The blue wire on the PCB is the V+ output for functions such as lights, etc.  It is one side of the keep alive connection. Power the loco and use a DC setting to find the V- side of the rectifier bridge on the PCB for the other keep alive connection. That would be one of the pads of the D1 - D4 rectifier array.

Or you could just connect it across the +/- LED connections on one end of the PCB. The blue keep alive wire goes to the + connection.

Len

That's a lot of track on that layout. How many power feeders are you using?  Even with a 5 amp booster, just one is not enough for that much track.

Len

Thank you.

Len

The TCS KA1 and KA2 have been redesigned to make them smaller for use in N scale locos. Check their site for exact dimensions.

Len

Seems like some of the "sticky" posts at the top of the forum are getting a bit dated. 2026 Catalog announcement is up, do we still need an announcement about the 2025 catalog? A few other non-critical posts are also getting a bit 'long in the tooth'. Think they could be thinned down so the latest post is visible, without having to scroll down, when entering the forum?

Len

Check out Tichy Train Group. https://www.tichytraingroup.com/

Click the catalogs tab to download a catalog for your scale.   They have tons of doors, windows, and other building fittings, in HO and N.  I've modified many identical Plasticville buildings with their parts to give a development type "neighborhood" a more interesting look.

Len

According to the EZ-Command instructions:

After the track connections are complete, plug the Wall Pack Power Supply into a standard 110 volt wall outlet (figure 5). Plug the wire from the Wall Pack Power Supply into the socket on the E-Z Command controller labeled "16VDC IN"

Instructions available here:

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/E-ZCommandinstructions.updated.pdf

Len

No problem. If you do not have one, the manuals for all versions of the Zephyr are available on the Digitrax site.

Len

The wire end of the cable connects to "Rail-A" and "Rail-B" on the grey Zephyr terminal block.

Len

The New Haven owned the mainline and the spur at the time. The spur was known as the 'Groton Branch' The main industries served were Sunoco Ready Mix Cement, near where the spur left the main, Groton Airport, Esso Oil, Pfizer, and Electric Boat Company.  The track is still there, and can be followed on Google maps:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Groton,+CT/@41.3412721,-72.0417338,16.58z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x89e6093f23ffd9e5:0x44ff1732c5e11cc5!8m2!3d41.3481528!4d-72.078663!16zL20vMDNsaGoz?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

It splits off the main right at South Rd, runs west past Tilcon Connecticut (Was Sunoco), then turns sound towards Beer'd Brewing and down to the airport. The siding with the station and freight house there is long gone. It then heads west again, passing through a golf course and on to Pfizer, Something oil, and Electric boat.  Except for the branch tracks headed to Electric Boat, the old Pfizer tracks are gone. There is still a fair amount of track left at Electric Boat.

Len

This is the description for the 'SoundValue' 0-6-0 from Bachmann's on-line store. There is no mention of smoke:

Features Include
 Authentic USRA standard design
 Precision motor
 Soundtraxx® Hyperdrive2™ Advanced Motor Control for refined low-speed operation
 Flex-Map function mapping technology for reassigning function keys F0-F28 to any effect
 Hyperlight™ equipped headlight and reverse light with Rule 17 operation or automatic direction control
 Soundtraxx® Econami™16-bit polyphonic sound with user-adjustable sound effect and volume options
 Completely hidden drivetrain
 Upgraded locomotive body with refined and improved boiler and cab details
 Newly tooled roadname-specific coal or oil tender with operating backup light
 Operating LED headlight with roadname-specific placement
 Separately applied metal handrails and uncoupling levers
 Separately applied bell, number plate, and clear cab windows
 Highly detailed painted bodies with precision graphics
 Upgraded chassis and operating see-through drive wheels with spokes
 Metal siderods
 Blackened metal wheels with RP25 contours on locomotive and tender
 Magnetically operated E-Z Mate® Mark II coupler on the front and rear
 Product Measurements: L 9.5 in., W 1.5 in., H 2 in.
 Performs best on 18" radius curves or greater
 Retail Package Measurements: L 10.2 in., W 1.8 in., H 3.4 in.

The earlier version of the 0-6-0 had smoke, but no DCC decoder.

Decoder function outputs do not supply enough current to operate a smoke unit. You sould have to use the function output to trigger a relay that supplied track voltage/current directly to the smoke unit heater. And there is not really room for that in most HO locos.

Len

Going through some Sanbord Fire Insurance maps and came across this one, published in 1951, that includes the Pfizer Chemical plant.  I worked there 1970 - 1972, and those track curves are sharp, and listening to flange aqueal was pretty much an all day thing. 15" and 18" radius curves would be right for this one.

Expand the pic for details. The building labeled 'Machine Shop' was actually the maintenance shed for the Pfizers in house locos.  There were a pair of 44 Tonners, painted dark Navy blue, when I was there. A 70 Tonner was added after I left, and the paint was changed to "Safety Orange".

You could use the same general configuration for another industry on a large layout, or just use it as a standalong switching layout.  There was plenty of activity going on, and not just tank cars. There would be boxcars to pick up 100lb sacks of finished dry chemicals and deliver sacks of chemicals used in production. Covered hoppers for bulk pickup of dry powdery chemicals. Even flat cars bringing in pipe and valves for mixing tanks.

Link to page:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3784nm.g3784nm_g011521951/?sp=75&st=image

Len

Some ON BOARD decoders are finiky and you have to put a 1/4 or 1/2 watt 1,000 ohm resister across the track when programing. Similar to what's you have to do with some sound decoders. Also, SoundValue locos have sound, not DCC ONNBOARD locos.

Len

If the industrial area can be seen from both sides, one option is to use bacground scene buildings that are only an inch or so deep mounted back-to-back. This would give the appearnce of two different industries serving sidings running more or less parallel to each other.

Len

AnyRail, free demo limited to 50 track sections, or SCARM, free, software both have libraries for EZ-Track that take the guesswork out of layout planning.

Len