Hello all!
I am nearly ready to wire but I am still a bit confused on the reversing section wiring and gaps for DCC. Images are at the link below. For the WYE where should I gap and where do I place the AR1?
For the reverse loops since the outside loop does back on itself where do I gap? Also AR1’s
Wye & Loop Album Link: https://imgur.com/a/Kt8yVMq
Thank you!
Andrew
I’m still learning about where to gap, but here is your layout:
This should work for your wye.
https://dccwiki.com/Reverse_Sections
I think you are saying the outside loop, loops back on itself. I’m not sure that is visible in this photo.
Imgur photos in your album, have a BB link,either at the top right or the right of the picture (depending on what view of your pics you are in) Copy the BB link and post it directly with control V, do not use the photo icon.
Labeled the sides in blue and red to make it easier to see
Outside loop coloring
Inside loop coloring cross over is at the 3 way turnout
Added more photos to clarify.
Andrew, I’ll leave the specific recommendations to others here who are more expert than I. My layout just has a reversing loop at each end.
But you may find the following website (Reversing Sections topics), while detailed, is very informative and a place to learn the ins and outs. You will note that in some cases there are options, as well as considerations such as train length, etc.
Do your reverse loops loop back upon themself so a single train let’s say loops around and come back on the same track in enter the loop on? Cause mine would exit on a different track?
The red and blue lines drawn on your photo are not entirely accurate. As you look at the photo, the turnout on the right side leading into the wye is the opposite polarity to the leg of the wye to which the turnout connects. In other words, red meets blue and blue meets red at that connection point. So, as you propose to wire your layout, the rail connections at that point need to be gapped. And, since the tail of the wye connects to more track and not a stub end spur, the tail of the wye needs to be gapped. Lastly, to fully isolate the reversing section, you would need to add gaps on the other turnout that leads into the wye, the turnout just outside the left side of your photo.
One other consideration is the length of the longest train that will be running through the wye. To avoid shorts, the isolated (gapped) reversing section should be longer than the longest train. That would require a different gapping configuration than the one proposed here.
Rich
Regarding the two loops, can you take a photo from above the point where the two loops fold back onto themselves? From the photos that you provided, it is difficult to determine where the points of reverse polarity occur.
Rich
Unless there is something else happening out of the picture, the track coming out of the tunnel and the track approaching the loop ought to be the same polarity.
At the highest redline in the photo, there appears to be a single crossover, which makes the loop a reversing loop. I don’t see that the three way turnout plays a roll.
If I am stating that correctly, the tunnel track should be red on the right instead of blue and should be gapped before it reaches the loop turnout. The left side of the loop, from top down, should be gapped after the crossover and after the triple turnout.
Edit
OR on the right side, start the reversing loop after the tunnel track meets the loop
Don’t cut any gaps until someone confirms or disproves my hypothesis.
Rich! Thanks I do have some lighted passenger coaches so what you are saying is that I will need to gap out further due to them and the longest train I plan to run. How far do I gap out on the right and left sides?
This is the best photo I have atm, traveling atm.
Yes, that is correctly regarding the tunnel I reversed them.
The first diagram below shows your proposed wiring protocol. My drawing is turned upside down from yours, but you get the idea. The arrows point to the opposite polarities that force a reversing section.
My suggestion is to wire a portion of the mainline track above the wye the opposite of the rest of the mainline track so as to match the left side of the wye in my diagram. Then, gap as shown in the second diagram in order to provide a length necessary to accommodate your longest train.
Rich
That latest photo helps, but it is still difficult to grasp the various connections and what happens with your track work outside of the photo. So, let me take a shot at this.
As I see it, the outside loop would not be a reverse loop except for that pair of crossovers before the outside loop. To simplify the wiring, I would treat the outside loop as a reverse loop and gap it as such. So, you would install gaps just beyond the crossovers on both ends of the outside loop. If you do that, you would then need to wire the two crossovers to match the polarity of each crossover with the connecting “mainline” tracks so that trains using the crossovers will not short. Somewhere down the mainline (outside of the photo) you may run into another reverse polarity situation, and that situation would need to be dealt with. Is the overall layout a “dogbone”? In other words, is there a loop at the other end?
Regarding the inner loop, as I see it, the two diverging legs of the 3-way turnout form the inner loop. Is that correct? If it is correct, then you would simply gap the the two divergent ends of the 3-way to form an isolated reverse loop.The sidings that form off the straight end of the 3-way would be unaffected by the reverse polarity issue on the inner loop. However, since the tail of the 3-way connects to the outer loop, the sidings that form off the straight end of the 3-way would have the same polarity as the outer loop.
Lastly, that tunnel track would need to be dealt with since the outside loop is a reverse loop. If you gap the divergent side of the turnout that leads toward the tunnel, that would be sufficient to keep the tunnel track out of the outside reverse loop.
I edited my post re: the 3 way turnout. Rich and I are on the same page.
For the Wye thank you very much would it be possible to reverse the space for the Gap to the right side in the photo as I have more room on that side? If not I will make it work. Based on your proposal I believe I would need to gap the red lines. The blue line would be a gap if I reversed it.
Is that correct?
Also working on getting a better photo of the loops for you now.
More Loop Photos
