Do BIG layouts need more power?

You don't need ANY more juice...

You DO need more buses, feeders, and power districts/blocks, but how many and where is impossible to say without seeing a specific track plan.

Do I need all that stuff if it is just a single track? There won't be ANY switches. It is just gonna go everywhere.

Yes....... you will still want to run feeders so power is consistent through the entire line. Breaking it up into a number of power blocks would be a good idea because you could then independently operate several trains if you wanted and if your track developed electrical problems it would be much more easy to isolate the problem area. Its not that much extra complexity, work or expense. Running feeders and blocks will save trouble shooting frustrations, give you some future operating flexibility and allow your train or trains to run smoothly at the same speeds through out the whole railroad. Bruce

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"> Do I need all that stuff if it is just a single track? There won't be ANY "> switches. It is just gonna go everywhere.

As good a conductor as nickel-silver track is, it is not as good as good old heavy copper wire. Get some 12 or 14 gage romex cable (house wiring cable) and run it under the bench-work, following the track and run feeders every so often.

"> > >I'm thinking about turning the whole basement into a huge n scale layout. "> > >If you have like 300 linear feet of track, do you need more juice? "> >

"> > You don't need ANY more juice... "> >

"> > You DO need more buses, feeders, and power districts/blocks, but how many "> > and where is impossible to say without seeing a specific track plan. "> > -- "> > Joe Ellis ? CEO Bethlehem-Ares Railroad "> > ___a________n_mmm___mmm_mmm_mmm___mmm_mmm_mmm___mmm_n______ "> > ___|8 8B| ___ /::::: / /::::X/ /:::::/ /:::::/|| "> > ||__BARR| | | /::::::/ /:::::X /:::::/ /:::::/ || "> > ---------------------------------------------------------------- "> > [(=)=(=)=(=)=(=)]|___________________________|[(=)=(=)=(=)=(=)] "> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serving America's Heartland Since 1822 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "> >

"> "> ">

\/ Robert Heller ||InterNet: snipped-for-privacy@cs.umass.edu

|| snipped-for-privacy@deepsoft.com /\FidoNet: 1:321/153

"Every so often" is kinda vague, what do you recommend, roughly, in feet?

Paul

Have feeders each side of the rail joints, then you know each peice will have power. Or maybe every 4' to 5'

Good luck with it

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PN> In article , PN> Robert Heller writes: PN> > "wolfee" , PN> > In a message on Thu, 02 Oct 2003 00:08:55 GMT, wrote : PN> > PN> > "> Do I need all that stuff if it is just a single track? There won't be ANY PN> > "> switches. It is just gonna go everywhere. PN> > PN> > As good a conductor as nickel-silver track is, it is not as good as PN> > good old heavy copper wire. Get some 12 or 14 gage romex cable (house PN> > wiring cable) and run it under the bench-work, following the track and PN> > run feeders every so often. PN> PN> "Every so often" is kinda vague, what do you recommend, roughly, in feet?

It depends on several factors, such as how much power your locomotive(s) draw, whether you are using DCC, whether you plan to run MU power consists, etc. Probably something like between 3 and 6 feet. Generally, it is not especially critical and a certain amount of 'slop' in the spacing allows for putting the feeders where in is 'convenient'.

PN> > "> > >I'm thinking about turning the whole basement into a huge n scale layout. PN> > "> > >If you have like 300 linear feet of track, do you need more juice? PN> > "> >

PN> > "> > You don't need ANY more juice... PN> > "> >

PN> > "> > You DO need more buses, feeders, and power districts/blocks, but how many PN> > "> > and where is impossible to say without seeing a specific track plan. PN> > "> > -- PN> > "> > Joe Ellis ? CEO Bethlehem-Ares Railroad PN> > "> > ___a________n_mmm___mmm_mmm_mmm___mmm_mmm_mmm___mmm_n______ PN> > "> > ___|8 8B| ___ /::::: / /::::X/ /:::::/ /:::::/|| PN> > "> > ||__BARR| | | /::::::/ /:::::X /:::::/ /:::::/ || PN> > "> > ---------------------------------------------------------------- PN> > "> > [(=)=(=)=(=)=(=)]|___________________________|[(=)=(=)=(=)=(=)] PN> > "> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serving America's Heartland Since 1822 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ PN> > "> >

> "> PN> > "> PN> > "> PN> > PN> > \/ PN> > Robert Heller ||InterNet: snipped-for-privacy@cs.umass.edu PN> > || snipped-for-privacy@deepsoft.com PN> > /\FidoNet: 1:321/153 PN> > PN> > PN> > PN> > PN> > PN> > PN> > PN> PN> -- PN> Working the Rockie Road of the G&PX PN>

\/ Robert Heller ||InterNet: snipped-for-privacy@cs.umass.edu

|| snipped-for-privacy@deepsoft.com /\FidoNet: 1:321/153

Ok, I was thinking about once every 3', which would be every section of flextrack(more or less).

With any luck I'll have some time to have luck with ... ???? It makes sense when I think it!! *8->

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On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 13:48:07 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@pimin.rockhead.com (Paul Newhouse) shared this with the world:

That's what I have commonly heard recommended. I've done exactly that on my layout (much smaller than what we are talking about here) and have had no problems with power drops.

The biggest home layout that I've visited fills an 1100 sq foot basement, with up to 3 levels of track in some spots, and he took the time to run heavy feeders, and wire every section of flex track (at least on the main lines). His operation seems flawless.

He did have a bigger electrical panel installed for his house, but that was to provide more circuits for the lighting, not really for track power. He runs several walkaround DC throttles (with block control), but they are not some super heavy-duty thing. They are built by a local guy, and are similar to Rich Weyand's Cooler Crawler.

Anyone who was at the Thousand Lakes Region convention in Winnipeg a couple of years ago may have seen the layout I'm talking about on the tours.

Kent

On Thu, 02 Oct 2003 18:08:42 GMT, Slingblade shared this with the world:

Maybe his interest is primarily "railfanning" his model.

I was just reading an article in an old (Jan 1983) Bulletin discussing layout design for different styles of operation. The author talks about 12 different styles of operating a layout, and what types of layout might best accommodate those styles. Styles range from "dispatcher" (trying to keep all the trains running on schedule) to "engineer" (focussed on moving one train over the line)to "gamesman" (switching puzzles), to "railfan"(sit back and watch 'em run).

One size does not fit all. Kent