HObbyguyA related question- what is the thinking regarding isolating power districts?
Assuming your layout isn't so large that it requires multiple boosters, this choice is based on how much track you want to inspect to find the cause when you have a short. I'm building a multi level layout. The levels are all isolated and each is fed by a PSX circuit breaker. The reverse loops at each end are fed with PSX-AR's.
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carl425 HObbyguy A related question- what is the thinking regarding isolating power districts? Assuming your layout isn't so large that it requires multiple boosters, this choice is based on how much track you want to inspect to find the cause when you have a short. I'm building a multi level layout. The levels are all isolated and each is fed by a PSX circuit breaker. The reverse loops at each end are fed with PSX-AR's.
HObbyguy A related question- what is the thinking regarding isolating power districts?
One, if a short occurs anywhere on the layout, only that particular power district is affected so that the other power districts remain operative. No loss of power, no loss of sound, no loss of lighting.
Two, it is a lot easier to find and resolve the short.
Rich
Alton Junction
weather you need to allow for expantion and contraction depends on your layout materials. On Unitrack, this may be an issue, never experimented on them.
"weather" / environment was the major cause I experienced some rather severe expansion/contraction in track. My environment was a garage which experienced extreme temperature variations - well below freezing in the winter with accompanying dry air and well above 90 degree's in the summer along with extremely humid air. I laid most of the track in the summer and soldered it, and in the winter it had pulled apart and many of the solder joints broke. I don't think I'd want to build a layout in that kind of place again without some major environmental controls (insulation, heating in winter and cooling in summer along with a dehumidifier).
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
HObbyguy A related question- what is the thinking regarding isolating power districts? My layout is now growing and I am debating whether it is worth creating seperate districts or not.
A related question- what is the thinking regarding isolating power districts? My layout is now growing and I am debating whether it is worth creating seperate districts or not.
In my case it was forced upon me. With DCC, even locos which aren't moving are drawing a small amount of power. It reached a point where the power draw exceeded the capacity of my booster (5 amps if I remember right). I had to seperate my layout into two power districts so that a a good number of them will be in seperate districts. I also added an on/off switch to the round house so that it won't be drawing power except when I am moving a loco in or out of it. Until my roster exceeded the capacity of my booster, my layout operated just fine with just one district.
There seem to be a lot of comments made about not soldering every joint to allow for rail expansion/contraction. From what I've learned from other posts, it's not actually the rail that expands/contracts, it's the wood used to make benchwork. This is especially true in layout locations where the temperature and humidity vary. Some of the cures include painting the benchwork to seal the wood.
My layout is in my basement, which stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This is due to the fact that our basement has ductwork in it. This keeps the environment fairly stable.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Here's a very recent story on this topic.
It was very rainy and humid here in Georgia through October and into November this year. My layout is in the basement which is on the house central AC system, but it wasn't warm enough for AC most of the time. The humidity in the main house gradually built up to well over 70%, probably even higher in the basement. I laid new track during this time- a long straight run (10' plus) with a new viaduct bridge in the middle. This was on benchwork that was completed almost two years ago so the wood is well seasoned.
I finally broke down and bought a dehumidifier with a built-in pump for the basement and got the humidity down below 50%, and then the weather finally cleared out so we are finally back to normal here humidity-wise.
When I tried to reinstall the viaduct this past weekend (I had it out a few weeks while working on terrain and landscaping) there was no way it would go back in. The rails had to be trimmed at least 1/16" or so to get it to fit. Don't know if the change in humidity caused it but I can't think of anything else. It makes me think that leaving some expansion gaps on unsoldered connections is indeed a good idea on long runs.
Huntington Junction - Freelance based on the B&O and C&O in coal country before the merger... doing it my way. Now working on phase 3. - Walt
For photos and more: http://www.wkhobbies.com/model-railroad/
Before you spend considerable time and effort feeding every rail or nearly every one, consider your particular layout and construction materials and methods. Remember that except for locations that will be inaccessible, you can always add feeders if over time the layout develops a need for more. It's easy to drill a small hole next to a rail, drop a feeder and attach it to the bus and rail. You can also solder joiners later if they prove to loosen or otherwise lose electrical conductivity (or add jumpers between rail ends). Basically, I installed feeders to sections of track without power because of rail gaps at frogs of certain power-routing turnouts. Probably the longest total run of track without a feeder is about 12'.
I use Walthers/Shinohara Code 83 flex and turnouts. I also use their track joiners which are a much tighter fit than the typical Atlas joiners. I treated each end of rail with No-Ox before joining. Another factor-as noted above-is the layout environment. Is it subject to signifcant swings in temperature and humidity? Although my layout room has a controlled environment, I painted all the wood benchwork, the plywood and Homasote sheets that comprise the bench top (all sides and edges) and the Homabed roadbed to minimize moisture absorption.
The layout voltage is uniform throughout. I cannot claim 20 years' successful experience, but the layout is fully operational for over 41 months without a power problem. Admittedly, the track is not yet ballasted or painted. So far so good; I shall see how it performs over a longer time. However, as I said before, I can always add feeders and/or solder joiners.
Dante