wiring reverse loop

[Anonymous]

[8D] good day to all. i have layout n-11with teck4 model #280 duel cab operation for power. 1#220 atlas controller and 2#215 atlas selectors. as per instructions entire layout has blocks and the reverse loop is no different . on the controller which is wired to the selectors it has 3 conections(C) (X) (Y) for my loop i have the (X) connected to the outside of the track and the(Y) connected to the inside of the track.now were does the (C) go ,is this a common wire which is wired to the rest of the track common juntion? using a voltmeter and the X,Y switch and grounding at common main junction the switch operates correctly switching power from (X) to (Y) and back but no operation on the track due to no complete route in wiring. i know iam missing somthing, please tell me what !!!!!

[Anonymous]

hi...Your question is a good one....the "C" connection is for the common rail...if you need an additional common rail feeder somewhere. I do not use the "C" on any of my three controllers. So long as both rails of the reversing section are insulated from the rest of the layout and your connections are correct you should be in business.

[jhugart]

One thing to keep in mind about commong rail wiring: It doesn't work with reversing sections.

Here's the idea: If you have a simple loop of track, then you can have a common rail, with gaps in the other rail to identify different blocks of track. This doesn't really reduce the amount of wiring you have to do, since it is still a good idea to have feeders for the common rail opposite where you have feeders for the blocks. It does mean that you can have single-pole switches for each block, though...you don't need dual-pole.

When you add a reversing section, the rules change. Think of the simple case, where straight track curves back on itself, rejoining at a turnout.

On the straight section, you might have thought of one rail as North and the other as South. But these two rails join in the loop where the reverse occurs. The same is true for the inside track of the reversing loop, it would contact both rails.

For this reason, any reversing section must be completely isolated from the rest of the track by gaps in both rails, at both ends of the reversing section.

In old-fashioned block switching, to make this work properly, you have to make sure that the polarity of the rails in your reversing section matches the polarity of the rails in the track on which your train is approaching the reversing section. This way your engines can glide into the reversing section with no trouble.

Once the engine is completely in the reversing section, then you throw a switch that reverses the polarity of the rest of the track. This allows the engines on the reversing section to keep going, and when they hit the originating track at the other end of the reversing section, the polarity matches up again.

This could cause havoc if you use common rail wiring with two transformers. In that case, life might be easier if you totally isolate both rails of each section. This way, the track polarity matches the transformer controlling the section of track you are working on, without affecting the other blocks controlled by the other transformer.

On the other hand, if you use DCC, the units that connect to reversing sections are designed to sense the short that occurs if the polarity doesn't match, and adjust the polarity of the block of the reversing section accordingly. So you don't really have to think about it.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

thank-you to all who helped me ! G. howard