Is it acceptable to power turnouts on a DCC track with a separate DC powerpack?


Byrna55

New Member
Hi,
I have four Bachmann no. 5 turnouts on an EZ-track layout (2-rail DC current), which each have DCC controller boxes. However, if I want to run this Bachmann system on an ESU DCC Command Center, I have no way of connecting these turnouts' power inputs to the ESU. Can I simply connect the power portion only of the DCC boxes to a separate DC powerpack but still use the ESU to operate the DCC controllers (to operate the turnouts)? Bachmann has red wires for power and green for data DCC connections. So the red will go to a DC powerpack (non-DCC) from the power output of the DCC boxes, and the green will still be connected to the turnout output of the DCC boxes.

I think this is possible, but I wanted to be sure.
 
If your ESU can control decoders, and if your EZ-Track turnouts have decoder/actuators for throwing the points, then yes, you can use your ESU system to throw the points. Just give each turnout a decoder address. Otherwise, the turnouts, just the rails, get power from your bus or power distribution system for the rest of the layout's rails.
 
If your ESU can control decoders, and if your EZ-Track turnouts have decoder/actuators for throwing the points, then yes, you can use your ESU system to throw the points. Just give each turnout a decoder address. Otherwise, the turnouts, just the rails, get power from your bus or power distribution system for the rest of the layout's rails.
Hi,
Here is a photo of my setup. The DCC decoders for the turnouts are "external" to the tracks. Unlike Marklin's which are directly connected to the tracks underneath and thus draw their power from them. These are those black Bachmann DCC boxes I was talking about. The green wires are for data exchange with the turnouts, so they connect to the connectors on the side of each turnout (not shown here) so they can communicate with the DCC controller (in my case the ESU). The red wire is for power and need to be connected to a power pack. What you see in the photo is actually two decoders (housed inside the boxes) connected together, in series, so I don't need to find free power connection slots on the DCC controller.

The Bachmann wires have a proprietary connection and I can't find a place on the ESU 50210 Command Center DCC controller, to connect these such as an "accessories" connection. Even if I cut the Bachmann connector off on one end, I still can't figure out if they can be connected for power from the ESU. That's why I though I could just use a second power pack, just for power to the black DCC decoder boxes.
 

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  • Bachmann DCC decoders for turnouts_proc.jpg
    Bachmann DCC decoders for turnouts_proc.jpg
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I am not familiar with this setup, except that for the few months I used EZ-Track back 20 years ago now, the turnout actuators looked like what you show, and I did power them from the AC output, if I recall (it HAS been 20 years!!) of a DC power pack. However, these were AC solenoids actuated by flicking or pressing the switch, I forget, and they DID NOT have a decoder.
 



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