bluesparky

Hi all, thank you for the replies and responses - I've been mega-busy recently and unable to find the time even to type a thank you! The plan of a battery powered loco is a good one - off to ebay I go! Thanks for all of the plans and ideas, I'll slowly digest them and start work asap on the actual layout. It's going to be in my shed, so quite cold at the mo, but we're very much looking forward to getting started. I'll keep you posted on progress. Cheers, Mark

Hi, I'm just at the point where i'm about to start building my baseboard and then obviously start laying track with soldered droppers etc. The layout is going to be in my shed, which is in good condition, but I'm not sure how to apply the power districts to the layout. Is it better to break the layout up into areas (i.e. in chunks) or routes? I've got a Gaugemaster prodigy operating system with a power booster and individual trimmable RCDs for each district to come off it. It will be a running loops layout, with three main lines, shunting yard and fiddle yard. It's not quite as complicated as it sounds as I won't have time. I was going to do it on CODE 75 track but due to time constraints and also the help I'll be (gratefully receiving) it'll be on preset CODE 100 to make it easier for several people to lay track at once on the layout etc. SO, if the districts are split into the three main running lines, fiddle yard & shunting yard, then I guess only ONE will trip the RCD if there's a problem, making it easier to isolate and find the problem? Yet if I break the model railway up into chunks / areas / baseboard squares etc, then if an RCD goes or shorts, then it could be on any of the lines and make it harder to troubleshoot whilst bringing the whole layout to a standstill? By my own reckoning, does that mean running a seperate bus for each main line etc the most sensible option? As for point motors (i'm using under board Peco), do they run on the same bus, have their own? Have their own return? I can't find information that doesn't contradict something else? I appreciate the need for very precise records, labelled and colour coded cables and tidiness at all times (i'm looking forward to organising that bit!) Thank you

Thank you for the continued advice. I THINK Miss Prism's diagrams look like they illustrate just what I needed to know, but what do the dotted lines signify? Forgive me, I'm trying not to get too confused, but does the diagram include switching for the actual frog, or just switching for the point motor? I was going to include the two isolated rail joiners that Terry kindly noted. Most of my rolling stock is new, with the exception of a couple of Hornby APT full trains and a Hornby Duchess of Sutherland 4-6-2 from the late 70's which is my only worry about shorting out on the frog. Thanks once again, and thanks for being patient with a DCC newbie!

OK, Great, thank you for your help so far. So the wiring is as illustrated and I'll need a PL-09 per PL-10, thank you. I'm still unsure as to what the frog polarity switch does and what a microswitch would do instead? Does that mean each turnout could potentially need two switches? Would I be right in thinking that the frog itself is left unpowered if one isn't used? When changing the polarity of the frog, does anything need to be considered or can it be done at anytime as long as nothing is running over it? Is there a way that it can be connected to the same microswitch that is moving the PL-10? Also, does anything else need to be considered if two sets of turnouts are used as a pair in order for a loco to change adjacent tracks?

Hello all, As I’ve stated elsewhere, I’m yet to build my model railway, that’ll be later in the year so I’m currently purchasing all the kit beforehand so I can go at it in one hit. I’m starting to get quite confused about how to wire up my Peco Electrofrog turnouts and their motors. I’ve looked on-line at dozens of websites, within the pages of this forum, in Brian Lambert’s book, on the packaging of the actual turnouts and they all say something slightly different to each other, so although I’ve probably seen the answer I’m after, I don’t know which is right for me As an example, I’ll be using the Code 75 SL-E191 / SL-E192 small radius turnouts. I know that essentially the turnouts can be used for DCC straight out of the packet (I’ve a gauge master prodigy system) but require some tweaking for smooth and slow operation. As far as I can see the adjustments I need to make are: The turnouts need to have Isolated Rail Joiners fitted Cut the Factory Bonding Wires cut (on reverse) Add two more bonding wires between: outside main rail and its adjacent closure rail outside diverging rail and its adjacent closure rail I think I need to supply power before the turnout, and also on the outside main rail, and outside diverging rail, then full power needs to be applied to the tracks which are present after the turnouts / insulated rail joiners. Does this sound right? I’ve attached a couple of pictures to illustrate what I think I’m talking about. Then we move on to the motor / solenoids. I’ve bought some Peco PL-10 point motors / switch machines in order to mount them under the baseboard to remotely switch the points. I noted that I’d need some extending pins for them, so I’ve got them too. I thought that the motor would be enough on its own, but everywhere seems to suggest that I now need a PL-9 mounting plate for each motor too? Is this correct? But then I read elsewhere that I need a PL-13 Accessory switch instead for each PL-10 motor? What does this do? Am I not OK just to use a PL-9 mounting clip per PL-10 motor and wire up the motors on their own? I’m unsure what the PL-13 does. Once I know what the PL-13 does, would I need a PL-9, PL-10 and PL-13 per turnout? I’m all set to build the bus for the layout, with several power districts for the main lines, station & fiddle yard. However, several places where I’ve been reading have involved the power feed for the point Motors coming from the main bus for the track. Is this right? I assumed that the motors and other accessories (signals, lighting etc) would have their own feed / bus? For the control side of the point motors I’ll use individual On-off-off sprung microswitches per turnout and a CDU (not sure which one yet), on a mimic panel, which I’ve not built yet! (One last thing!! I’ve see things labelled like “FROG POLARITY SWITCH”, is that just a fancy name for a point motor?)

Thank you all for the help and advice, I'm going for Peco code 75 for most of the railway but once it goes behind the two scenic breaks and into the fiddle yard I'll use code 100 set track.

Great, thank you

Yes, I'm definitely confused. There appeared to be ONE e.g. white cable coming from board and two white cables going to either end of the loco, the instructions say "connect all wires to the corresponding decoder wires", so I cut the decoder white wire and connected both white wires to that. Obviously this would rob me of independent control. I did this for each colour. I'm still confused, there doesn't seem to be enough outputs from the Express Models circuit board. I've a couple of similar boards for a class 31 and 47 so I'll look at them too. Still confused, but I appreciate the replies and help, thank you

Thank you for the quick response, it's appreciated. I'll have a close look at the diagram, The kit came with white wires coming from both ends etc. I'll take note of all the above information and have a look at what I've done. I happen to have spare decoders and LEDS so I can hopefully replace and repair any damage. Once again, quick and valuable suggestions and advice. Thank you

Sounds like a good plan, I think i'll go down that route. My thinking is the side that I'll be modelling working hard on will be Code 75 and the fiddle yard / storage / behind scenery will be code 100. I just need to find the correct info about wiring up code 75 electrofrog turnouts and slips etc. Thank you.

Hi all I purchased a DCC Head / Tail Light Unit for a Bachmann class 37 / 0 Centre Head code (32-777). I thought I had wired up everything correctly but it turns out when I applied power to the track, rear pair of the headcode lights blew up, the front headlights stay on and I’ve only got DCC control of the rear tail lights. After attaching the led boards to the headcode part of the loco I then assumed that all white cables connect together (as per my photos) and the same for the blue, orange and green etc. Have I made a mistake in this assumption and therefore explaining my problems, or is the a physical wiring error that I’ve potentially made and is shorting something out? I’m using a eHattons 8 pin, 4 function decoder for the locomotive. I have purchased several lighting kits from Express Models and I know they have a great reputation and products, this is the first one that I’ve installed, so I'm keen to be sure that I don’t make any more mistakes with the others. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions where I may have gone wrong, then I'd really appreciate it, or if any other photos or a better description of what the lights are doing are needed to help see what I've done then I can easily do that. Thanks in advance, Mark

Ok, thank you Lovely, cheers, Mark

Great, super bunch of answers in one post, thank you Pete

Hi Colin, slightly off topic, but what did you use for your station platforms in this photo? Thank you

Hi all, thank you for your replies, I appreciate the time you've taken to talk to a newbie! I think the cork underlay is an option I'll go for, but I'm still confused / unsure / undecided about the actual method of fastening the track even after the great advice from above. The only two model railways / train sets I built before were using Hornby track and tapping tacks through the pre-drilled holes. I'll be honest, and admit it's not the asthetic effect behind the reason for using code 75, but becuase I'd heard the flexi track is easier to bend and flex into a required curve than the code 100, and also the ability of having electro turnouts and slips etc. Please forgive my ignorance / not paying attention, what is a suitable way way to ballast and fix track (ignoring what actually to use at the moment)? Lay the track out, use the glue and ballast when it's laying loose on the board, and the glue and ballast will keep the track in place with tacks that are added afterwards or am I grabbing the wrong end of the stick? What is the best way to attach the cork to the baseboard (i'm unsure whether to use sundela or ply, it'll be a loft layout so the lightweight option will probably be most suitable), should that be done and sorted before even thinking about laying track? Would having a cork underlay cause any issues with coach / platform height? Something that does stick in my mind, using different glues etc which get sprayed onto the track, what kind of cleaning routine would be needed to get this off the track again? I asssume that once it dries on the track then there will be electrical continuity issues as it'll have a thin flim of glue on it? Also, what's the difference between Nickel Silver & Steel track, is there a better option for a loft layout? Thank you for your time and your answers for now, I'm sure there will be more questions along later!