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Ok, So I never had model trains as a kid, but ALWAYS wanted them. So my son, turning 5 this weekend is a train nut. I figured "trains", well then, lets build a layout I would have wanted as a kid! The layout board it 5'wide and 20' long. I built an outer loop, pasing loop and siding..its a fair bit of track. I took my time bedding it and laying it and I think its good. The Atlas ATL-300 power pack apparantly isnt strong enough for that much track? I placed the train on it and turned the power pack on. It either overloads right away, when it doesnt overlaod right away the train makes an almost undecteable electrical hum (very low) but wont move. On a small seperate test loop (not connected to the layout a-15" radius loop) it powers just fine. Any hunches? Is it just power? Should the MRC Model Train Trainpower 6200 - AA222 work (other suggestions?) OR is this symptomatic that I scrwed something big up (faulty electriclal? If I place the power wires directly on the rails right behind the train still nothing. If I do same on a single unconnected 36" flex it will run right off! Help, B-day party is in 5-days and I wanted him to have it! Thanks!
Are all your loops and the siding all parallel to each other? When the train leaves the single track and goes through the passing track and comes back onto the main is it still travelling in the same direction on the main? What I am getting at is asking if you have a reverse loop. It could either be a complete circle that comes back onto a single track ( picture the handle and rim of a tennis racket as the track ) or a semi S shaped that basically does the same thing over a bigger area. Any reverse loop if not isolated electrically from the rest of the track creates a short.
The other possibility is if don't have a reverse loop but are feeding all that track with one single wiring connection to the power pack there is so much resistance in the length of the rails that the engine isn't getting enough to even move. Solution is to add more track feeder wires. For now about every 6 to 8 feet should work.
I was thinking the same thing. If your running DC and most likely you are and if you have a reverse loop and you don't have it blocked you could be shorting one rail to the other. Disconnect the reverse loop and see if it works.
