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Yesterday I was running trains with a friend on my layout, and we started having power problems. We had two Walthers Trainline GP15-1 units consisted with an Atlas SD35 rolling past the yard with a heavy manifest and a Proto 2000 SW9 switching the yard. The GP15s and SD35 are all DCC, while the SW9 is decoderless running on channel 00. No sound-equipped units are on the railroad, and four DCC-equipped locomotives were also sitting on the tracks, not selected by any throttles or moving, with no functions active. The layout has a 115 foot run (plus another 50 feet or so in sidings and yard trackage), a 14 gauge track bus with feeders every 6 feet, all powered by a single Digitrax Zephyr. You can find a track plan and more info at <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/trahans.net/wrs/layout">my website</a>. As the train were rolling along smoothly, suddenly all the locomotives shut off for about a quarter of a second and then started moving again. We kept moving some more, and the next time it happened I was watching the Digitrax Zephyr I use to power the railroad and serve as the DCC base station. The "short circuit" indicator flashed across the screen as the locomotives died and disappeared as track power came back online. I have had past problems with the SD35 so I removed it from the tracks and set it aside. The problem persisted. I stopped running the SW9 and the GP15s ran fine by themselves. I have never had this problem when running one or two two units by themselves, but whenever I get more than three units moving at once it happens. This exact problem at my last operating session led me to replace the old 18 gauge track bus with 14 gauge wire, which I was told on this board should solve the problem. Now that a heavier bus wire didn't solve the problem, I am forced to move to the conclusion that I need a booster. There's a lot of track that needs to be powered, and during operating sessions I may eventually need to have up to six locomotives moving at once. And allowing my operators to bring sound-equipped locos to sessions will be nice too. Currently my Digitrax Zephyr puts out 2.5 amps. I have a few options for boosters - another Zephyr or a 5 amp combination booster and DCC command station. An 8 amp booster is available for $20 but would be extreme overkill. The Zephyr and 5 amp booster/command station are actually the same price and I'd rather have the extra power than another stationary throttle. The plan I present to you for a sanity check is to purchase a DB150 booster and use that to power and control the layout as the main power supply and DCC command station. The Zephyr would be a slave throttle and booster that would power the yard as a separate power district. I saved all the money from my summer job for this kind of capitol expense and the extra power should also ease my problems caused by perpetually dirty track in an unfinished basement. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
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