How do you make an insulated siding using MTH realtrax?

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

Would someone please walk me through making an insulated siding using MTH realtrax O31 switches and track.

I have successfully made insulated sidings using Lional fastrack manual switches and track, and toggles, but something tells me that using realtrax and powered switches will be somewhat more involved. I am also under the imprssion that realtrax insulates their outside track differently than fastrack.

Also, I know there is a way to power accessories thorough a Realtrax switch. Is there a way to power the accessory through the switch, but with another power source other than track power? The switch is already wired so it uses an auxillary/fixed power source (other than track power) If i wire the accessory (Lionel crossing gate) to the switch, will it (the gate) be powered by the aux. power? I don’t want to use track power for the gate. Nor do I want to use an insulated piece of track.

Thank you,

Sean

2

Making an insulated siding is easy; RealTrax outside rails are not connected to each other.

Bend the copper ‘fingers’ on one of the outside rails so that it doesn’t make contact with the adjacent finger, then put some electrical tape on the bent finger, and on the face of the outside rail, so that there is no continuity between the insulated track and the adjoining track.

I’m not sure I understand the idea of powering accessories from a switch. If you already have an auxilliary power line going to the switch, you can certainly tap off of it - at its sources, or at its terminus at the switch - to power accessories. If your track and auxilliary transformers share a common ‘ground’, then the common for the accessory can return through track common.

3

I don’t even bend it. I just put tape around the connection. Doesn’t take very much to isolate the connection.