Not new to N scale. However my last layout was 40 years ago. I’m very new to DCC, some of the new turnouts and track and confused about much of what I’m getting into now. I’ve bought new DCC locomotives and I have alot of very old rolling stock. Not using any of the old used track. My planned layout is small, (4x8) but somewhat elaborate. With that said, I have a few questions.
What are the best turnouts for N scale DCC (going to power turnouts with DC but of course the track in DCC) (I tried Atlas w/insulated frogs but cuts in the frogs were not deep enough for the flanges on some of my old trucks)
I bought a NCE Power Cab and plan to run no more then 2 locomotives at a time. I’ve read about using automotive tail light 1156 bulbs but when I look them up there seems to be several differant types. Any help here?
NCE suggest running bus leads to every section of track in every block. Not to trust the joiners. ?? I don’t own that much wire. What is the norm here?
Ray I will probably draw a lot of flack with this reply but it’s an honest reply from my experience with my 30 year old layout. I have a bit over 100 feet of mainline Atlas HO Flex track, 25 turnouts mostly in my yard area. I use nickel silver code 100 rails in my hidden areas (mountains) and code 83 where it is viewable. Most of my turnouts are Atlas, I use some Peco code 100 turnouts in areas that are hard to get to for their very reliable snap lock points. I use Walthers/Shinohara 948-841 track joiners exclusively. For insolated joiners I use Atlas 552.
I’ve been an Ho model railroader a long time and operate both DC and DCC modes on my layout. When I cut over to DCC I rewired my entire layout per DCC specs from the experts. After several unhappy years of the “DCC Way” I rewired my layout back to the old standard “DC or Analog Way” with individual block control. My DCC locomotives still work fine along with my DC locomotives, but now all my analog signals and DC equipment are back to normal like I wanted in the first place. For me it was a waist of time, effort and money to go with special DCC wiring.
When you say you don;t have that much wire it sounds like you are using sectional track. Running feedrs to ever 5" section of track IS overkill. I would suggest that at least on long straights you use flex track, fewer joints = better. Or solder the rail joiners, but once in a while leave the joiners unsoldered to handle expansion and contraction (mostly of the layout base, not the rails themselves). You should run feeders to each group of track that is soldered together - so say you solder 5 pieces in a row together, you should have a feeder for that section.
If your wheels hit the frog flangeways on even Code 80 track - I’d suggest replacement wheelsets. Modern unmodified wheelsets can work down to as small as Code 40, but there’s not much commercial trackwork available in Code 40. Code 55 however, has a full line from both Atlas and Peco. Peco is good stuff, but more expensive. The track you likely used way back was Code 80. My last N scale layout was over 30 years ago, and used all Atlas Code 80 (COde 55 wasn;t out yet back then) and I had no problems with any of my N scale locos or cars, some of which went back around 45 years - original Aurora Postage Stamp loco and cars.
Like Randy, I’d only trust the joiners that are soldered. Don’t solder them all, you need a small buit of gap distributed around to deal with layout expansion and ocntraction, even on a 4x8.
With DCC, you’re relying on the power to carry a digital signal. A good connection to every rail is important.
With a modest-sized layout like a 4x8, no need for fancy buses, etc, but something like 18 gauge would be good to get the juice to the far side of the layout. Feeders to the rail can be 22 or even smaller for short distances.
I would urge a lot of caution in running DC and DCC together. Even if wired and controlled to send the appropriate power to each block, all it takes is one metal wheelset to bridge the gaps between a DC block and a DCC block and it will let the smoke out of your PowerCab. Usually, it’s safer to do one or the other on your layout at a time…
Thanks for all the info. I’m using flex track and will solder where needed. I ordered several Atlas turnouts and a couple of Peco. Along with finding that some of my rolling stock didn’t work well on the Atlas it only took one look to compare Atlas and Peco and I chose Pecos Insulated Frogs.
I think the OP was referring to running his turnouts on DC not to mixing DC and DCC as track power.
This is quite common I did that on the old SIW and will probably on the new SIW as I prefer a panel of labeled switches to trying to address and remember all the turnout addresses in DCC.
If you run a feeder to the rail joiners and solder them you really only need to do that for ever other connection as you will be powering both sections of track at the joiner. I didn’t do that on the first part of the layout I built and I had some problems and had to go back in and add some feeders to sections that would lose power. Now I power every other rail joint and have had no problems.
Thanks for all the help! I think I’ve got a handle on most of what I asked about with one exception. Still trying to figure out which automotive light bulb to use as a current limiter to buses. I think they are speaking of the 1156 filament mini bulb. Can anyone help?
1156 bulbs are getting hard to get. They are also a bit over 3 amps, which is still enough to melt N scale parts. If using this for DCC, use proper DCC circuit breakers instead, that actually open the circuit up rahter than continue to allow a (reduced) current to flow through the short. And if you start with a DCC system that puts out less than 3 amps, the tail light bulbs won’t do anything, the DCC system itself will shut down.
There are two reasons for power districts, with breakers (or light bulbs). One is to reduce the total possible current for a short in any given section - it will be about 3.1 amps with 1156 bulbs, or whatever level you set an electronic circuit breaker to. The second is so that if one operatore derails or run a turnout and causes a short, it won’t make trains all over the layout shut down, just ones in that same section. So for example, someone shorts the west main, the yard operator will be unaffected and can keep on switching.
I still run DC (MZL system) and consider soldering a lead to every rail section to be gross overkill. I solder one lead to each electrical section (length of rail between insulating gaps) and a little jumper around each rail joiner. Since I’m working in a non-climate-controlled garage in Sin City the joiners have to be free to allow the rails to expand and contract.
(Yes it’s the nickel-silver, not the non-existent woodwork, and it is temperature, not the continuous low humidity, that causes joints to open up in January and butt up solid in July.)
With the jumpers, electrical continuity doesn’t depend on the joiners - and track power is absolutely bulletproof.
Can’t comment on which brand of N scale specialwork is best. I model in twice-N (1:80 scale) and hand lay all of my specialwork.
The same thing would work for DCC. The key is no rail joiners carrying electricity. You’re soldering just as many wires to the rails, so there’s little difference in those wires being jumpers around joiners or drops to the power bus. There’s enough humidity change here that I don;t trust soldering every rail joint but I do solder 2-3 pieces of flex together, then have regular joiners, then another 2-3 sections, etc. One feeder drop for each soldered section is plenty.
Heck, I had an 8x12 layout that worked for months with just 2 wires to the track until I got around to finishing the track bus. The thing they say will never work. Worked after the rails were painted, including around the joiners, too. And not all were soldered. A basic oval of sectional track to fit in a 4x8 space didn’t work like this on DC.