the track has been in use for about 3 yrs. and have little trouble
I turned off the power one day and turned it on a couple days latter and could not get anything to work
I found out all of a sudden I had a short,I unhooked all the wirring to the track and still had a short
It looks as if the gravel I used for the ballest is causing the short?? it is wet but no more then before
can the gravel be the cause?? can anyone help//
Grab your trusty multi meter and start disconnecting track until you find the short. I wouldn’t think the ballest would be the primary problem.
Rex
You did not mention if you have any turnouts/switches. That’s the first place to look.
Regards, Greg
Bubba, I’m not sure of your electrical background, so forgive me for starting simple if you have covered all these bases: First off, is it truly a short, or is it actually an open? Many people will refer to a short, when actually they are talking about an interupption in power - an open circuit. I’m going to assume since you identified the problem as a short, that you are using a meter of some sort to determine that. Since you have unhooked the wiring from the track and you still are detecting a short, I would begin with a careful inspection of the track to make sure that there isn’t something metallic on the rails somewhere. It could be baling wire, tinfoil blown in by the wind, or a penny on a frog placed there by some prankster. If the inspection turns up nothing, then divide and conquer. Take rail joiners loose and separate the track into two or three sections, measuring each section to see which has the short. I doubt that the wet gravel has such a low resistance that it will cause a breaker to trip, or the ohm meter to measure less than 1 ohm. If you find that one section has the short, divide it into two or three sections and narrow it down again. It is a slow process, but you will eventually find the problem. One more thing - is this powered by a GFI and it is tripping out, there may be a ground fault issue in your power supply / throttle. Make sure you have voltage coming from the throttle itself. At any rate, see if these suggestions help, if not, reply with as many details as possible.
Good Luck!
I agree. I’ve had that problem before…
I agree with Greg: also if you have a cross over (aka diamond) that is another place to look.
Also I doubt that it is the wet ballast, I run track power all year long 
you didn’t say if you were DCC.
You don’t say where you are but your ballast can cause a short if it has a high metal content, especially iron. Do a bit of maintenance and brush it all away from the rails.
-Brian
Bubba111, any progress? We are all curious about the outcome.
Regards, Greg
Say “Steam on the Bel Del”, what type of steamer do you have there (running through the snow).
Hi the Steamer in that picture is a early Aristocraft Pacific track powered. My ballast is granite quarry dust. It was wet with all the snow that day. [:o)]
Best Regards,
Glenn