Another thought.
When I was a teen, I had a layout with two independent loops connected by a double crossover. The routes only appeared as double track for about 1/3 of their respective route around an L shaped layout built on two 5x9 platforms.
My normal operation was such that in the double track area, they ran “right hand rule”, without regard for other considerations.
Sheldon
I agree about the Shays, except that I sit in the middle of the loop (shelf layout), so my locos run clockwise. As for the spurs, they are all in the wrong direction due to various constraints on the layout. So each have their own switcher to move cars in an out.
Simon
And, there’s that occassional loco that seems to run better going one way or the other. I have an Athearn like that.
I also like to see the engineers side, so I might have a few more east bound, that west.
Mike.
This brings up another important point when building a layout. What is your directional perspective viewing the lzyout?
With a small continuous run like a 4x8, it does not matter much.
But on a larger layout, especially one designed for walk around control, it can matter.
All my recent layouts (last 25-30 years) have been continuous run walk around designs with hidden thru staging. I quickly realized it was much better if the viewing perspective was always the same.
So my previous layout, and the new one I am designing now, place the viewers/operators inside the loop, and always facing “north”, making east to the right and west to the left.
This is especially helpful with my chosen DC Advanced Cab Control, but even with DCC I think it makes a layout much easier to understand and operate.
So east bound trains run clockwise on the track closest to you, and west bound trains run counter clockwise on the far or “north side” track.
Sheldon
Our final form family room holiday only layout when I was a kid was pretty much any which way. We added an outer edge all around to allow for a 22" radius loop to handle the Rivarossi Hudson and passenger cars, and the parking track for that train and another that ran around there was arranged such that the turnouts were easily accesible, which made pulling out and running that track clockwise, but that was the outer loop. The inner loop mostly ran counterclockwise, because that’s how some operating accessories were set up, but for some trains, like the Old West train that parked in the Western town, it would run clockwise on the inner loop. Then there was an inner inner loop, 15" radius, for the trolley through the town. Parking track for that was arranged also for clockwise running.
The inner and outer loops were connected with crossovers, so a train could run on both. I ran them in either direction, not really caring as long as the engine was on front and the caboose on the back.
–Randy
My first layout, a 4’x8’, had two reverse loops, so I could run trains in whatever direction I wanted.
My current layout has an option for continuous running (in either direction) but for normal use, it’s set-up as a point-to-point, in both directions, although not at the same time.
Actually, there are five end-points, so it’s a point-to-point-to-point-to-point-to-point, although still only two directions from which to choose…
…unless you take into account that there are two different free-lanced railroads involved, one an east-west line, the other north-south. So, four directions, making it much more interesting than clockwise or counter-clockwise. [swg]
Wayne
Hello All,
With DCC the directionality of trains is not as much an issue that it is with DC.
With DC the cabs have a “Forward” and a “Reverse” switch. These switches change the polarity of the DC.
On page 8 of The Complete Atlas Wiring Book; Atlas Publishing 2011, It reads:
"By controlling the polarity (+ and -) of the rails, you can control the direction of the locomotive. The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), has set a standard that locomotives move forward when the positive rail is on the right.
‘Direction of motion’ in model railroading terminology, does not refer to the direction of the locomotive is facing since locomotives can be moved forward or backward on your layout. In the bottom two blocks (illustrations not included in post), the polarity on the rails has been reversed so the locomotive in these blocks moves to the left. A modeler may accidentally reverse the wires in the locomotive, causing opposite direction operation. This must be corrected immediately to prevent confusion."
This explanation assumes that only one locomotive will be pulling a string of cars or, if multiple powered locomotives are used, they are arranged in an “elephant” arrangement, head-to-tail.
With DCC The choice is yours as to which way “forward” is defined.
In DCC by changing CVs you can determine which way a locomotive runs; short or long hood forward and the type of consist- -“elephant”, “nose-to-nose” or “tail-to-tail”.
On my pike “forward” is clockwise due to the arrangements of the grades.
Hope this helps.
[quote user=“jjdamnit”]
Hello All,
With DCC the directionality of trains is not as much an issue that it is with DC.
With DC the cabs have a “Forward” and a “Reverse” switch. These switches change the polarity of the DC.
On page 8 of The Complete Atlas Wiring Book; Atlas Publishing 2011, It reads:
"By controlling the polarity (+ and -) of the rails, you can control the direction of the locomotive. The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA), has set a standard that locomotives move forward when the positive rail is on the right.
‘Direction of motion’ in model railroading terminology, does not refer to the direction of the locomotive is facing since locomotives can be moved forward or backward on your layout. In the bottom two blocks, the polarity on the rails has been reversed so the locomotive in these blocks moves to the left. A modeler may accidentally reverse the wires in the locomotive, causing opposite direction operation. This must be corrected immediately to prevent confusion."
This explanation assumes that only one locomotive will be pulling a string of cars or, if multiple powered locomotives are used, they are arranged in an “elephant” arrangement, head-to-tail.
In DC to run a consist, either tail-to-tail or nose-to-nose, one (or more) of the locomotive’s motor(s) running in the consist must be “reversed” so all move in the same direction.
With DCC The choice is yours as to which way “forward” is defined.
In DCC by changing CVs you can determine which way a locomotive runs; short or long hood forward and the type of consist- -“elephant”, “nose-to-nose” or “tail-to-tail”.
On my pike “forward” is clockwise due to the arrangements of the grades.
Hope this helps.
&nb
Sheldon is correct, so the only way that we DC operators can have a"cornfield meet" is by reversing the wiring on one (or more) of our locomotives.
I have worked on many pre-owned DC steam locomotives which were wired opposite to normal practice, eventually discovering that in most cases, the previous owner had disassembled them for some reason, but re-assembled them incorrectly, usually with the insulated drivers on the wrong side. Since it would have been easier to simply flip the tender trucks than to remove and replace the drivers correctly, that’s what was usually done, along with a re-routed wire to the motor.
Wayne
[*-)]
Nope!
Thank you Sheldon and Wayne. [swg]
Mike.
Coriolis effect? [:o)]
It doesn’t matter to the trains, wear and tear or otherwise, but the convention would be to run them counterclockwise.
We live in the USA:
We read and write from left to right, our eyeballs move left to right.
Race cars, both NASCAR, or INDY cars, loop counterclockwise.
Horse races loop CCW.
Track and field races loop CCW.
Drag races, quarter horse races, and track sprint races run left to right.
And since a map reads west to east, left to right, the trains would be normally running west to east or north to south, when circling the loop the conventional way.
I thought the answer was pretty simple.
After reading Douglas’ answer I really wish I could go back in time to train sets and Christmas mornings.
I would love to see what direction I naturally set up my trains to run.
-Kevin
[(-D][(-D][(-D]
Those 17-hour flights to OZ can get a little boring so one time I went to the washroom and filled the sink and at the appropriate time pulled the plug. Hoping to see total hydro chaos as we crossed the Equator I looked on eagerly.[:^)] I went back to my seat and watched another movie totally deflated with my failed science experiment.[:(][(-D]
On my layout clockwise takes you southeast and counterclockwise takes you northwest.
You may have grown up in England, then you’d be really confused.
Its weird trying to watch an English horse race. The horses run forward but in the wrong direction. They must have a wrong CV setting or something…
Not sure what our Canadian friends do.
Formula 1 runs clockwise. They’re foreigners you know. [:D]
The horses run CCW and I think the cars do as well.
Okay, it appears the cars run CW.
NVM, you’re talking about Canada. Yes, the F1 circuit runs CW no matter where they run.
The Coriolis effect does not effect sinks or toilets. It only works on extremely large systems like hurricanes.
Did you never do the experiment in High School Physics with the square sink and the three drain plugs?
-Kevin