Hi im new to model railroading and i hav a question if you could help me out…I hav a 1970s tyco transformer .would i be able to use it to run one train on a 40 foot oval track? ? What is a bus and feeder wires? Like i said im a beginner. Thanks
It’s just a matter of providing a number of feeders throughout the “loop”. The main problem is that toy underpowered Tyco controler really doesn’t have output to work that well. Look into a better one MRC etc.
Most of what you read about a buss and feeders pertains to DCC which is much more affected by voltage drops than is DC. Generally speaking DC layouts do not require a buss and feeders although at 40’ yours might. That is especially true with a “toy” Tyco power pack.
The advice to upgrade your power pack is good but why not take the plunge into DCC? Entry level upgradable systems are available for about $150. That investment along with some wire for a buss and feeders will pay off for you in the long run.
Good luck.
What type of track?
Secctional track. Old Track? Steel track? Brass track? Nickel silver track?
N scale or HO scale?
Rich
A loop of track should work just fine, but electrical gremlins can creep in at every joint. A loose rail connector will really slow you down. Two loose connectors will stop you dead.
A 40’ loop is a very nice size, but you are probably not at the stage where you want to begin soldering the tracks together. You probably want to keep your tracks as clean as possible so that you can move them around a bit. That will also weaken the rail joiners.
It would not hurt to solder a lead every 6 to 10 feet. So at least four power points would be appropriate, six or eight would be better.
ROAR
Not to worry. An old trainset powerpack will work. The size of your layout doesn’t really matter to the powerpack. The electricity will run down the rails quite happily for hundreds of feet. The rail is thick enough to conduct all the current a model train needs.
You do have to take care of the rail joiners. They loosen up, or suffer corrosion inside themselves, and eventually one and then another will stop conducting electricity. Which will give you dead spots on the track, upon which the train just stops. The usual fix for this is to run a bus wire under the table and solder feeders between the bus and the track every so often. How often? Ultra bullet proof is a pair of feeders for each and every piece of track. Few people go that far. Plenty bullet proof for anyone is a pair of feeders for every other piece of track. And plenty of layouts run just fine with considerably fewer pairs of feeders.
The real objections to train set power packs are somewhat limited capacity. They all have enough juice to run one locomotive at a time. Few of them will run a 4 unit lashup of diesels. And, trainset power packs use a simple rheostat (variable resistor) as a speed control. The more sophisticated MRC power packs have enough power to run big lashups and transistor throttles that offer better low speed, and will hold a constant train speed even up grades and down grades.
What you loose with the cheap powerpack is the slow speeds. Same with wires that are too thin for too great a distance.
All we got is that he wants to run one train on a 40 foot loop - hardly a recommendation for DCC !
Is this going to be a full fledged layout, or just a 12 foot diameter circle to run a train around a display ?
If all you are wanting is to continually run a single train around a circle, then the old Tyco pack will do the job. With no further details, all other recommendations are purely guess-work.
Mark.
“I hav a 1970s tyco transformer .would i be able to use it to run one train on a 40 foot oval track?” - Yes
"What is a bus and feeder wires?" - Bus and feeder wires are power lines used to power your train track.
There are a few uses of the terms ‘bus and feeder’, this is the most common: A bus line is a line of power that who’s sole purpose is to provide connections to power in more than one area.
In model railroading, a bus line is a power line that usually runs along the track path (wires under the layout). Every so many feet, ‘feeder’ lines are tapped of off it to provide power to the track.
So, you have one bus line from transformer layed out along your track path. You have feeder lines attached every so many feet apart that connect power from the bus line to the track. Its redundantcy in a model train setup under Analog DC (ADC).
Think of it like this, the power lines on the telephone poles are bus lines. The lines from those into our houses are feeders. In your case, you only need run the feeder lines from transformer to the track. Two wires is all you need, no bus required.