Wiring Question: Crossings & Switches

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

Hey guys. I am a new person on this forum, but will be a one-years subscriber in March of 2010. I am preparing to build my own shortline road, called the Achierton Southern. I didn’t, however, forsee myself wiring the Atlas 30-degree crossings until I designed the plan, as I wanted to be able to expand the layout. I created the crossings to cross sections of sidings and a section of mainline so that I could build down off of that section at a later date.

The only thing is, I don’t know how to wire the following:

  • switches
  • crossings

Can you guys show me some wiring diagrams as to how I should go about wiring these?

2

Atlas track components don’t need any special wiring, other than if you form a reverse loop.The crossings and turnouts are insualted and gapped, and are wired so all rails are powered. You’ll want to provide plenty of feeders to keep from relying on track joiners to carry the power, but that’s best practices regardless of which brand of track you use.

–Randy

3

Yes, the Atlas components do handle the wiring for you. I’ve installed an Atlas 30-degree crossing on my layout and haven’t had to do any special wiring - it’s been running for a year with no problems.