Max Feet of Track per Power Pack?

[Anonymous]

Hey Train Buffs... got a electrical question.. how many feet of track can I run on an 'average' power pack..? When do I need to start considering adding more power? Right now I've got a single pack powering about 120ft of track in a loop and notice on the far-end of the loop a drop in performance.. any suggestions?

tks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried connecting a feeder wire to the far end and perhaps at some intermittant points as well?

[BR60103]

You don't need more power pack -- all that would give you is more speed near the power pack.
You are probably losing most of your power in the rail joints -- even the best are less perfect than rail.
Run large bus wires (bell wire to lampcord size) from your power pack to the other end of the layout. Every so often, run smaller wires from the bus to the track. Make sure to connect the rails to the right bus.
-David the Platelayer

[Anonymous]

Without going into a long discussion of electrical resistance there's no "pat" answer to your question. With the proper connetions and feeders an "average" power pack of a 2 amp output is capable of powering several hundred feet of track with no problems. The major cause of voltage/current drop at the far end of a loop of track is poor contact between track sections. Rail joiners simply don't make a good electrical connection. In addition to the rail joiners solder the track joints also. Also add a "feeder" to the far end of the track loop. If you are using a power pack that came with a train set consider purchasing a better one. Train set power packs usually have a current (amp) output of less than 1/2 amp. That's less than a D Cell flashlite battery!!!....Hope this helped...Vic

[Anonymous]

Great advice.. thanks folks! I know rail joiners are not the best connection / conductors.. I'll follow up with solder and additional feeder wiring and give it a spin.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

What is a bus wire.Does the end of it connect to any thing.Do you run wires from the middle of it to the track.I got a power command 9500 is that a good power supply.

[BR60103]

That's jargon.
A Bus wire is a heavy wire that a lot of other wires are connected to.
It's also used as a computer term for the circuit thingy that the boards are plugged into.
-David

[Anonymous]

Thanks.Now what size of wires do i need.