Reed switches and the track as a common return

minimans said:
Oh and on a power supply I would suggest using a 5 amp supply for the EPL system and even with that possibly a LGB EPL booster. When running trains in opposite direction's it's extremely important that the points throw reliably 100% of the time!! it gets very interesting otherwise. Make sure you use an adequate size of cable to carry the switching current. On my garden I was able to run six trains in opposite directions using the EPL system and very impressive it was too until a point would fail to switch then it got interesting in a bad way. Not trying to put you off in any way but you will need to be very careful in planning and fitting the wiring whichever way you choose to wire it, common return or separate return.
Click to expand...

The line overall at the moment will total about 40ft, and the points at the passing area will be manually set at the start of each day's running. The loco will go straight on going out, as it were, and round the loop coming back.
 
Could you not simplify the system by having sprung points?

You then do not need to worry about the loco(s) going into the correct loop.. You will only be detecting / switching for direction, stop, and delay.
 
playmofire said:
The line overall at the moment will total about 40ft, and the points at the passing area will be manually set at the start of each day's running. The loco will go straight on going out, as it were, and round the loop coming back.
Click to expand...

Gordon,

If the trains are going in opposite directions presumably each track is direction specific?

One idea is to have pre-set sprung point blades . Then all you need to worry about is your switching! (Sorry Phil my posting was delayed due to my error - 100% agree with your posting!)

The only time I have ever done loop entry from different directions was using both catenary and track as power supplies, so I look forward to seeing how you do this!

Presumably the trains will slow and stop completely before the polarity switch, or this could be interesting!
 
PhilP said:
Could you not simplify the system by having sprung points?

You then do not need to worry about the loco(s) going into the correct loop.. You will only be detecting / switching for direction, stop, and delay.
Click to expand...

Yes, they will be sprung points, see post 21.
 
James Day said:
Gordon,

If the trains are going in opposite directions presumably each track is direction specific?

One idea is to have pre-set sprung point blades . Then all you need to worry about is your switching! (Sorry Phil my posting was delayed due to my error - 100% agree with your posting!)

The only time I have ever done loop entry from different directions was using both catenary and track as power supplies, so I look forward to seeing how you do this!

Presumably the trains will slow and stop completely before the polarity switch, or this could be interesting!
Click to expand...

HI James, the line will be operated by a single loco and the points will be manual sprung points, see posts 20 and 21.
 
Playmofire, just for the fun of it:

the layout i am wiring now. DC, 8 trains, four in each direction. fully automatic.

schaltungen02.JPG




the text is here: http://kormsen.info/steering/
just scroll down a bit.
 
I like the 'end of railway territory' is a dotted line..
The inference being optimistic for future expansion! :clap::clap::clap:
Very clever, by the way..
 
PhilP said:
I like the 'end of railway territory' is a dotted line..
The inference being optimistic for future expansion! :clap::clap::clap:
Very clever, by the way..
Click to expand...

Thank you. My plans for a garden layout seem as far off as ever, so this is aimed at the garage on tops of old kitchen cabinets in there. There are two rows and a centre aisle, so a continuous layout is also a possibility.

The station stop will have a random setting, so there will be variations in the running.
 
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James Day said:
Gordon,

Thanks for the explanation - I didn't pick up on your meaning.

Sorry!
Click to expand...

No need to apologise, James, my wording is maybe not as clear as it should be as someone else did the same thing. Also, reading from a screen is not as efficient or effective as reading from the printed word, as I know from experience.
 
Good Point!

My wife loves her Kindle, but give me a hard copy every time!
 
korm kormsen said:
Playmofire, just for the fun of it:

the layout i am wiring now. DC, 8 trains, four in each direction. fully automatic.

schaltungen02.JPG




the text is here: http://kormsen.info/steering/
just scroll down a bit.
Click to expand...

Korm,

I love your plan - Looking at your link you seem to be using EPL drives etc. You have mentioned it is all pure analogue....

I am trying to work out exactly how you are doing both the stopping and the polarity switch in one of your loops? If you have a diagram that shows what goes where for just a single loop, that would be great!

Thanks,
James
 
Korm,

Really appreciate the fast response. Thank you for the very clear diagram too.

I have to confess your adopted method will be very robust and is a lot simpler than what I was trying to put together in my head! Really neat and it conforms to the K.I.S.S. principle!

Basically, you have taken the principle of single direction lapping loop and by thinking outside the box have made it bi-directional!

My newer Bachmann TTE locos come with a DPDT switch, making a solution like yours easier to adopt. Have you 'permanently' re-wired to create your reverse polarity locos, or have you built in a switch to make them either/or?

I also need to get my head around how directional lighting in those locos would work in these circumstances.....?

Do you have any you tube clips of your loops operating.

Fascinating!

James
 
James,
my K.I.S.S. aproach to everything is owed to the fact, that during the first 30 years of largescaling (before the internet) i had no contact with other modelers. so i had to re-invent some wheels... try and error it was.

i just re-soldered the wires at the motors for reversing.
apart from one broken ten wheeler Bmann and 1 loco and two tenders Playmo and a LGB otto, they are all Stainzes and LGB tenders.

directional lighting? - i'll cross that bridge, when i got the (to me) more important things done.

no videos yet. (don't hold your breath, maybe in some years...)
this layout is not functional yet.
but, what i described, was functional on my last, smaller layout (before moving about ten years ago) with two trains in each direction and four stations.

... and as i am very slow, and hate wiring, it takes it's time...
 
Korm,

Much appreciated - as always.

I did a bit of that myself. The forum is a great place to get ideas and advice.

I suspect that we both like lots of movement and tend towards the more basic models and locos. The hobby itself has really moved on in the 40 years since I first got involved, but I don't think that I have kept pace!

James
 
do you know the old joke of a man sitting at a table with a circular track and a train chugging along?
the guy is blindfolded with a scarf. he says to a bystander: " I hate to see trains going roundy-round..."

that could have been me.
where ever possible, i hid the (R1) curves in mountains. that leaves me with 7 optically separated sections in two different levels. each section i built/build/will build with a different theme/landscape and one passing siding station. with different trains from both directions meeting at each station i hope to beat the monotony of roundy-round.
(and if i live to be a hundred, there might be added a stationary animation or two)

i, personally feel good with the smallish and old fashioned stuff.
on one hand i don't have to learn handling new gizmos every year and have less gremlins molesting me, on the other hand i have more money for donations to our local firedepartment.
 
I, too, like simple. Hence, all but one of my locos is Playmobil, the exception is an LGB Spremberger. Although I've got plans sometime for electrically operated points and signals, I also have the simple but effective Playmobil isolating pieces.
 
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