I'm doing a shell swap and was wondering about the wiring to the sparking pole. Are there any polarity issues, as it does appear one wire is longer than the other. Has anyone done this before? I ended up with a cheap duplicate car and purchased a replacement shell and pole, so I'm just changing out to a different city. My apologies if this is posted elsewhere. TIA

A long time ago I had to redo a yard to allow for a short straight section between the yard throat switch and where the curve started on the main line. I lost two cars of capacity in the yard but operation became so much better.

I have to comment:

the length of a layout does not DIRECTLY dictate the amps needed in a power supply.

It's the electrical losses between the power supply and the locomotive that are important. This is why there is often controversy, where someone states the 1 amp power supply is not enough, and the next guy says his same size layout is fine.

The losses from from resistance, normally between sections of rails (but can also be poor wire feeder gauge, or poor connections)

So, brass track, 2 feet points, rail clamps, no problem in your "60 foot" layout.

rusted steel track, stock corroded joiners, light gauge wire, no good and perhaps even a much larger (volts and/or amps) transformer may not solve your issue.

So, gauge (pun intended) what you need by the quality of your layout connections, joiners, feed(s) quality.

Greg

I recently purchased a Bachmann N scale GP 40 EMD Diesel Locomotive Penn Central & Matching Dummy.
I need to replace all four trucks and couplers for four modern sets. I have tried to figure it out but I can't and I need some help.

Len and Jeffrey, thank you very much for your replies. Much appreciated!

Quote from: John Fed on April 18, 2024, 03:51:28 PMI am building a 2 loop layout on a 4x8 platform with an 18" radius inner loop and a 22" outer loop. I will purchase 2 left hand and 2 right hand turnouts to connect the loops and need help identifying which turnout to buy. My interest is the DCC type nickel silver with grey roadbed. Will the standard turnouts items #44130 and 44131 align properly so the 2 loops connect?  Thanks

I would strongly advise against the use of those two. Using them as a crossover between the two loops will leave you with a nasty S curve your trains will not like. And even if that weren't the case, they give an excessively wide track spacing. You're better off using  #5 or #6 for this. They are far less sharp of a curve, and have build in straight parts to lessen the effect of the s curve to something that most rolling stock will run through without derailing. The use of 18" radius curves in an S curve without a straight of at least 6 inches is a well known source of derailments, yet it is a mistake most beginners seem to be attracted to like moths to a candle.

You can use one left and one right #6 crossover to do what you want. Something like this:



You could replace one, or more, inner straight sections with turnouts to create sidings or a yard.

Len

Research on the net, there are countless plans showing how many pieces of sectional track are needed for various layouts.

I am building a 2 loop layout on a 4x8 platform with an 18" radius inner loop and a 22" outer loop. I will purchase 2 left hand and 2 right hand turnouts to connect the loops and need help identifying which turnout to buy. My interest is the DCC type nickel silver with grey roadbed. Will the standard turnouts items #44130 and 44131 align properly so the 2 loops connect?  Thanks

I am interested in making an oval track for my N scale train     approx  24 inches   layout   How many straight and curves would I need