[:(]
I recently aquired an N-scale layout from someone else.They had the tracklaying complete and everything.However,when trying to get the DC on this going,I can’t figure out a dang thing.There are too many wires,I have no idea what I’m doing. The person I got the layout from emailed me a diagram of what to do,but I still don’t get it.
I would suggest you go DCC it makes wiring a snap, 2wires and your done, I don’t see anything really weird about this layout, never could get the hang of all the selector switchs, it just made running the trains secondary to running the switchs, DCC cures that, you actually get to run the trains!!
DCC is expensive it seems.
I was considering getting a power pack from upstairs,finding some area to hook the wires up to the track,and running a train off that.But that probably won’t work,seeing how there’s blocks on this thing.
Ok,I got one train running at once now…just have to try to get the other block(s?) going. Some tracks get juice,some don’t.
Hope I’m not stating the obvious, but if you want to run just one train, put all the selector switches in position A and go. If you still don’t have power all the way around, something is not hooked up.
Whew.
Plan, loop of track.
One train.
One power pack and two wires.
That is all you need. Run trains and have fun!
Get rid of the insulated joiners, get rid of all the selector switches and other stuff. You dont need all of that save the second power pack and extra track ternimals.
Now, having said that, the Layout Plan DOES include alot of the basics for DC Analog Operation on bigger layouts.
I would be smiling now because someone finally found a track plan that over complicates the hobby. I dont know if the plan pictured is a serious one or someone’s attempt at humor. Im sorry, but felt that I had to say this.
It is really too bad that you feel limited by the cost of DCC. Really! It would uncomplicate this most basic of layout shapes in a way that would leave you giggling helplessly.
You will eventually figure this out after troubleshooting the numerous electrical connections, but with DCC you would only have the two wires on this type of layout, and locomotives that would actually move in opposite directions at the same time in the same powered section, and narry a switch to throw! That said, if you were to go DCC, you could leave the gapped sections as wired, and just add the controller ends of those wires to a single double-wire bus. Those two bus wires would end up in the controller at one end.
From what I can see, the common wires from each power pack is cut off of the drawing. You see where you have the top wire from each power pack connected to the selector switches. If you take the bottom wire (the one that’s missing off the edge of the schematic), connect them together, then connect them to one of the terminals on the terminal track marked “C”.
Do you actually have the selector switches that are shown in the diagram? If so as jxtrxx says, make certain all the selector switches are set to either A or B depending on which power pack you are using. If you don’t have the selector switches, run one wire from one power output of the power pack around to all the left hand screws on the terminal tracks, and one wire from the other power output to the right hand screws.
Thanks for the help everyone. Actually,my layout isn’t a simple loop,I think that was just to keep the diagram simple.
One half
Other side
I missed the edges,but you get the general idea.
That looks strikingly similar to the Scenic & Relaxed layout from Nine N Scale layouts. That was my first attempt at a layout back when I was 16. You will definitely need blocks set up to have multiple locos on the track (though not necessarily running) at the same time. DCC would simplify everything as well, but if thats not an affordable option at this point, DC will work fine once you figure out the blocks.
Indeed it does. I don;t have my old Atlas track plan books handy to verify. Plus Atlas has changed the books around from what they used to be, so I don’t know which book it would even be in anymore, if indeed it still is available in one of their books. But that would be the best place to start, the book that presents the track plan has a complete wiring diagram for the layout. That of course assumes the builder put insulated joiners and feeders where called for int he plan - you could then simply follow the diagram in the book and be up and running.
Alternately, this worked when I was like 5 or 6 and my Dad had started to wire up the layout but didn;t get it all done. Hook up the power pack to one of the terminal tracks. Put a loco at that point. Run it until it stops. Right around where it stops you will find a gap or a plastic rail joiner in at least one of the rails. Somewhere beyond that should be another terminal track, or a rail joiner with a wire soldered to it. If you just want to run a single train, you can wire them all together with no toggle switches or anything, the downside being you will only be able to run one train and there will be no place to park one train while running another. However, if you connect each section to one of the switches shown in the simpl example diagram, you will be able to turn the track power off in each section individually.
I have to find my book, I do not remember if that plan has a reverse loop or not, that will require some additional work to wire up.
–Randy
OK, is IS mostly the Scenic & Relaxed. If you hold the book with the bound side towards you, it matches the orientation of the pictures. There’s a few differences, a passing track on the inner loop on the right (my directions match the pictures and holding the book the way I mentioned), the passing track at the upper left has been omitted, the sidings off the inner loop to left center are done differently, and it looks like the stub siding at the upper right has been turned into another passing siding - but there’s a train sitting on it and I can’t see a turnout.
The good news is this plan has no reverse loops, so it really is pretty easy to wire. The diagram in the book will cover most of it, less the changes. The other good news is that it is in the book Nine N Scale Model Railroads, which seems to be still avaialble from Atlas.
–Randy
This is called COMMON Rail Wiring.
Each control wire is connected to a track section from a switch ( in your case the Selectors)
The other track wires are connected straight to the track terminals marked C for Common terminal.
The connector wires of both Selector Switch (outputs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ) goes to the left terminal of all track connector terminals this makes half of a electrical circuit.
Power pack A is connected to the Selector at the top and will be in control only when an Selector
Switch is at the top or in the A position for Cab A.
The bottom wires of both power packs in your diagram are connected together these are your common wire connections between the power pack A and Pack B. Called Cab A and Cab B
.
Power Pack B is connected to the Selector at the Bottom and will be in control only when an Selector Switch is Down or in the B position for Cab B.
Now Look at the top of your dirgram at the ARROW that says “To other C Common Terminal Connections”, this wire must be connected to an track terminal at the right side marked as C
This is your Common Wire Connection that will complete the wiring circuit. However if you have any gaps in the common rail then the common wire must be connected to the C terminal of each track terminal connector that’s between every gap in the commond rail. You should not have gaps in the connon rails.
The bottom wires from Both Power Packs ( the Common Wire ) must NOT go through or connect to any Control Switches.
.
Why wire this way?
Because if you set one Power Pack to forward and the other Pack to reverse then you can make any loco go foward or reverse and control it’s speed in any track section without affecting other running locomotives, by simply changing a Selectors Switch position from A to B or B to A.
Remenber in the B position Power Pack B - Cab B is in control of only the track section that’s connected t
Have you tried GPS???
I don’t have any idea what the problem is but those switches in the lower part of your diagram are those idiotic slide switches from Atlas; Atlas does a lot of things right but that ain’t one of them. There are thousands of stamp collectors out there who tried to wire their model railroads using those idiotic switches and went to stamp collecting because it was the only thing which kept them sane.
I never tried those turkeys but I do know of a guy who did and after weeks of frustration he invested twenty bucks or so in more conventional electronics and three or four of us had his layout up and running in an afternoon.
Pray, keep us posted!!!
I set that same system up when I was 16 using the Atlas switches for which you show such disdain. I had no trouble at all - I don’t recall any problems with the switches at all, installing or operating. Its just with DCC now, why would you bother?
Well,I’ve really done it now. My power pack was on the edge of the table,doing just fine until apparently a wire came off the other end,I guess there was stress I didn’t know about. Now I have not a single clue of where to rehook that friggin’ wire…Guess I’m gonna be pulling up track and getting rid of the freaking blocks,they’re too much trouble. I don’t want to run multple trains anyway,it’s just me on my layout,doing this block stuff is making me consider giving up on the whole mess. There’s a ton of wires under the table and I have no clue where the one that just got yanked out goes into.
This hobby ain’t for me,that’s for sure.
Don’t give up! Take a breather and then decide if you want to rip out the green switches or try to figure them out. No question its a learning curve, but once you get to a certain point you’ll realize how enjoyable it is, and feel good that you figured it out. Are the wires still hooked up to the DC on the back of the power pack?
There’s nothing wrong with the Atlas electrical components, they are very easy to use and take a lot of work out of things. I built many layouts using them, now I use DCC and have no use for block toggles, but never had a problem with the Atlas stuff.
You need to procedd logically. Not look at a big mass of wires and go “holy %$&^” The biggest problem is that you did not build this layout. There’s no telling what the builder did as far a wires - the wires should be neatly run and ideally labelled, because even if you DID built it, what are the chances a year from now you’re going to remember which wires do what? Your first step might be to follow each wire and put a piece of masking tape with some sort of label on each section to help you figure out what goes where. The key concept is that each piece of track has to have power - if it’s interupted with a plastic rail joiner or a cut gap, there has to be an additional power feed beyond that gap. It’s really not hard, you just have to take it one step at a time.
–Randy
Perhaps a quick trip to a hobby shop or the search function of an internet shop and the purchase of the Atlas book that has that track plan in it would be a wise investment.