Hey All
I have a question about my track work, I’m not using a reverse loop on my mainline, it’s going to be a simple return track, BUT here’s the question, on the return side of the loop there’s a short!!! I understand if it was a reversal loop and I didn’t have a cut in the track or a insulated rail joiner, but it’s a simple return track, with a small classification yard!!! I don’t get it what gives??? Thanks guys, Help needed here!!!
Return Track?
Sounds like you have a Reverse Loop.
Suggest you post track plan.
Hi TrainsRMe1,
Would it be possible to post a track plan?
Something that might help you to understand where the short is would be to trace your track plan with two different coloured pencils, i.e. red and blue. Start tracing where you know there isn’t a short and then follow along the track. The colours should never intersect. In other words, if you get to the point where the red rail meets the blue rail then that tells you approximately where the short is. You will have to do a little more head scratching to identify exactly where the polarity crosses over.
One minor point. This thread would be better placed in the Electronics and DCC forum. The moderators may move it there. No big deal.
Dave
Yes, Please post a sketch of the track that is giving you troubles.
-Kevin
If you have more than one pair of feeder wires powering the track go through them all and double check they are all the correct way around. You could also just disconnect pairs of feeder wires until the short disappears.
If the train can come back on the same piece of track but going the opposite direction without picking it up and turnign it around - you have a reverse loop even if it’s not exactly a ‘loop’ shape.
It’s it’s just a plain oval shape, where the train is always moving the same way, then you have some feeders hooked up backwards. If it’s just another track that comes back and joins the main, like a V shape, you have some feeders wired backwards. If the two wide legs of the V connect together such that you can head towards the point of the V on one side and end up facing off the open end on the other side, you have a wye, which is also a reversing section.
With so many possibilities - you can see why a diagram is required!
–Randy
To check for unintended reversing sections you can run a car with a distinctive end (brake wheel end or passenger observation car , for example) or easily observed different left side and right side (some passenger cars have this feature, different window patterns left and right) by hand along every part of the layout.
If you end up with that car facing the opposite direction without having rerailed it then you have a reversing section somewhere on the route. It should become obvious where the car is changing orientation.
And are you sure you have a short? Or do all your locomotives just stop on a section of track (which could be no power rather than crossed polarity). Does the overload light on your powerpack show an excessive current draw (short).
Are you using DCC or DC power supply and do you have one power district (or one power block) or several? If you use several power districts are they all apparently shorted all of the time or will a locomotive run on part of the layout?
I normally operate my layout on DC in counter wise direction so the engineers side rail is positive. Make sure all rail positive feeders are on the same rail, in my case the outside rail red wire.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
Unless I’m totally missing what you mean by “return track” you’re describing a reversing loop.
Any loop, wye, or other connecting track that allows a train to end up travelling in the opposite direction must be handled in the same fashion.
I am thinking it is either a run-around or a wye arrangement.
Hopefully a sketch is coming.
It could be an unintended reversing section, frog-to-frog power routing problem, feeder wire past the frog, etc. etc.
-Kevin
Hi Guys
I’m having problems with posting pictures, I hope to figure it out soon so I could post a sketch.
You can email it to me and I will post it.
-Kevin
Kevin, you are so nice!!!
A return loop where both ends of the loop run into just one turnout is a reversing loop.
A return loop that connects just the two separate ends of your main line is not a reversing loop.
The key is to see whether the two rails on your main line are ever connected to each other so that electrically speaking you have only a single long rail that only looks like two rail track.
The other possibility is a crossed connection on one set of feeder wires so that you actually have connected both rails to the same powerpack terminal. It helps to envision the “outside rail” as one polarity (red wire for example) and the other inside rail as the black (or white if you prefer ) wire. If you trace these rails continuously with a finger on the railhead and find that the outside rail becomes an inside rail anywhere then you have a reversing section and a short.
Hello All,
Another way to “trace” the electrical path of your track is to take a car and put colored tape on each side.
On my DCC pike the polarity of the track is the “Left” rail is “Black” and the “Right” rail is “Red” in the “Forward” direction.
Manually- -0-5-0- -push the car through your track arrangement.
If, at some point, the color code of the car is “reversed” that indicates that you have a reversing section.
Keep running the car until the color code on the car matches the color polarity of the track. That will indicate the end of the reversed section.
These two points are where you will need to gap the track and use an auto-reversing unit to power this section of track.
If no polarity “shift” occurs as you move this car over your trackage then you have no reversing section.
Then your focus should turn to “reversed” or out-of-phase track feeders as has been previously posted.
Hope this helps.
Hi Kevin, could you send me your Email address, I’ll send my sketch and pictures to you.
I’m not sure if you got my message, but if you could please send your email address, I’ll send my sketch and pictures to you. Thanks.
TrainsRMe:
Just click on my STRATTON AND GILLETTE avatar to the left, and that will take you to the “about me” page.
My email address is listed on the right.
-Kevin
Hello All,
This is why these forums work!
Hope this helps.
Hey Guys Thank you for all your help, I’m so computer inept it’s a crime, I just called my LHS and talked to the expert train guy there, about my track problem, I think I got it solved, Thanks again, and I’ll get posting of pictures down yet, I have so many that I want to post!!! Lol