I’ve been picking up N-Scale Bachmann E-Z track for a while now from E-Bay when there are good deals on it to make my son his own layout that I can slide under his bed. I’ve had good luck until I attempted to include one of the Crossover Turnouts (Item # 44875).
I wanted to add a second outside track so he could run both of his diesels … and planned on using an old MRC dual throttle that I had from years ago with the layout. I intend to wire the layout for DC with three blocks. When I include the crossover turnout, it shorts out the system … I haven’t even attempted to run the trains on that section yet. Once I remove it, the two diesels run fine on the remaining track. Taking a look at it, it appears that the connecting track between the two turnouts of the crossover is gapped on both rails, so I thought it would be good to go.
In all probability, you have reversed the polarity between the two loops. You probably did it so the two trains can run in opposite directions. If you do that then the two loops cannot be connected by a crossover.
Draw your layout on paper. Make the right rail red and the left rail green. You can never have a red rail crossover to become a green rail. That is a short.
You CAN run two trains in opposite directions with DCC, but not with DC.
Thanks for the reply. I understand what you’re saying, but i figured with the track that connects the two switched in the crossover having both rails gapped, I figured it was safe.
Sounds to me like the rails connecting the two turnouts are not gapped. If they were the only potential for a short would be while running a loco through the crossover with mismatched polarity between the loops.
Or, another possibility, perhaps more likely, is that the outer rail on each through route is not gapped just before it reaches the frog. Normally a turnout should never have power applied to the frog side of the turnout, only from the point side.