Power Feeds

[Spencer]

Hi , have recently purchased a dynamis starter set .
With the power feed to the rerailer , can I splice another power feed to the current one and how many times can I splice to other rerailer feeds , before there is any noticeable/major issues with power , amperage , voltage drops?

[RAM]

Well to start with, how big is your layout?  I don't think you would have any issues with power, amperage, or voltage drop. 

[Doneldon]

Spence-

Your Dynamis should have plenty of power for a home payout unless you have a huge layout, you expect to run multiple trains at one time,  all with MUed locos, or you plan to use track power for turnouts, lights and other accessories (NOT recommended). Multiple power feeds from an under-layout power buss is a good idea (and it's easier to do before the layout is complete and you have to lay on your back to do them) as DCC really wants great continuity).

Whatever you do, DO NOT connect more than one power source to a given length of track. I don't think you are planning on doing that but it wasn't completely clear in your post.
                                                                                                                                                                             -- D

[electrical whiz kid]

Doneldon;
I have heard the term "big layout" bandied about here and there, but yet, no one has a definitive spec(s) for size.  What would be considered a "large layout"?  I have always been fortunate enough to work a layout between one and three hundred feet of track.
Rich C.

[rogertra]

Doneldon;
I have heard the term "big layout" bandied about here and there, but yet, no one has a definitive spec(s) for size.  What would be considered a "large layout"?  I have always been fortunate enough to work a layout between one and three hundred feet of track.
Rich C.

That question, how big is a big layout is like how long is a long piece of string or how deep is deep hole?

If you have 4 x 8 then a 10 x 12 is big.  If you have a 10 x 12 then a 20 x 40 is big and so on and so on.

I currently have a still building 10 x 33 foot model railroad, which will eventually expand in size but I don't consider it "big".  My last GER was 12 x 16, again not a "big" model railroad.

On this current model railroad, my first with DCC, I have feeders from the bus every three feet or so and in quite a few cases, even more frequently than that.  Anytime one of my short wheelbase steam stalls, the first thing I do is add another pair of feeders from the bus to where the loco stalled.  Eventually, all my steam at least will be equipped with "Stay Alive" capacitors or the new "Wow Sound" stay alive DCC decoders.  Diesels will be on an as needed basis as there are way fewer pick up problems with diesels.  Unfortunately, steam in general, including Bachmann engines, do not pick up power from all the tender wheels, just from opposite sides of each truck.  This leads to stalling on short wheelbase steam.  There are two solutions.  One is to add pickups to the wheels that do not pick up power, the second is to either add the stay alive capacitors or to use DCC boards with stay alive built it.


Cheers

Roger.

[electrical whiz kid]

Roger;
Tomar makes a rail pickup system and from what I have seen and heard, works pretty good.  Like you, I use a buss drop system every three or so feet, and use 18 stranded as pickup leads.  my buss system is #12THHN/THWN/THNN stranded (Oh God; here come the comments)-it is MY personal choice (and my jing-a-ling).  So far using this system, I have encountered few problems with steamers-which I run.  I have recently decided to use smaller steam though, the accent being on pedlars and switching.  I do have two diesels (GE 44-tonners) plying the docks and float bridges.  Some rigid-frame large engines, bot most are of the 2-6-0 variety.  I had managed to find a lot of what I wanted in Evil Bay...  The price was right.

Rich C.

[rogertra]

Rich.

I plan on adding these simple to install pick ups: -

http://www.55n3.org/cars/tender_wipers/

[Doneldon]

Doneldon;
I have heard the term "big layout" bandied about here and there, but yet, no one has a definitive spec(s) for size.  What would be considered a "large layout"?  I have always been fortunate enough to work a layout between one and three hundred feet of track.
Rich C.

Rich-

What constitutes a large layout is a great and impossible question. And it's a matter of pure opinion. I would guess that it changes over time, like "what is old," although I am an exception in that regard.  I can state conclusively that the definition of old never changes for me; old has always meant older than me.

Getting back to your question, for me, the size of a layout consists of several components: gross modeling area, complexity and compression of trackwork, and scale. I would say a not small layout is one which cannot fit into a generously-sized room. Or at least that's the first level of answer. An elaborate, multi-level layout in a bedroom might be a large layout, too. And a layout which runs through several rooms but is mostly limited to a single track on a narrow shelf might not be a large one. I would consider a large-scale outdoor layout which runs all over the back yard but has limited development apart from its mainline to be a small layout. So ... I would define a large layout as one which covers substantial (do not under any circumstances ask me what substantial means) gross space or which has highly compressed, concentrated trackwork even if the "gross" area is not great. Further, I think this isn't a simple is it big or small question but one which may have several anchoring points along a continuum.

Thus, adding a single foot of track to a small layout doesn't suddenly make it a large one. There are intermediate points. All of that said, I would define a small layout as one which is confined to a single, if not small, room and which does not have highly complex, compressed trackage. For me, the next step would be a mid-sized layout. Maybe that's something like two rooms or a meandering layout which isn't highly complex or compressed. And a large layout is one which is bigger than that. In terms of mainline, I would consider most layouts with one or one-and-a-half scale miles of mainline or less to be small ones. I would call most layouts with more than that but less than three or four miles of mainline a moderately-large layout and most anything beyond that a large layout. But all of that is still subject to track density and complexity issues, and scale.

Ask 10 model rails this question and you'll probably get at least 11 answers, which is a lot. Or not. Or just medium. And which is subject to all kinds of other considerations.
                                                                                                                                                                                -- D

[jward]

if I understand the original poster;s question correctly, he wants to use terminal tracks for power, and daisy chain them together using other terminal wires connected between terminal tracks.

the short answer is yes this can be done.  but, consider that every plug in terminal is a potential problem. the connections can corrode over time, lessening electrical contact. daisy chaining them would magnify this problem. remember, dcc is really picky about signal degradation. areas with degraded signal may not stop the trains from running, but dcc locomotives will continue to run on whatever command they last understood. the result is loss of control of your locomotive in that area. it will not respond to your throttle until it reaches an area where the signal is strong enough for the command to be understood.

a much better way would to be soldered connections  to the rail, either direct from a terminal block near the command station, or feeders tapped into a bus line run around under the layout. if you don't  want to solder your connections, you can still use the terminal tracks and plugs, but I'd cut the plugs off one end of the terminal wires and run them to a terminal block, this way, you reduce the number of potential problems caused by dirty or loose terminal plugs.