Me and my dad are building a 20’x8’ layout with twin DC controls, one a inner loop and the other an outer loop.
What I need to ask, is it possible to run one dc controlled line though a diamond that crosses the other dc controlled line, with out worring about the electrial power going though the diamond?
If not, is there a way to wire the diamond to allow this to happen?
Thank,
Leon
By a “diamond,” do you mean a crossing track, where two lines cross each other at the same level?
If so, the answer is yes. The tracks should be electrically separated inside the crossing.
Yes and no. The two routes on the cross over itself should separate, but they could be connected together at some other point in your layout like at a turnout or loop. Depends on your track plan.
They make plastic, insulated rail joiners so you can separate your track plan into “blocks” or power districts. You really want to wire your layout so any point on it can be controlled by power pack A OR power pack B. This is done by making one rail on the layout a common rail and using DPDT switches to control the power to the other rail in blocks.
I’m sure that will raise more questions then it answered.[:)]
Thanks guys, those were the answers I was hoping for.
loathar : no problem, sometimes a long answer is more helpful, thanks.
I have no other place where the two track ever come together, so I should be good.
We were just working on it this afternoon, and have come to the point on the build where the diamond needs to go, so your getting back to me so fast has really been helpful, and I look forward to getting back to it, tomorrow.
Leon
Most brands of crossing diamonds, particularly Atlas, Peco, and Shinohara HO scale, have the two tracks completely insulated from each other. I have no experience with the brands with built-in roadbed such as the Bachmann EZ Track, Kato Unitrack, etc., but they should also be totally insulated. One way to find out for sure is to connect a power pack to one of the rails and see if you can measure a voltage on any of the rails other than the one exactly opposite the power pack connection, or set the VOM on Resistance measurement and see if you get a reading other than infinity on any rail other than the exact opposite one.