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Hi guys I have finally finished making my track plan up. I really need help though on the wiring. I have no previous knowlege of this so help me as much as you can. I would like to wire this for block control as dcc is too expensive for me( I'm only 15). I hope that this is what is the best way to wire this although if you know of a better way let me know. I would also like to know what and how many products I need. I most likely will get Atlas so I thought I would throw that in. Thanks so much in advance.
DCC is not too expencive now a days. I think you can get a entry level Bachman for $50 on ebay, Just mow a few more lawns or shovel a few more driveways and you will be happy. Just consider it before you invest in wire switches and all the other stuff needed with blocks. in the end you will spend about half what a entry level dcc sytem costs but will spend 10 times more hours wireing up the Blocks
To wire a block you basicly are putting sections of track on a light switch so to speak.
Most people with a small layout will use a control panel to list and show what blocks are where. the switch will power the block and in some cases control the direction a train will travel in
the control panel will have the switches needed to control the blocks.
You will need to run wires from a control panel to the diffrent block sections of track
the biggest disadvantage with block control is that you will have lots of wires and switches to control simple functions. Thats where DCC shines 2 wires to the track and your done. only time you need more wires is if the layout is large and you want to make sure the layout has proper cerculation of DCC signal.
cmbeal, Imack has some good advice. DCC doesn't have to be expensive in the beginning and there are so many advantages over DC that you really need to consider it.
As has been alluded to, you'll find you'll spend more money on block control wiring and switches than you will on a Bachmann E-Z command DCC system. It will take a lot of time to wire up block control for even a 4x8 layout and you'll be forever chasing down dead sections, shorts, and fixing equipment involved in wrecks because you forgot to throw one switch in the right direction. Take it from an old guy who spent way too much time wiring blocks - it just ain't worth it. At age 15, you want to be on the leading edge of model railroading, not learning the past. DCC is the way to go.
One thing they left out is on a blocked system you control only 2 trains at a time. Each section of track is controlled thru a toggle to 2 power packs. Its best figured out by starting at the track then tracing it back to a selector switch, then to the 2 power packs (Cab A and Cab B). A simple loop has to be broken into 3 sections "at the least". That way you can have each section ready for the train that is about to enter that block. And even a simple loop becomes a challenge when controlling 2 trains (flipping switches).
A "Y" becomes even more complicated as you also have to flip polarity once the train re-enters the turn around point.
Like they said above. Now is the time to learn DCC and it's not that expensive and you'll have more engines operating on your layout with allot more enjoyment.
If you use rotary switches vs. toggles, you can run as many trains as you have positions on the rotaries.....I use 6 position rotaries and have 5 packs wired in and use the 6th position as an off. But as has been mentioned, you'll spend a lot more on wire, switches, ect. than you will on a low-end DCC. The main difference will be in your engines.....if you only have one or 2 and they are newer engines, converting them shouldn't be too costly but that's the tradeoff......the DCC is cheaper to instal on your layout, but the engines will be more costly. I agree that Block wiring is going to be seen less and less...especially on new layouts, but a layout wired for blocks, is also wired for DCC, while the reverse is not true.
Okay I do understand that Dcc is the better option, but I my layout will only be a small point to point layout modeling an diesel terminal/shop with a turntable. I just thought that block control would be a little easier since I will probably only have 4 or 5 engines and I only plan on running one at a time. The size of the layout just seems to small to spend the money even on the Bachmann DCC. So thanks for the advice but I still will probably go with block control, and I was wondering if there were any good sites explaining how to wire it for this as I haven't had much luck finding anything. So thanks for the help so far.
If you only plan on running one engine at a time on a small point to point layout, you don't need blocks. Just use power routing switchs, like the Peco Insulfrog. Power will only go toward the direction the points are thrown. You can have one train on a siding or an industrial spur and it will be completely isolated from the layout if the points are thrown away from the diverging route. The only reason block power makes sense on a small layout is that you have two power packs and want to have two trains running at the same time.
Okay but how would I wire the shop tracks so that I could turn them on and off? I was also wondering how much difference there is between Peco Insulfrogs and Custom line #4 turnouts. Thanks
If your only going to operate 1 power pack all you need to do is add plastic rail jointers at every turn out on the siding. This way you can have an engine on any siding and switch on and off the power to that line abling the engine selected to operate..You can keep the whole main line unbroken unless you plan on using 2 packs then I suggest breaking into 2 or 3 sections so you can move and engine A onto the mainline while moving engine B off onto a siding. (this prevents both moving at the same time) Sounds like you plan on having say 3 engines parked like in a yard on different tracks and moving one at a time out onto the mainline then parking it and moving another. For this just insulated each parking siding and you have the mainline "on" and flip the track "on" also for the engine to move onto the mainline. This can be done with simple insolated rail jointers (plastic) or a rail gap with no jointers and toggle switches to each insolated parking rail.. Use toggles or an Atlas selector switch which can be multipuled together and one power pack feeding it. Then run a set of wires from each switch to ecah section of track. Also see products and some info here: http://www.atlasrr.com/default.htm http://www.nmra.org/beginner/extended.html
Most of my sidings/spurs are dead. I stuck an insulated jointer on the inside track. I have manual switches anyway. It's no big deal to give the loco a nudge onto the hot track. I can always go back and add switches and wires if I want.
I understand what your getting at guys but how do I wire the shop tracks(stub ended tracks connected to a turntable with no electrical hook ups between the shop tracks and the turntable.
You have to wire the turntable seperate...each stub end can be connected with terminals or soldiered rail jointers, the turntable should have its own conection...simply turn on the track section you want with the turntable...the engine should roll right onto the table.
thats where alot of switchs com into play. If I remember corectly the,aproach track is wired directly to the throttel, turn table can be wired to the throttle or controled via a switch, stub tracks are all wired to switches that control their polarity so the loco can exit the turn table. Thre are a few options you can use depending on your skills.
It all depends on the type of turntable. Most have automatic indexing. As the turntable bridge reaches an index point, it stops and contacts two copper strips. The copper stips run up though the turntable pit and then connect to the track at the index point, thus energizing only that track, since the track on the turntable bridge is always hot. All the other rails remain dead. You wouldn't need any block controls in this situation.
If it's manual turntable, you would need to wire each storage track back to a control panel. You'd position the turntable at the storage track you wanted to use and then flip the switch at the control panel, activating that track running the engine off the turntable. All the other storage tracks would remain dead until activated at the control panel.
I don't know if you've priced turntables but even the least expensive Atlas motorized turntable is going to cost you about $50. Really nice looking turntables are $200 and up. This doesn't count the cost of a roundhouse, which start at $40 for just a three stall kit. For that kind of money (unless you already have the turntable and roundhouse), you can easily equip your layout with DCC. Unless you already have the turntable and roundhouse, how important are those items compared to using a much easier system like DCC to run your railroad?
