unexpected happens. Atlas track plans usually divide up passing sidings on two different sections of a Selector, so you can set the main to pack A and the siding to pack B and set the turnouts and runt he trains around one another. If the trains aren't longer than the siding, you can do this without stoppign either one, but it takes practice. Best to stop one or both the first few times til you get the hang of which switches to flip and when. At no point can you allow one train into the block occupied by the other, or now both trains will be controlled by the same power pack, and independent control is lost. ---Randy
richg1998 When our club started in 1982, we had four cabs and fourteen blocks. You had to pay attention to what you are doing and a dispatcher was needed to control the block selection.. I have lost track on many times I have heard, Who has my train? DCC is far much easier Rich Please explain to me how and why DCC is much easier? Don't you still have to watch your locos?
Please explain to me how and why DCC is much easier? Don't you still have to watch your locos?
Chitty Chitty richg1998: When our club started in 1982, we had four cabs and fourteen blocks. You had to pay attention to what you are doing and a dispatcher was needed to control the block selection.. I have lost track on many times I have heard, Who has my train? DCC is far much easier Rich Please explain to me how and why DCC is much easier? Don't you still have to watch your locos?
richg1998: When our club started in 1982, we had four cabs and fourteen blocks. You had to pay attention to what you are doing and a dispatcher was needed to control the block selection.. I have lost track on many times I have heard, Who has my train? DCC is far much easier Rich Please explain to me how and why DCC is much easier? Don't you still have to watch your locos?
So with DCC all you have to watch is the loco. No one is glued to a control panel flipping block switches trying to keep the track properly electrified in front of the moving train.
Chitty Chitty. Since my first post last night and a good breakfast today and some additional reading, I figured it out. Something Atlas doesn't tell you in the plans that if you want to run your trains in the opposite direction you need to insulate both side of the trak + and- not just C.
I have DCC trains and I could and later will invest in DCC pack but, it just sounds too easy right now. To me DCC is like buying a handicapped van that would help me inside. I am not handicapped (yet).
While I am a master of block cab control wiring - there is no such thing as too easy. I want to play with my trains not solve wiring puzzles.
Chitty Chitty I have DCC trains and I could and later will invest in DCC pack but, it just sounds too easy right now. I need the challenge first, then I may decide to go the easy route. Since my first post last night and a good breakfast today and some additional reading, I figured it out. Something Atlas doesn't tell you in the plans that if you want to run your trains in the opposite direction you need to insulate both side of the trak + and- not just C. Thanks for your help. Chitty To me DCC is like buying a handicapped van that would help me inside. I am not handicapped (yet).
DC is a handicap, as it prevents you from doing many things. Like coupling two locomotives by actually driving one up to the other and coupling with it. With DC, both of them would move in the same direction and never meet. Unless one reaches a dead block and halts due to a lack of power.
Chitty Chitty To me DCC is like buying a handicapped van that would help me inside. I am not handicapped (yet).
To me, the difference is more like using an IPOD instead of a Victrolla.
Martin Myers
I made the transition from American Flyer S-gauge to HO about 8 years ago and went immediately to DCC operation. I cannot imagine how DC guys operated their trains with block control for decades before DCC came along. Too complicated and intense for me.
Alton Junction
Chitty Chitty In the Atlas Seven great track plans I have wired my 2 transformers and my # 205 connector exactly as shown. However I can switch transformers ny moving the 4 switches up and back but my problem is I cant get 2 trains to run independently. Ideas?
As Cuyama asked, "Are you using #205 Connectors or #215 Selectors?" You have not answered the question yet. There is a significant difference in use and capability.
The #205 Connectors are used in conjunction with one throttle (power pack) and multiple locomotives. The #205 Connectors shut off power to a given block; they can only turn on power from one power pack.
The #215 Selector - what is called for in the wiring diagrams for your layout - allows you to select power pack A, power pack B, or off. This enables 2 train operation using 2 separate power packs. As long as the power packs are separate - or are a dual pack made by MRC - you can use the common rail wiring diagrammed by Atlas. There is no need to gap or put insulated joiners in both rails.
If you are going to use DC on more than this particular layout, I strongly recommend buying Sperando's book on wiring from Kalmbach. I use DC at home; the modular group I belong to uses DCC. The layout you are building will work fairly well with DC with a minimum of Selector switch moving due to the double track. But staying with DC on a layout which is not already diagrammed by Atlas requires learning about how DC block wiring works. The Atlas system is the easiest DC system to learn (by design by Atlas) to wire but the result is a more annoying to operate. Preplanning a DC control system and not being limited to Atlas turnouts and controls allows you to use power routing and contacts on switch machines to do a lot of block selection automatically based on turnout position. Block toggles or rotary switches can be located where you want, including directly on a layout diagram.
But if you are just waiting for the opportunity to switch to DCC, you are likely not going to want to invest a lot of time in learning DC. Just follow the Atlas directions exactly (unless you modified the layout) and all should be well.
Fred W
In studying the Atlas web site, there is a DCC wiring diagram for layout #25 that makes very little sense. I wouldn't wire this layout for DCC that way, and it won't work for DC two train control. The DC power pack in the diagram is only used to rotate the turntable. The #205 Connectors are nice to haves for DCC, but certainly not necessary on this size layout. Atlas is using the Connectors as a DCC distribution point with the ability to turn each section off independently. The Connectors exist because Atlas assumes you have already laid the track with insulated rail joiners or cut gaps.
You want to use the DC wiring information in the Seven HO Step-by-Step Layouts (page 13 in my version of the book). If you are using the Atlas turntable, then you need an Atlas Controller wired as the diagram shows. Later, when you switch to DCC, you simply do away with the Controller, and attach the DCC system as Power Pack A or Power Pack B to the Selectors. Move all the Selectors to the DCC side, and disconnect both DC power packs. One DC power pack will still be needed to power switch machines and the turntable motor.
hope this helps
That sould be obvious to any engineer.
A fair amount of modelers do not watch their locos. Since you belong to the Male species, that should be obvious. We Geezers are notorious for that. It can be expensive when a valuable loco runs off the end of the layout where new work was being done. Not paying attention to the turnout. Happened to a couple guys in our club. One never came back after that episode.
It can still happen with DCC.