T-bird_the_Great Okay, so then if I have a, I believe it is called a double pull double throw switch, with a center off, would that cut power to the track completely. I am asking because I want to run DCC or DC when I need it, so if that works then great. Thanks for the reply.
Okay, so then if I have a, I believe it is called a double pull double throw switch, with a center off, would that cut power to the track completely. I am asking because I want to run DCC or DC when I need it, so if that works then great. Thanks for the reply.
DPDT= Double Pole Double Throw (close)
A DPDT should work. I would recommend an ON(DCC)-OFF-ON(DC) configuration.
A fellow club member uses the same rotary switches for his block control for switching from DC to DCC. He uses blocks 1-4 and 6 for DC. Block 5 connects all blocks together for DCC operation. He also has many tracks connected to DPST switches to drop power to certain tracks so he doesnt have to handle his more detailed DC locomotives.
LION has "emergency stop" buttons all around the layout. Thes are NC push buttons, and their circuit holds in a relay to the track power. Pressing a button from anywhere on the layout cuts all traction power. (It also stops the automation timer and the Railroad Clock").
Cutting off the power strip of course does the same thing.
Signals are on a separate system and remain lit all of the time, and thus the model board always knows the location of all of the trains.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I would also recommend unplugging or disconnecting your layout from the power source when not in use. It's much safer.
It can also save your sanity. I thought I had turned my throttle down to zero. Instead it was set at 2. I went upsairs for diner and returned about an hour later. The train I had been running was gone. Vanished. It was nowhere to be seen on the layout. I thought I had completely lost my mind. As I started back upstairs ( to get some reassurance from my wife ) I spotted something in a tunnel. It was the headlight of the train I had been running. It seems a speed setting of 2 was enough to let the train creep around the track and into the tunnel. In the 15-20 minutes I was hunting the train ( and reassuring myself that I hadn't lost my mind ) the train creeped forward enough to be seen in a tunnel portal.
I now shut off all the power to my layout whenever I'm not going to be there for any length of time.
I am a LION. The Broadway LION. I run a layout with SUBWAY TRAINS.
LION uses DC, this DCC stuff buys me nothing since I while I do have four (nice furry) paws, I still have only on head, and thus could control only one train at a time. But Layout of LION is as him said a SUBWAY layout, and it needs lots of trains running at once. What is a LION to do.
Him builded analog automation (don't ask or I'll tell you all about it!).
Anyway, Him has a 10 volt / 13 amp main power supply for the trains. Him has a dual transformer system (-12v dc / +12v dc) to tickle the turtles and to provide other power, including a bus called "Hotel Power" for layout lighting and stuff. Him also has a 16v dc bus for signals and relays. Subway layouts, did I telly I was building a subway layout?, have lots of signals, they are only hundreds of scale feet apart. Well, yeah, trains only run three minutes apart.
Well, Power. LION shuts off all but the 16 volt signal bus. Thus when the room is closed down and every thing else is shut off, all of the signals remain lit, and the relays that are active remain active, thus when I turn things on again, the signal system will still protect all of the trains instead of having to learn their locations all over again. After all, LIONS like to keep things simple.
BTW: there is no point of unplugging stuff, because lighting is just as likely to affect the ground side of the circuit, and all of my circuits use a HARD GROUND from the main building switchboards. There is no disconnect at all. (Don't Ask, or I will tell you).
T_bird,
I will first, second the to the hobby.
Next, I will second the advice to disconnect power when not in use. What I do is, dedicate a power strip. When the layout is not being used, just unplug the power strip from the outlet, no power is being supplied to the layout after this. This is an added protection, any power surges can not hurt trains or power supplies this way. Even with cheap electricity here lightning strikes, and power surges can (and do) happen on occasion. It is not cheap to replace power supplies (and locomotives and switch machines) when those rare occasions do happen.
BTW, you might ask, how I know that a lightning strike nearby can harm layout power supplies and or other on layout equipment.... On mine, while my Layout and DCC command station were indeed unplugged, my computer, and DCC station-to-computer connector, were not... One fried locomotive decoder, stationary decoder, tortoise switch machine, signal controller, command station, hand held throttle, computer connector, computer, and UPS later, the bill was quite high..... I now disconnect the computer connection as well, and, when these things are nearby, unplug my computer also.... Lesson learned.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
T-bird_the_Great Hi, I'm new to model railroading, and I am onto my wiring part of my little 5x9 layout. I have a question on the wiring of switches and sidings. For one, do I have to do anything special to wire the switches besides powering all of the rail endings? For the sidings, do I have to have them isolated from the current or can they just have their own power all of the time? Finally, that same question for the layout. Do I have to have an on/off switch for the layout, or can I just leave it on say overnight?
Hi, I'm new to model railroading, and I am onto my wiring part of my little 5x9 layout. I have a question on the wiring of switches and sidings. For one, do I have to do anything special to wire the switches besides powering all of the rail endings? For the sidings, do I have to have them isolated from the current or can they just have their own power all of the time? Finally, that same question for the layout. Do I have to have an on/off switch for the layout, or can I just leave it on say overnight?
I would recommend unplugging the layout anytime it is unattended. As for switches, the brand/type will determine what if any special wiring will have to be done. The frog is were a turnout will come to grief electrically. If you scroll down on the right side of this page and type in "wiring turnouts for DCC" in the search the community block (a poorly advertised feature of the forums to new users); you will probably find a relevant topic with your quesion answered.
Or you can check your Local Hobby Shop for the DCC Guide by Don Fiehmann. It has a chapter that describes the basics of layout wiring for DCC including revesing loops and wiring turnouts.