If you've ever broken detail off a nice car or loco from handling, yes, there's good reason to minimize handling your locos.

These days, there's also ops mode programming - or programming on the main as it's sometimes called. Most of the time, that's sufficient and you can get by without using the programming track. If you need to debug a decoder and read back the settings - the programming track is your only option.

You just gap both rails for the programing spur and install a double pole double throw switch to the spur.  In one position it connects to the main, in the other position it becomes the programing track.  Then you don't need to handle locomotives on and off the programing track, and you have the programing track available if you need it.

While that works, you can blow the programming circuits in your command station if a loco ever bridges the gaps between the regular layout and the programming track while you're trying to put things in programming mode.

The safer option is to use a 4PDT toggle and wire in a longer than a loco length dead section. That way you'll never accidentally blow the programming circuits in your command station because a loco bridged the gaps accidentally.

Here's how to wire the 4PDT for programming:

And here it is set to "run":

I should have noted that my issue with the turnouot for the program track spur is that it is outside of the hidden track room because I do not want to put the turnout within the workroom (helix) as I wanted to eliminate any chance of an operator waiting for the train to re-emerge from the hidden area, only to find out it was on the floor in there. This is also the problem I invisioned for the spur turnout on the outside of the room. I was worried that if an operator intended to send the train to the hidden helix and actually sent it to the program track ... uh-oh.

Joe, your idea would solve that issue. If the wrong route is selected, the train would stop on the program track, actually before the program track, not the floor. And, no hand crane needed. As always, you da man.

Thanks,

Allan Beechey

I have taken Joes advice about the programing track and have put it near the engine terminal on a spir dedicated to Programing.

I run which ever engine I want to program onto to this siding and Have a DPDT switch connected first to a isolated 12 inch intermediate section before reaching the programing track that has a red and Green light attached to the 1st of 2 DPDT switches when the Green lamp is lit standard DCC is on the track I flip the switch and the red lamp is lit  No power is on this 12 inch section of track.

beyond this 12inch section of track is a an 18 inch section of track also Isolated from all power except by another  DPDT switch and with the same arrangement of lights so as long as all lights on the DPDT are Red the two sections of track have no power.

Finally I have a 3rd DPDT switch and a white light that comes on when the 18 inch section of programmer track is live and ready for programing and is red when no power is on the rails. The three lamps are also wired so that if the lights on either or both of the first two lamps go to Green a relay automatically shuts off the Program track and activates a Buzzer. I have no intention of shorting out my system and frying any of my decoders or my DCC system.

the schamtic looks very much like Joes except my ends at a dead end!

I a firm believer in its better to be safe than to be sorry.

Dan

Thanks Dan.

I am curious as to the purpose of the two dead sections, or am I overthinking? You did say that you were xtra careful. Is this it?

Also , can you describe how you wired the indicator lights?

Thanks

Allan Beechey

The dead sections prevent engines from rolling into the programming track accidently and becoming reprogrammed.

The dead sections prevent "shorting" the programming track with the main track bus power.

The bus power is full power, while the programming track is very low power. If you bridge live programming track rails with live main track rails (easily done by metal loco wheels), you risk blowing the programming circuits in your DCC command station.

The dead sections prevent that bad event from ever happening because the dead section is longer than your longest loco wheelbase (1.5 times just to be safe).

The 4PDT toggle lets you throw the toggle one way to "run" and all rails, including the dead sections, are connected to the main power bus and act like normal track on the rest of the layout.

Throwing the toggle the other way to "program" makes the dead sections go dead, and connects the programming section in the middle to the programming feeds out of the DCC command station.

My bad, I thought Dan meant he had 2 dead sections THEN the program track. Need to read more carefully.

AB

Sorry, but I'm back. I just read (somewhere) that the NCE PowerPro system shuts down all trackpower when in programming mode. I am planning on using Joe's wiring (above) anyway, but was curious if this is true (I have not upgraded to the NCE system yet.

thanks,

Allan Beechey