Feeders, yay or nay?


J

Johncncp

New Member
Feeders:

I am wondering about feeders, I have around 50ft or more of double track mainline up a helix then another 26ft of single track on the top level of my layout.
I have feeders at a double crossover and one other place just outside the yard.
my trains(5-7) engines will all run smoothly and at the same time.
I am wondering if I even need feeders, I didn’t put more feeders in because I ran out and I didn’t have a complete loop until two weeks ago but everything runs fine. No”dead spots”
I have made 30 feeders and am wondering if I should wait until I need them? Or if I should do it before a problem arises, or if I should put them in at all.
(Nscale Kato Unitrack)

thanks guys
 
feeders can be looked at as a form of 'insurance' .. you may never need them, but it's easier to put them in early on in the construction of your layout ..
 
Are you working in DCC? If you want to know why you may need at least two more pairs of feeders spread evenly, do the 'quarter test'. If your DCC system doesn't shut off track power, you need more feeders.
 
If the need for feeders was based on how trains run right after construction, none of us would use em. As the track connections age, connectivity goes away with the build up of corrosion at the rail joiners. Do the feeders now instead of during an op session some time later.
 
Feeders yay. At least every 1m or 3 feet. Not only because of the joins, but because nickle silver is actually not a terrific conductor.
 
I am a beginner but I'd like to share an experience I had recently.

My locomotives ran fine around the layout. Then I bought a new loco. It lost power at the same place every time! I investigated and found the feeders at that point had been dropped through the benchwork but I never connected them to the bus line (why would I if everything was fine :)). I hooked the feeders up and have never had a problem since!

My vote is for plenty of feeders!

Paul
 
50 feet of track. I presume one set of feeders on both of the double track mains at the crossover. Plus one (on both mains) at another place. That is essentially one feeder every 25 feet so any locomotive is only 12.5 feet away from power. The helix to the second level is a different story.....

Anyway, I am normally in the camp of "don't invent problems that don't exist", but in this case that sounds a bit sparse. And as the others have said or implied, "too many feeders is never a problem". My "vote" is to add the feeders.
 
I put feeders on every piece of track, switch, frog....no stalling problems from lack of electricity...
 
More feeders = more reliability.

Glue or crud can sometimes work its way into rail joiners when you ballast tracks, or just manage to accumulate oxidation or dirt and make the joint not conduct very well any more and leave a whole section of rail dead.
 
None of my joiners are expected to conduct current - they only join the track. I always feed the track on both sides of a join, even if it's not an insulated join. Except, if I have to combine multiple sections of flex to make a curve track, I solder the joins (I also stagger the joins and shorten the joiners slightly to avoid kinks in the gauge). A combo section like that has feeders at both ends.
 
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