My layout is going to have two staging yards (1 at each end) that will not be visible to an operator. As a result, I would like to have an automatic power shutoff when a train reaches the end of a track in the yard so an operator won’t have to guess when a train has reached the end of the track or have to install a mirror or CCTV. I was thinking of installing an optical detector that would switch off the track power and wiring that with a manual override switch so I could turn power back on when I wanted to back a train out. Is this the right way to do it and am I missing any thing in this approach? What would be a good choice of optical detector?
While we’re on this topic, what do people do with roundhouse tracks. I have an 8 stall roundhouse which I intend to use for housing steam engines so there will be a fair amount of coming and going. I run all DCC with sound. I’ve read that it is a bad idea to let an engine simply sit on the track with current running through. Does the DCC shutdown command (F9 I think) take care of this problem or should I have cutoff switches for each track?
An optical detector will work, but, since the yard is hidden, why go to that much trouble?
You can build a mechanical shutoff with a couple of strips of copper. Set things up so that the power to the track runs to one strip and then picks up from the other. When the strips are in contact, you have power, and when they separate you lose power. Have the strips set up so that the train causes this home-made switch to open when it gets to the end of the track. When the train leaves, the strips should spring back into place, restoring power. A simple pushbutton wired to both strips will allow the override to get the train moving back out again.
While some DCC engines have a shutdown sequence, not all of them do. So, I have toggle switches set up to kill power to each of my roundhouse tracks. Actually, it does no harm to have an engine on live tracks when it’s not running, so that should not be a concern. However, sound engines without shutoffs will draw power to run the sound systems, and may be annoying after a while. I’ve got one Soundtraxx engine which has no shutoff command, but it does have a Mute command (F8.) Mute, however, does not return to the muted state after a shutdown. So, if I mute the engine and then shut down for the night, when I come back the next day the sound will be on again. The same thing happens when there’s a short. To avoid all of these engines starting up, I just find it easier to have kill switches.
Being someone that runs on DC only with the thought of converting down the road it is of an advantage to use these kind of cirucuits because they run independant of track power.
The best and simplest idea is this. All you have to do is take a piece of track that is as long as your longest engine and place it a the end of each track. Don’t forget to put plastic rail joiners connecting the pieces of track and put a piece of styrene in between the rails. That way you don’t even have to have bumpers at the end of the track because when the last power receiving wheel leaves the powered section of track the locomotive will shut off. If you exchange the piece of track with a cassette, then the people working the staging yard would be able to move the locomotives around and take them off the end of the train.
The best and simplest idea is this. All you have to do is take a piece of track that is as long as your longest engine and place it a the end of each track. Don’t forget to put plastic rail joiners connecting the pieces of track and put a piece of styrene in between the rails. That way you don’t even have to have bumpers at the end of the track because when the last power receiving wheel leaves the powered section of track the locomotive will shut off. If you exchange the piece of track with a cassette, then the people working the staging yard would be able to move the locomotives around and take them off the end of the train.