how do i turn power off and on to O-gauge stub lines,to park multiple locos on my track?So i can bring one in to a stub,park and take another out.Thanx for anyones help
With a switch. I know, that’s a smart answer. Just put an insulating pin in the center rail and run a wire from each side of the pin to a switch. Pretty simple.
like a toggle switch?
Yes, like this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062494
Or a slide switch like these:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062488
You can wire it like John says; or save a wire by connecting just one switch terminal to the center rail of the siding and the other switch terminal to the transformer terminal that supplies the center rail of the rest of the track.
Be sure to use wire that’s heavy enough to handle the maximum current that your transformer can put out.
Both of the switches you recommend are rather light duty. The toggle switch is rated at 3 amps and the slide switches are rated at 6 amps. Both of these could be overloaded by a short if the layout were powered by a large transformer. However, in actual practice, the switches would probably be OK as long as the short did not last more than a few seconds, and as long as the switch were not opened while the short existed. The voltage rating for the switch is irrelevant for this application. Neither switch is rated for an inductive load, so the switch should not be opened when the train is powered. You can cheat on this a little if the voltage is low.