Train control

[Ralphy57]

I am setting up a new Bachmann ez track and I am going to insulate some sections so I can stop or park train in that section and run one of my other trains
What is the recommendation for controllers I have a plain DC system that came with a single plug in the wall controller
Thanks
Ralphy57

[Piyer]

I am going to assume that you have no interest at this time in changing from DC to DCC.

What you want to do is called Block Operation or Block Control. For a great many decades, this was the primary - if not only - way for the average hobbyist to run their trains. You divide your layout into a series of mainline blocks, and do the same for sidings, yard tracks, etc. The power packs - also called cabs (as in the part of a real locomotive where the engineer runs the train from} were electrically connected to a block or blocks via some sort of switching device on the control panel(s). I say "device" because there have been many variations on the theme over the decades depending on the number of cabs in use, and whether the hobbyist built it from, say, Radio Shack parts, or ready-made components from Atlas and others. It could be as simple as a single-throw switch: left is Cab A, right is Cab B, or as complex as 12-position rotary switches or a 1/4" plug and a series of sockets (think old fashioned telephone switchboards).

Usually, the wiring was done with a common rail -- no isolated joints (except for reverse loops), and all power packs were daisy-chained to it, while the opposite rail was the hot one and only one cab at a time was connected to that. Common rail also makes sense under the KISS or Keep It Simple, Stupid! ideal because you can easily test for mis-wired rails before you short out a power pack.

Model Railroader Magazine has a guide to walk you through the wiring process.

https://mrr.trains.com/how-to/dcc-electrical/2014/06/how-to-wire-a-layout-for-two-train-operation


~AJK