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Hi, all. I'm happy to say my bench work is finished and foam board
has been glued down. I've started to run bus wires throughout the
modules. I would like to start laying permanent track as early as this
weekend.
i plan to use turnouts with insulated frogs and have seen a few ways
to add feeders and/or insulated rail joiners on YouTube.
Where do you folks add feeders and insulated joiners (if any) at
turnouts with insulated frogs?
I'm trying to wire my layout for the most reliable operation
possible.
Always on the point side. With insulated frogs you don't need insulated joiners - that's the whole point of insulating the frog.
On the more global topic, if you posted a track diagram we could make better comments. But if I'm remembering correctly your layout is fairly small and I thought you said one train operation. It might suffice to have 1 set of wires to the track and be done.
Oh, ok, I was obviously remembering wrong. That will take much more wiring, like a DCC bus with feeders every 4 - 6 feet. One bus can feed both main lines.
Yes, if one has electric frogs then much more wiring is needed at each turnout.
Then even with insulated frogs there are other people who add extra wires on the turnouts to jump the electricity onto the point rails from the closure rails. I don't do that generally on a regular basis because in 50 years of modeling, I've only encountered one turnout that needed it. So I added it to that one turnout.
Still other people add jumpers under the turnout to power the closure rails from the outside rails so that they are not depending on power coming through the points as a contact. Some turnouts have this built in. I generally don't consider this a feeder, but a turnout modification. Once again in 50 years of modeling, I've only had issues with this with the old Shinohara brand turnouts so I just stopped using them.
Finally some people add jumpers from the outside rails to the frog rails "just in case" the turnouts built in ones fail. These are trickier to add because they have to cross a rail or jumper of opposite "polarity". I simply add an additional set of feeders to the track somewhere to the spur after the turnout.
Ok. That makes sense to me. The only other scenarios I'd like to ask
about is the yard ladder and cross overs....can I over do it or is it alright to put feeders
at all 6 rails ?
Ok. That makes sense to me. The only other scenarios I'd like to ask
about is the yard ladder and cross overs....can I over do it or is it alright to put feeders
at all 6 rails ?
Depends on your definition of over doing it. Doing too much is not going to hurt anything, It is just how much time, energy, and money you want to spend on that as opposed to something else. I believe the museum has feeders on every turnout in the ladder, but they are electro-frog turnouts.
Thanks. It's not a big yard so I think I'll spend an afternoon
putting feeders on all three ends of the turnouts. I just wanted
to make sure there isn't a point at which I would be doing more
harm than good.
Also, I was just about to start a new thread here because I have
an issue with a turnout I just bought...seems like I may need to do
the nail polish trick on it. I haven't done this before. I hope you'll
read and offer some input on that as well. It's tough being a
beginer
