Okay, I have a question. I will be starting a couple of single straight sections for my local club. I understand the wiring BWWB and am lined out on that. However my club does use DCC to chontrol the trains, so I need to get a couple of engines for DCC, as my home layout is DC and I have no DCC locomotives. What should I watch for, and watch out for, when finding the engines?
For clubs that run DCC, do they typically power the rails BWBW, so crossovers work as expected? If so, do they swap either track's polarity via their wiring harnesses plugged into the backs of the modules, so the modules themselves can remain true to the BWWB standard?
Bingo! So For the last 3 years I have been putting out a small T-Track layout for the kids to play with. They can play with Thomas or Percy with some DC throttles. The kids love it. After all we are repeatedly telling them to "DO NOT TOUCH" and here are a couple trains they can touch. So they are happy with it. Unfortunately there is a gear in the center of Thomas's chassis that got stripped from all the forward then reverse action that the kids put him through. Bachmann sells the gear only with the chassis which will cost me more than a new Thomas from PnP. So as it is, Thomas has died. RIP Thomas.
You could pull the stripped gear from Thomas, and let the kids push it around all they want... But then maybe that's a bad habit to encourage.
None that I know of. PnP Trains has a Thomas for less than $100 so I am just gonna get that. I am thinking about taking the direction lever off the throttles after I get Thomas and Percy going the direction they need to go. Just let the kids change the speed and not the direction.
The answer is yes- to allow the use of crossovers in a T-TRAK layout/setup, both tracks, red and yellow, must be the same polarity. However, changing the yellow track’s polarity to the same polarity as red track should not be done at the module, but at the power supply. Individual modules should always be wired to BWWB spec and remain as such in a setup. The layout coordinator/manager can change the yellow polarity at the power source or in the bus wire at power division points. Generally, at all of our large regional setups in the Southeastern part of the US, we’ll change the polarity of the yellow track where the bus feeds an entire peninsula with an inner yellow loop (these peninsulas are created by the use of Jackson junction modules, or the combination of a Jackson junction module and corner.) This way the entire inner loop is configured as BWBW (temporarily for the setup) and modules with crossovers can be operated. However, in areas of a layout/setup where a section or spine is composed of a line of single modules (where red line provides one direction of travel, and yellow provides the return direction) crossovers cannot be operated as the single row sections of modules must remain in a BWWB-opposite polarity mode. Crossover modules can be used in the single row setup, but the turnouts cannot be operated (I usually insert plastic foam spacers in the slots on the Kato crossover turnouts to prevent inadvertent throwing of the switches, causing a short.) Respectfully, Bruce M.Arbo Coastal Alabama T-TRAK
Bruce, Thank you for the thorough explanation. I hadn't thought of just changing how the yellow line's connected at the CS/booster.
I am starting to build three T-TRAK Modules all of them different sizes, one of them being a standard straight, another being a corner (mainline in tunnel, the "starring" track on some nice compact 6" radius, and an unofficial one, a transition module where the track goes from the outside to the inside. I will post some pictures once I get them all built to my satisfaction.
