I have been breaking in my new Bowswe switcher on my point to point shelf layout. It was inevitable that with all the switching moves, that I hit a wrong key or two. I shut down for the night and heard my 2-8-0 racing off its siding heading at top speed for the turntable pit! I did catch it in time with the master power switch but it got this old heart racing. I am going to convert all my stub sidings to power routing or power them with a toggle switch. I still don’t quite know what caused this runaway but I hear it does happen.
If it’s got a decoder, have you set it to DCC only? Because if you leave it with DC control enabled, shorts will sometimes cause this sort of behavior.
If DC, nevermind.
That is a VERY good idea. I will check all my locos. Yes, I have DCC.
Turn off power to the layout when you leave the room…and I do NOT mean just flip the powerpack power switch…have it toggled via its own house circut or with a power bar.
David B
I feel better about doing as David does, and Bruce…yer in Da Peg. You will soon get narsty thunder storms…with lightning. You MUST isolate your layout from wall sockets. Have a good $40-or-more power bar plugged in with a surge protector, and shut off that device in addition to your DCC system. In fact, and I’m serious, I unplug the DB150 from the power bar just so there’s some cheap insurance working for me during the summer months.
To rid your decoders of DC sensitivity, enter CV 29 and input a value of “34”. All your troubles will go away.
I fully agree…Even my small ISLs has a master off/on switch.I simply unplug my MRC Tech 6 from the wall just like I did my older MRC Tech II or CM20…
Part of my basement reno before starting layout construction - there WILL be a master on/off switch with pilot light at the top of the stairs (and another downstairs) that will shut down everything but the fixed aisle lights - layout power, layough lighting, and yes, the workbench. Since the entire space is not visible from the top of the stairs, the pilot light will be a reminder. Switching that off will kill everything railroad related, including any soldering iron I may have left plugged in. I ‘faked it’ on the previous outlet since I couldn’t rewire the apartment and used an X10 appliance module, everything plugged in to that so if I switched that off, anything layout and workbench related was dead.
I do as a matter of habit set DC off in my decoders, because the only places I run are my layout, which is DCC, and the club layout, which is DCC. No point in enabling DC mode if they never run on it.
–Randy
I converted from DC to DCC and left my sidings with on/off switches. That way i can shut down any loco that I am not running. I am aware that people say that you don’t need this but as far as I am concerned, it is necessary to disable any loco not being used.
I agree with this also.
I suggest not using power routing turnouts - at least for power. Using the point rails to transmit power is a problem place for me. Either wire in on/off switches or use a switch motor that includes the contacts for power to the sideing.
Good luck
Paul (edited to put my thoguhts in the right place)
Yes, very good idea to have switched power for sidings. became a necessity for our club, as there could be dozens of “power hungy” DCC sound units in a yard. Before power districts and breakers, we had numerous issues w/ power “inrush” playing heck w/ all the boosters and breakers. Killing those sidings was the best thing we ever did. No runaways, power draw and burned out incanecent bulbs in locos or passenger equipment. Of coarse we utilize a “master” kill sw to all layout power as well.
The first thing you pass on the way to any track, turnout or on-layout lighting controls is a wall switch mounted on the corner of my fascia. When I enter the room it is OFF. When I leave the room it is OFF. When it’s off, the entire layout is as electrically dead as King Tut.
The switch next to the personnel door controls the room lights. They’re on a completely separate circuit.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Coming from a military background, I believe in redundancy; not only is my layout wired to its own dedicated breaker in the service panel, but there is a master switch under my control panel that kills the entire layout.