I have installed all my track; I have two main line "loops" with a couple of crosser points, and within the loops I have my yard and some sidings. In various places on both the inside and outside main as well as the yard I have installed 6 terminal joiners for about 200 total foot of track, all level, no grade. Is this going to be enough power to run 3 maybe 4 loco's at once? Also does it matter how I wire those terminals, or as long as one goes to positive and one to negative and I stay consistent on "that" specifc track I will be ok? I just want to avoid any shorting out... HELP!!!
I don't have a lot of confidence that only six terminal joiner pairs around all that length of track you say is in place will be enough to keep the voltage robust everywhere, but the final arbiters will always be our trains. They'll let us know when we go to run 'em. Ideally, there should be a pair of feeders servicing every 10' of track or less, and that's for good quality copper feeders of 22 gauge or better with short lengths under 24".
As for shorting, you will get them if all the left rails aren't one polarity and the other side isn't all the other polarity. I work on wiring with the center of the layout as my reference point. There is always one rail closest to the center of the layout, and those rails should always have the black wires. No, wait, the white/red/yellow/green ones...but do make up your mind, and do keep it consistent. That way, no matter what side of the layout you are on, the rails closest to the center get the red/black/gree/yellow/white wires...always your choice. The outer rails always get the other colour. Then you just hook up the terminals on the power supply or base station appropriately. No shorts if you don't have any reversals in polarity, either the inadvertent /screw-up kind or the kind engineered into the track plan with a turning wye or reversing loop.
Crandell
What about crossovers and turnouts? Do they take care of themselves based on position? I am not "wiring" any of them, the will all be switched manually.
It depends on the crossovers and turnouts. If some are power-routing, you could end up having to gap them at both the through exit and the diverging exit (moving from the points onward) where each meets the ensuing and ongoing rails.
Sometimes it is better to just leave those gaps as a matter of course and use ballast to keep alignment. That way, it's a built-in measure from the get-go that will obviate having to go back later and figure out where to cut the gaps if there is a short.
I used Peco no. 6 switches and atlas No. 8's. Any help?
One more question... I added about 12 more terminal locations to the 6 I already had: I now have them about every 8 feet on both main lines and also in the yards. IS 22 GAUGE WIRE LARGE ENOUGH AS THE MAIN POS/NEG LINE THAT I AM GOING TO ATTACH THE TERMINALS TO? Again, thanks for all the help!
Larger wire than 22 gauge would be better for the main power feed. I prefer 14 or 16 gauge stranded speaker wire for the main bus.
I upgraded the main to 12gauge and the terminal feeders to the 22 gauge; hope this is an improvement. When I get the the last terminal feeder, do I just cap off the mains there or do they need to return somewhere? Of coarse the mains are both attached to my power-pack on the other end of the line(s)...
Missouri Pacific BNSF I upgraded the main to 12gauge and the terminal feeders to the 22 gauge; hope this is an improvement. When I get the the last terminal feeder, do I just cap off the mains there or do they need to return somewhere? Of coarse the mains are both attached to my power-pack on the other end of the line(s)...
They don't have to go anywhere,, you can attache your last set of feeders to them or tape so they don't touch
Cheers,
Frank