Bare-bones experimenting - Newbie fun

[Beady]

My first attempt at posting pictures; apologies if it doesn't work. This probably isn't interesting to anyone but me, but I've been "collecting" (as in, buying everything that I could afford as fast as I could) N scale train stuff for about three years, and this is the first time I've been able to set something up and actually get some trains running. At the moment I'm just playing around, and this entire setup is temporary. Eventually, I'm going to have three or four six-foot tabletops to play with All of the trackwork is Kato, and I'm sold on their plug 'n play concept; I'd be lost without it. I've never had a turntable before, or a setup with more than a siding, but the wiring and hookups were a breeze. I've just got to get used to how the electricity flows: the switches for the wye and three turnouts are attached to the turntable power, but the power itself seems to be routed from the mainline supply; the turntable only seems to route power as far as the first turnout downstream. I dunno. Anyway, I'm finally having fun and maybe now I'll stop spending money. (yeah, right).

 

[santafewillie]

First, the pictures worked. Second, learn now...it will come in handy later. Third, you won't stop spending money.
Willie

 

[Sirfoldalot]

Quote: Third, you won't stop spending money.
Willie

What was that song, "You've only just begun"?
Looking good!

 

[Rico]

If there's track and trains yup we're interested!
I see a few controllers there, is the track blocked?

 

[Beady]

If there's track and trains yup we're interested!
I see a few controllers there, is the track blocked?

Blocked? As in power blocks? Technically no, but Kato turnouts, and the turntable, are power-routing. The siding and the various branches can all be isolated by throwing the appropriate switches.

Here's a look at the controls; the numbers correlate with those on the turnouts, next pic. The blue Turntable transformer controls the locomotives, and the black transformer controls the turntable's rotation and the direction of the current flow. The two boxes sometimes conflict, because both or either can control a loco's direction.The turntable is power-directing. The "Mainline" transformer and switches are meant to control only the mainline, the siding and the mainline turnout leading into the "parking" area.




Mainline power is at "P," and turnout #5 is connected to the Mainline transformer. In theory, with #5 set to the mainline, the entire parking area should be powered by the turntable transformer. In reality... OK, I just figured it out. What was confusing me was that it's possible to have a loco leave the parking area thru #5 and keep going on the mainline with power from both transformers until it comes around again to #5. Setting #5 back to the mainline will leave the loco powered by just the one transformer, while the parking area is isolated (alternatively, rotating the bridge will redirect the turntable power to another track).



Oh crap!