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Cornhill & Atherton - Poor Man’s Power Districts Journals/Blogs
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MRH Contrib. Editor 1,931 posts fernpoint MRH Contrib. Editor 1,931 posts
fernpoint

Nothing innovative here – just a point of view and approach that may be of interest to some.

When I built my chainsaw I initially used DC and then converted to DCC to make objective comparisons. No surprise that DCC won the contest, but I was introduced to the dubious pleasure of obscure short circuit sleuthing.

One of the strangest was an intermittent short related to poor manufacturing tolerances on the built in switch of a solenoid turnout motor.

Anyway, it convinced me that short circuits and their detection was an issue that needed some thought.

As a ‘Lone Wolf’ with a relatively small pike, a short circuit 'pause' in operation is not the end of the world – I only inconvenience myself. But with 30 turnouts and 200 feet of track the detection of a short might turn into a nightmare.

So I decided from the outset to split the railroad into 6 sequential districts and build a ‘bullet proof’ switch system. The result is in the photos below. If (when) I get a short I can make the job 6 times easier.

It's only a few switches and a terminal block but it made me feel good making it and I suspect the effort will pay off in the long term

Rob
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Dooch Active Member 48 posts
Dooch

Good idea

From a fellow "lone wolf" -- very useful.

Wanna tell us more?
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Dieu43 New member 11 posts
Dieu43

Good Idea!  

Good Idea!

Like the video's and the clear explanations. That has worked as a real eye opener for me! Thankx

 
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fernpoint MRH Contrib. Editor 1,931 posts
fernpoint

More Info.

Hi Dooch – regarding more info : not much more to add really……..

I’m using an NCE  PowerCab so effectively a single DCC booster. That feeds a star configuration track power bus – 1 twisted pair to each of the 6 districts. Each switch isolates the matching district. If I get a short (and the reason isn’t obvious) I just turn off all 6 districts then turn them on 1 at a time until the short re-appears – This narrows down the search for the problem considerably.

I’ve made a point of using high quality components; heavy gauge wire, silver solder and heat shrink tubing to ensure long term reliability – every switch and cable joint introduces the possibility of failure.

There is a bit of “what lies beneath” paranoia here but I think it will be well worth while in the long run.

Anyway, I get  a bit of a kick out of making stuff, so double bonus for me

Rob
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Benny MRH Author 7,125 posts
Benny

...

As I have long believed, Block wiring, power districts and feeders are not a characteristic of DC powered layouts, though these items are all common within DC powered layouts.

Blocks, districts and feeders are all characteristics of good Electric Wiring Discipline.  It won't matter what system you use, you need good Discipline!

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Benny's Index or Somewhere Chasing Rabbits
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