Adding a Siding to my Mainline


Brakeman Hal

Brakeman Hal

Well-Known Member
Dear Railroaders:

I have a 130 foot O scale 2 rail layout on which I run just one locomotive at a time, either my 4-6-2 Steamer or my GP35 Diesel, each pulling a short freight train.

Rather than moving these heavy locos between a shelf and the track in my train room, I'm now considering adding a siding just for storing the engine not in use.

When I have the switches set normally for running on the mainline, does this assure that no power will be on the siding, where my 2nd loco will be resting?

The siding will be 80" of Atlas 2-rail flex track connecting an Atlas #5 right hand and an Atlas #5 left hand switch.

The siding will be long enough to park the entire train, if necessary.

Thanks,
Brakeman Hal
 
Nice to see you've allowed yourself a little more realism.
The switches will not, when thrown back to the main line, isolate the storage track(s) because they are what is called 'all live' TOs.
To have TOs do the isolating they need to be 'power routing' TOs. These would shut the storage track/s off when points are returned to main line.
Atlas doesn't make power-routing switches.. You might search Walthers for this type in O scale..If you were in DCC you'd need do nothing.
But I think you are straight analog DC...
Other method is to gap 1 or both rails so that juice can't get to the storage rails..You then can have a toggle switch/s, which when wired up correctly, can manually turn off and on these tracks..
I won't say exactly how to do that. But you merely wire in a DPDT toggle for each track, obtaining the juice from the always-on, main line.
Toggle/s can be installed right in the fascia wood where the tracks are, if you plan to throw them manually (which I would)..
No need for any connection to your power pack/throttle. You can also make a tiny panel to mount the toggle/s...If the TOs are going to be motorized you can have those buttons on the panel, too..If you go with the toggle switches I'll describe the wiring.
Be nice if you added an engine house at the end of the storage track/s...M
 
Last edited by a moderator:
TO's are Turnouts or switches.

And I isolated my turnouts as well so I can park an engine or train without having to remove it as well.
 
Brakeman Hal said:
I'm now considering adding a siding just for storing the engine not in use.

When I have the switches set normally for running on the mainline, does this assure that no power will be on the siding, where my 2nd loco will be resting? ... an Atlas #5 right hand and an Atlas #5 left hand switch.
Click to expand...
No, All Atlas turnouts I know of pass power to both rails. You will need to add an insulated rail joiner to make one of the rails dead. Then run a wire from a single pole on-off switch to that dead rail. That will give you a dead parking track. If the storage track has a turnout on the other side it will need an insulated joiner also on the same rail.

The issue will be getting the train into and out of there without moving both trains at the same time. To stop one train on the main while the other one is moving in or out of the storage track you will need to isolate a section of the main between two insulated rail joiners so you can turn it on and off as well.

Example
brakemanhal.jpg
 
Last edited:
Brakeman Hal said:
Since I'll be moving my engines on and off the siding manually, I'll have no need for power on the siding, so I'll be connecting the flex track to the switches with INSULATED rail joiners...no double-throw-double-pole switches are necessary,
Click to expand...
Ah, so all power will be off and you will just "slide" the trains in and out by hand. Hmmm. just don't flat spot the wheels.

You only need insulated joiner on one rail.
 
IRON HORSEMAN, that's exactly what I was advising he do. Then, when he snippedly rejected mine I too thought the very same thing: I guess he's not concerned with flat spots on wheels !. I mean why, for $3 and some simple wiring, would any modler not want to roll the train into the 'holding track' as opposed to [what !] sliding them in/out of it, or even lifting them off (0-5-0 ing) it !
If he wants to do as little modeling as possible in a RR modeling forum, why does he join a railroad modeling forum in the first place instead of a toy train forum ? !
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you’re going to the trouble of cutting in turnouts why not go one step further and just add one simple toggle switch?
Switch up power to the siding, switch down power to the main, easy peasy and hands off the equipment.
Although I have a sneaky feeling you’ll be scrapping the whole idea anyway. Wink wink.
 
Hey Ferrous Cowboy:

With all power off, I'll manually slide the locos on and off the siding.
I KNOW I'll need only one insulated rail joiner, but I'm gonna install FOUR insulated rail joiners...two for each end of the siding!

YOWZAH!

MHinLA said:
IRON HORSEMAN, that's exactly what I was advising he do. Then, when he snippedly rejected mine I too thought the very same thing: I guess he's not concerned with flat spots on wheels !. I mean why, for $3 and some simple wiring, would any modler not want to roll the train into the 'holding track' as opposed to [what !] sliding them in/out of it, or even lifting them off (0-5-0 ing) it !
I will no longer deal with this person. To me he wants to do as little modeling as pos. in a RR modeling forum. M
Click to expand...

MHinLA, I don't blame you for not wanting to deal with me! You take things too seriously, my man! Lighten up and hear my experience with REAL trains!

During my childhood in the late 1930's and throughout the 1940's, and well in to the 1950's, STEAM was all you could see on the rails!

My dad was a fireman on Mikados and Consolidations during WW2, and when he wasn't highballing on Pennsy's high iron, delivering mile-long trains of Wheeling Steel to War Production Plants, he would take me to work with him when he had Yard Duty, and I would spend the whole day in the cab of an 0-6-0 Switcher assembling another freight train and learning from the Engineer and Fireman what all the Gauges, Levers and Valves were for!

So go ahead and bash me, my friend! I've got stories none of you can tell!:)

Brakeman Hal, age 84
 
Last edited:
Hey Iron Horseman:

The straight sections of track around the 3 walls of my train room are on shelves only 12" wide.

This may not be wide enough to accomodate the 2 main lines PLUS a siding, with sufficient space between the trackage.

Therefore, I may have to put my siding on a curved section, running somewhere among the 8 mountain buttes, where there is more space.

But thanks for your schematic sketch on my layout...I appreciate all the tips from you, Mike, and others!

Hal
002.JPG
005 (10).JPG
002 (23).JPG

Rico said:
If you’re going to the trouble of cutting in turnouts why not go one step further and just add one simple toggle switch?
Switch up power to the siding, switch down power to the main, easy peasy and hands off the equipment.
Although I have a sneaky feeling you’ll be scrapping the whole idea anyway. Wink wink.
Click to expand...
 
Brakeman Hal said:
The straight sections of track around the 3 walls of my train room are on shelves only 12" wide. This may not be wide enough to accomodate the 2 main lines PLUS a siding, with sufficient space between the trackage. Therefore, I may have to put my siding on a curved section, running somewhere among the 8 mountain buttes, where there is more space.
Click to expand...
As I was doodling it up, I had that same thought, but the straight was easier to use to illustrate the (unnecessary! :) ) wiring on.
 
Rico said:
If you’re going to the trouble of cutting in turnouts why not go one step further and just add one simple toggle switch?
Switch up power to the siding, switch down power to the main, easy peasy and hands off the equipment.
Although I have a sneaky feeling you’ll be scrapping the whole idea anyway. Wink wink.
Click to expand...

Nope! I've already ordered the turnouts, the flex track, and the rail insulated rail joiners!

Hal
 
BUT WAIT, RICO.....

Do I need a single-pole single throw toggle switch (SPST) or a single pole DOUBLE throw toggle switch (SPDT) with center position neutral? In the center position both main and siding will be dead. (C'mon, Iron Horseman... you get in on this too!) :D

(When I had an HO layout, I installed a siding with turnouts on both ends, but I just moved the points and the locos manually with track power off.)

Brakeman Hal
IMG_5078.JPG
 
Actually Hal do you really need to kill the siding at all?
With the control system you have I think you can just have one train idling while the other is out.
Or you should be able to just shut one down for that matter, can’t get much simpler than that.
Do you ever run both at the same time? Would be cool to see them meet on that long straight run!
 
RICO,

At my age (84 this summer) I don't like having to be in control of more than one thing at a time, and advancing Alzheimers is of no help either!

When my siding is installed, it will be dead, with my stored engine sitting on it while the main is active.

As I did when I had an HO layout with a siding, I just shut off power to the layout and changed engines manually.

I think I'll do the same with this layout.

Also, I want no part of two engines running at the same time on Calico Freight Lines! One is enough to keep track of!

Hal
 
Last edited:
When I had an HO layout, there was plenty of room for 2 mains and a siding on the narrow shelf portions.

Since I upgraded to O Scale, there's not enough room for 3 tracks on the shelf sections, so I'll have to place the siding in a large loop area.

It will have to be a curved siding...is there a problem with that? I'm using flex track.

(See Pictures)
Hal
005.JPG
013.JPG
 
Last edited:
Brakeman Hal said:
Do I need a single-pole single throw toggle switch (SPST) or a single pole DOUBLE throw toggle switch (SPDT) with center position neutral? In the center position both main and siding will be dead.
Click to expand...
Neither if you are going to move them on and off by hand. But you could use either depending on how you want it to behave. SPDT would insure that only the siding or the main is powered, not both. Two SPST would allow each one to be on or off independently.

(When I had an HO layout, I installed a siding with turnouts on both ends, but I just moved the points and the locos manually with track power off.)
Click to expand...
That would have been built with power routing turnouts. Peco makes them in O. They call them electrofrog. They are just really rare here in these United States.
 
The Atlas #5 O scale 2-rail turnouts I ordered are 20" long, both LH and RH.

This means that the full turnout assembly will have to be 40" long plus the length of the siding, which will have to accomodate my Pacific steam loco and tender which is 21"long, for a total minimum required length of 61", or 5'1".

When I insert one stick (40") of Atlas Flex track, the whole enchilada becomes 81" long!

That's all...
Brakeman Hal
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top