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Well, I have figured out my problem after countless hours of testing and an unlikely solution. I found out that I did in fact have a short in my electrical system that I fixed by switching all my feeder wires in the blocks to the neutral position. After I did this, I had no problems for an operating day, but havn't taken my trains out to play for close to 2 months [V] now due to my busy school load of AP and Honors classes and numerous after school activities. When I went out tonight to pull a very long test train to check about 50 feet of track i just relaid, I was shocked that my power pack once again told me there was a short. I tried turning off everything but the motors and even went as far as to dismantle part of my control panel, but there was still a short. There was nothing touching both rails and so my dad suggested testing the resistance between the rails whithout the power pack or train on it. We were shocked to see the needle go all the way, indicating a circut. As I was pondering this, my father tested the wrong piece of track, which was just laying on the ground in my station area and he didn't realize it wasn't connected. However, it showed that there was a circut between the rail of a piece of LGB flex track. Then, my dad's hand slipped and the wires touched the ground. And yes, you guessed it, the ground showed a closed circut. I could not believe my horrified eyes when i saw the needle move. I tested it myself further away, but the needle showed no resistance. As it would turn out, i was touching one wire to the dirt and one to my balast. And you probably guessed it again-my balast conducts electricity. Yes. The balast I use over all 350 feet of track works as one big short circut, all 2 tons of it. It turns out the problem was that I had wired my track for a block system when i first put it in, the decided to eventually convert it to batery power or DCC and i neglected all the connections i put into the blocks. Some of these wires worked loose over time and other i never bothered to reconnect after replacing a section of track and so they got burried in the balast that i use as a subroadbed as well as balast. The quarry that i go to calls it Base Fines. Between these wires, and some areas where too much balast was applied and the fines touch the rail on the sides, and the plastic ties themselves, my entire railway is one giant circut. If you find this humerous, I did too (as well as horrifying). If anyone else encounters a rather strange problem such as this, test your balast and sub roadbed to see if they conduct electricity. it may measure very small resistance, but when large amount are put in, the result is disasterous. Well, I hope that this can prevent a similar disaster on someone else's railway and save them hours of trouble. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this so that i can still use electrical power through the rails on my railway?
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