You model about the same time period I do: mid 1950's to mid 1960's.  Passenger operations in Denver in N scale.  I have one of these cars painted for Santa Fe, and one painted for Milwaukee Road (used in UP City of Denver/Portland).  The Milwaukee Road car should be a smooth-side Pullman Standard car with larger windows, but I used what I could get (modeler's license, sometimes you just have to fudge a little).

Les

96:

Yes, I believe the example you gave is correct.  I can't advise you about DCC because I have no experience with it.  Although my model railroad is only a few years old, I decided to stay with DC for several reasons.

You can see why I was unable to explain how to wire it with words alone.  Diagrams are invaluable in situations like this!

The only model railroad you could get away without reverse loop wiring would be something with self-powered locomotives, or three rail AC like Lionel.

Les

Your proposed layout is not a dog bone.  It is a loop-to-loop.  A true dog bone uses separate routes to connect the loops, and can run continually without reversing.  My own layout uses this plan.

The reversing tracks are used if you want to back up a train on arrival at either end, so it can back up to the opposite end of the layout.  An example of this would be a trolley car layout, or maybe a push-pull commuter train.

I think you are confusing a reversing track with a reverse loop.  A reverse loop needs a section of track that can be reversed, but more than that.  A reverse loop feeds the train back into the track it arrived on, but going in the opposite direction.  This involves turning the train, not backing it up.  In order to do that, the polarity of the main track has to be reversed while the train is in an electrically isolated section of track in the reverse loop.  This means stopping the train in the isolated section and reversing the polarity to match the reversed polarity of the main track.  There are special reverse loop electrical modules that can do this, or your can wire it up yourself using a polarity reversing switch like an Atlas Controller.

This is a bit more complicated than I can explain here and still make sense.  There are wiring books available that explain how to do this.

If you are using DCC instead of DC, I can't help you.  I can tell you the easiest way would be to build a true dog bone, with a continuous track.

Les

These cars were built by Budd and delivered in 1954.  They were used by the Santa Fe until the start of AMTRAK in 1971, and by AMTRAK for several years thereafter.

Les

I am not a Pennsy fan, nor do I model a part of the country that the PRR ran in.  But I like the fact that Bachmann is producing two Pennsy icons, the K4s and the GG1.

These are classic locomotives, loved and wanted by many N-scalers, and an important addition to the available N scale models.

Les

Standard switches are powered by a solenoid.  EZ-Trak switches use a rack and pinion mechanism to move the throwbar.  Other brands power the throwbar directly by the solenoid.  Higher-end switch machines sometimes use DC motors to drive the throwbar.

Solenoid switch motors can be driven by either AC or DC.  Most people use AC from the AC terminals of the powerpack.  Some people with a large number of powered switches may use extra powerpacks for added AC power.

Solenoid-powered switches are easy to wire.  The most commonly-used makes, Bachmann and Atlas, come with switch controller boxes that can be ganged together so a row of them can be powered by two wires to the powerpack.  Each switch requires three wires to the controller:  a wire each for each route; and a third wire for common return.  If the switch doesn't throw in the direction you like, just reverse the outer two wires.  On a Bachmann switch, this merely involves unplugging the connector at the bottom of the switch controller and turning it upside down and plugging it back in.

This is so simple and easy I would consider it a waste of resources to control the switch with DCC.

My model railroad uses 30 EZ-Trak switches and 20 Atlas switches.  All are powered.  At first, I was having problems with the EZ-Trak switches not throwing or not throwing with enough power.  After disassembling and adjusting several switches (a trying task) I discovered the problem was not in the switches, but in corrosion on the contacts below the control boxes.  Cleaning the contacts and switching to a pilotless water heater solved the problem.  I think fumes from the water heater pilot light was the source of the corrosion (on the aluminum contacts).

Les

Stan,

I model at the other end of the spectrum: N-scale DC.  So I can't help you with specific powerpack recommendations.  You are right that you should have buss wires, as 48 feet of track is too long to feed from two wire connections.  My DC railroad uses the "common rail" wiring plan where one continuous rail (the "inside" or the "outside") acts as one side of the circuit.  This rail is fed from a buss wire that parallels the track on the underside of the layout.  Jumper wires from this wire connect to the "common rail" every three or four feet.

The other half of the circuit is provided by wires running from dpdt selector switches to insulated track blocks on the opposite rail from the common rail.  If you have a long "block" you may need an additional feeder wire on the controlled side.

If you have AC for train power, you could wire the layout with a buss wire/feeders for each rail and side of the circuit.  You would still have to divide one rail into insulated blocks if you want to control more than one train at once, or if you want to leave locos on the layout without power being fed to them. If that is the case, it would be wired like a DC railroad with the buss on only the common rail side.

If you have DCC, you are still not on your own, but you will need to get your advice from someone else.  When this system first appeared, I made a decision not to use it and did not incorporate it into my current railroad.

The answer to how big a power supply you will need boils down to how much amperage you will be using.  Anything that increases load on the power system will require additional capacity in any power system.  Bear in mind that "trainset" power packs are usually the minimum required for the equipment packed in the set.

It is very important in the planning stage to decide what you eventually want your model railroad to be like.  If you will someday want to run additional locomotives, longer trains, or several trains at once, now is the time to design a system that will support that.  It is much easier to do this than to try to retrofit an existing railroad.

Les

We are going to need some more information to answer your question.  The dimensions of your outermost track do not sound overly large, but how many feet of track do you intend to power at the same time (total length)?

Do you have grades, or is your railroad flat?

Is it AC or DC?  Or DCC?

Are your passenger cars lighted?

Do you intend to power additional things with your power supply (static lighting, switch machines, etc)?

Les

Sid,

No, I haven't heard of that.  I bet it's a lot cheaper than acrylic thinner.  Does the blue color affect the color of the paint?

Les

The craft-type acrylic paints (such as Apple Barrel) can be used in an airbrush with a little preparation.  I have done it successfully.
The two most important considerations are that the pigments are coarser than those in "model paints", and the importance of using pure water, as impurities will cause the paint to coagulate.

You can thin the paint for spraying with Model Master acrylic thinner, or with a mixture of denatured alcohol and distilled water.

Very important:  after thinning the paint, pour it through a fine-meshed tea strainer.  Then it can be sprayed with an airbrush.  You me have to clean the airbrush after a few minutes, as the paint dries quickly in the spray nozzle.

The main advantages I find with this paint is its wider availability.  It is also much cheaper than regular model paint, it dries quickly to a flat finish, it doesn't have dangerous fumes, it won't burn, and the different colors will mix easily to get the shade you want.  If you don't wait until it hardens, it can be washed off with soap and water.

Les

I do not use DCC, but your problem also applies to DC.  Positive and negative mix-ups refer to consistency:  keeping positive and negative on opposite rails, except in situations like reverse loops and wyes and turntables, where an electrically isolated section of track can have its polarity temporarily switched.

Continuity refers to maintaining electrical connection between rail sections on the same side of the track.

There is a third variable that applies to both DCC and DC.  It is voltage drop.  As wires conduct electricity better than rails, it is a good idea to use wires for transmitting electricity as much as possible.  On DC layouts, this is accomplished by running feeder wires to each controlled section from the power distribution panel every three or four feet.  A return circuit can be made by using a buss wire that follows the track around underneath the layout, with jumper wires to the non-controlled rail every three or four feet.  I think with DCC a similar wiring plan can be made using two buss-jumper wire arrangement, one for each rail.

Since I do not use DCC, someone else should probably advise you about wiring schemes.  I do remember when DCC was first introduced, it was greatly oversold with claims that you could wire your entire layout with two wires.  This is a terrible idea, and anyone taking this idea too seriously is apt to be severely disappointed.

Les

I used to work in Meridian, MS, on the Meridian and Bigbee, mostly running trains between Meridian and Selma, AL.  Also worked the night switcher in Nahola, AL yard.  I didn't know it was Jimmy Rogers' home town.

Sometimes I would go all the way to Montgomery, AL.

Les

E.L. Moore:  If there were a Model Railroading Hall of Fame, he should be in the first rank.  His creations were sometimes used as the basis for plastic kits.  The Molasses Mine, the Garbage Train, The Watermelon Train.  Sometimes the articles were accompanied by poems.

I had visions of an elaborate Southern shortline model railroad with logging camps and moonshine stills.  But from what I have read, he might not even have had a model railroad.
Apparently, he lived in a small house or apartment, and his zany creations were built on a 1960's era metal "TV tray"!

His models would have fit in well on John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid RR.

Les

I remember Bill Schopp.  And Alan Rice (Eric Lanal), Whit Towers, John Allen, and all the rest.  I would read Schopp's conversion articles with fascination, as he chopped up (now) priceless brass locos while I couldn't even afford the plastic versions.  Wouldn't you like to look through his "scrap box"?

Les

For cleaning track, I have found Crosman Pellgun oil to work well.  While I suspect it is ATF, it comes in a small tube and is easy to apply and keep sealed up.

Put a little on the track and run the train through it.

This is sold for lubricating air guns, especially those operated by CO2.

Les