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Wanting to build a model railroad for streetcars. It's part of a holiday diorama. I want to run a single track with a loop at each end so the car can run continuously. Can I do this without having to throw the switch each time it goes around the loop? Will it even work electronically, since the car will run the opposite direction down the single track after the loop? As I said, this is hopefully part of a Christmas diorama, I hope to just let it run without operating anything. Thank you for any input.
The short answer is yes. There are many ways to do that.
These day's the easiest way would be to equip the streetcars with DCC control. DCC has automatic reversing units that can be wired in to switch the polarity of the tracks as it travels each direction.
There are other circuits you can buy that do with with straight DC power too. They each require some sort of sensor to know to switch the power. I think if you search for "model train auto reverse circuit" and several different ones will come up.
Thank you very much, exactly what I needed to know. We had a Bachmann bump and go trolley, but it seemed of poor quality and didn't work well. Your suggestion is much better. Thank you.
The old school solution is to make working overhead wire, the trolley line is one connected to one pole and rails are connected to the other pole. Reversing loops don't matter.
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