This is a map of my HO scale model railroad. What should I do to solve the problem of my trains stopping at the switches? My model train system is DCC. It is connected to a Digitrax DB150 and a PR3 and a PC. I have Java Model Railroad and RR and Company’s Train Controller. If anyone has a problem viewing the details, click on the original image by clicking at the bottom highlighted in yellow where it says to view original size click here. Click on it save the image to your PC and use an application like image viewer or Paint.NETapplication to open it and zoom in.
You’ve got a reverse loop on the right there, and if those ‘undecided’ connections on the bottom and left are made, you’ll have another one at the bottom.
It looks like you have basically a dogbone with crossovers. The easiest way to figure out the problems is to draw both rails, and then trace over it with 2 different colors. If the colors meet, you have a reverse loop and it will need to be isolated with insualted joiners at both ends. And ANY feeders in the loop portion must come off an autoreverser if you want it automatic, one stray feeder from the main power will cause it to still short out.
My model train system is DCC I have a Digitrax DB150 with a PR3 connected with my PC. I have Java Model Railroad and RR and Company’s Train Controller. I thought that my Digitrax DB150 had an automatic reverser.
If anyone has a problem viewing the details, click on the original image by clicking at the bottom highlighted in yellow where it says to view original size click here. Click on it save the image to your PC and use an application like image viewer or Paint.NET application to open it and zoom in.
The Digitrax DB150 has an automatic reverser if that is all you use it for. If being used for a command station then you need a separate reverser unit such as a AR1 for each revers loop.
Exactly, the DB150 can be setup as an auto-reverser for a single power district. Since you have it supplying power to the entire layout, were you to have it set to auto-reverse the entire layout would change polarity, the dead short at the reverse section would continue and would probably result in the entire system going berserk and tripping back and forth. So what you need to do is to keep the DB150 as the main booster and then use individual auto reverse units, like the aforementioned AR1’s, to handle the reverse sections.
I find your map hard to follow. There are often multiple ways to divide a layout.
I see two reversing sections at a quick glance – each of the loop tracks to the right, if they are long enough to hold a train. Depending on what you do with the “undecided” tracks, you might create more. If those two loop tracks at right aren’t each long enough to hold your longest train in the clear, then another approach will probably be necessary.
Someone else on the forum may have more time to analyze what you’ve done and might be generous enough with their knowledge to help you in more detail.
Or reading the book would give you the knowledge yourself to wire this now and troubleshoot it in the future.
The map is not very scale. The loops are more than long enough for the longest train which is my 5 car Acela express trainset. Thanks for your help anyway.
Randy has provided a technique to identify the reverse sections. Then you need to gap both rails at the ends of the sections you decide to be reversing and feed them from your power bus via an auto reverse controller. This is not an especially trivial task and can be quite time consuming as it needs to be accurate. It will be far easier for you to identify the locations from the actual track than for any of us from the non-scale drawing. Once you have gapped your sections the wiring of the AR1 is trivial and they work very well indeed.
WHat’s confusing is I guess that’s all double track? Or is that trying to portray both rails?
One thing that would help figure out the reversing would be to unfold the bottom half and lay it all out horizontally. It loosk liek it’s just a dogbone shape layout folded over on itself. That ‘undecided’ section with what looks like a gaggle of 6 crossings - don’t do that. Have one line go over the other or something other than a bazillion crossings. It’ll give better opportunity to keep trains running without worrying which ones will crash at the crossing.
Spread out, I think you’re going to find more reverse loops because of all those crossovers where you have the shorts marked.
The obvious loop is the right hand side - you would want to insulate it from about where the red wire comes in to the right of the test indicating the end of the yard right up to where you have the short marked in the upper right. That section then needs to be powered from an autoreverser. If that’s actually double tracked, you need 2, unless you can absolutely guarantee you won;t have trains on both loops at the same time.
