Wiring Problem.....Sorta....


B

BigRailNut

Member
In my basement, I have a nice little layout that my Father and I had been building before he passed away in 2003, and since then I have been trying to figure out exactly how he had planned on wiring it. I did most all of the soldering work under the table, and all the feeders are run to terminal strips along the bechwork behind the panel. He had a wiring diagram from the issue of Model Railroader that we took the plans from, and it shows a common rail scheme with SPDT switches used for block control. My question really is, can I simply run a single wire from each appropriate terminal to the SPDT switch, and then a wire to the terminal that will be connected to the throttle?....I only have 5-6 blocks that need to be wired. The layout is small, about 5 X 10 and there's lots of room underneath to work. I just want to avoid having too many problems since this was'nt my original plan for this layout....


Thanks....
 
I can't really visualize the situation, but it seems to me if you had a couple of test leads you could answer your question.
 
SpaceMouse said:
I can't really visualize the situation, but it seems to me if you had a couple of test leads you could answer your question.
Click to expand...


hmmmm.......why did'nt I think of that....*sigh*....:D

Thanks.....I have several sets with clips....Let's see what happens.....
 
Can you provide a layout plan?

If I had a visual of your layout than I could provide you with a wiring plan and a way to test it out


Let me know what I can do to help you with this matter.
Constantin
 
can I simply run a single wire from each appropriate terminal to the SPDT switch, and then a wire to the terminal that will be connected to the throttle?....
Click to expand...
Hi BRN, I can't visualize it either but I'll take a stab at the above. By terminal I assume you mean the terminal strips where the feeders are connected.
Point to keep in mind " Feeder wires are small (small diameter) and therefore have a resistance to current flow which causes a voltage drop. The more of these small feeder wires used in a section, lowers the resistance and therefore the voltage drop for better electrical characteristics and loco operation. It is better if the drop wires are run in pairs (common rail also).
For what purpose is the SPDT switch? Again we have to assume it's for block control and you wish to use more than one throttle.
A little more information would be a help in answering your question correctly.
Cheers
Willis
 
CBCNSfan said:
Hi BRN, I can't visualize it either but I'll take a stab at the above. By terminal I assume you mean the terminal strips where the feeders are connected.
Point to keep in mind " Feeder wires are small (small diameter) and therefore have a resistance to current flow which causes a voltage drop. The more of these small feeder wires used in a section, lowers the resistance and therefore the voltage drop for better electrical characteristics and loco operation. It is better if the drop wires are run in pairs (common rail also).
For what purpose is the SPDT switch? Again we have to assume it's for block control and you wish to use more than one throttle.
A little more information would be a help in answering your question correctly.
Cheers
Willis
Click to expand...

Thanks guys....I've been assesing the situation some more....I'll try to explain it a little better....Each section of flex track and each turnout is wired (has it's own feeder). These connect to a terminal strip under the table. From these terminals, a larger set of wires is routed to terminal strips behind the panel. It's from these strips that I need torun wiring to the SPDT switches for block control. I have found some more information in a couple of books I bought recently, but if you guys have a better idea, short of going DCC, I'm all "ears".....hehe:D
 
Sounds like your all set to go DCC, the larger set of wires are knowen as the bus wiring. All these bus wires need to be paralled together behind your panel ( unless you need more than one booster ) Then just hook all the bus wires into a DCC controller.

You can then run any decoder equipped train anywhere on the layout without flippin switches!!

Thats it in a nutshell

Ken.
 
I am severly tempted to go to DCC, but nearly all of my motive power is older, and I'm not sure of how hard it's going to be to set them up for DCC. I have 2-3 units that are newer DCC ready.....an Athearn Genisis Mike, and a couple of Proto 2000 units, but most of it is old IHC steam, and some pre-DCC Athearn diesel.....

Hints?......

Tanx
 
BigRailNut said:
I am severly tempted to go to DCC, but nearly all of my motive power is older, and I'm not sure of how hard it's going to be to set them up for DCC. I have 2-3 units that are newer DCC ready.....an Athearn Genisis Mike, and a couple of Proto 2000 units, but most of it is old IHC steam, and some pre-DCC Athearn diesel.....

Hints?......

Tanx
Click to expand...

The IHC Premiums have been pretty easy. I don't know about the Athearn deisel, but I thought Digitrax built a decoder just for them. (I could be off on my memeory it was long before I went DCC)
 
The Athearn Genisis has the plug pre-wired in for DCC as does the Proto 2000. The IHC steamers I have are'nt the Premium series, and a few of them are close to 30 years old. Most of the Athreans are about this old as well.What is the best way to insulate the motor from the chassis so it does'nt cause shorting problems?....
 
Hi would I be correct in assuming that the Athearns are Diesels? If they are it is a simple matter to isolate the motor. The motor is already mounted on rubber mounts and the electrical contact to the frame is through little fingers on the bottom motor brush retainer which touch the frame. Just flatten the fingers, solder a wire to the retainer which would now go to the encoder.
Cheers
Willis
 
Hey Big railnut,

Kalmbach books (modelrailroader) has a book about wiring your layout.
The titel is "Your guide to EASY MODEL RAILROAD WIRING, Practical, flexible wiring for any layout" by Andy Sperandeo.
The ISBN number is 0-89024-060-4
You can order it at the modelrailroad website or @ your local train shop.
It explains basic electrical, two rail wiring, cab control, command control, turnout control, blocks, etc....
I bought one for my son and he wired his whole layout himself. (He was 12 at that time.)
The price is about $15
Try it out you will not regret this buy.
Have a nice day.
Constantin De Bock
 
Thanks Guys....I have that book....It's my fathers old copy. I thought he had used it as a model when he set up the wiring system. I'm back to thinking DCC again since it seems fairly simple.....I have a Athearn Genisis Mikado and a couple of Proto2000 diesels that would be first candidates for decoders, simply because as I have learned, they are plug and play units.....Thanks again....:D
 
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