New to hobby.....

[SFTX23]

My 8 yr old son received a Chattanooga train set from Santa.  I have just set up the track and train and everything works great.  I have one question at the moment...the speed controller has an "accessory connection" however the instructions state that it "is capable of powering one accessory item at a time." Is this really true?  I understand the rating of the power pack is 16VAC / 1A, what is the current draw of the loco its self?  We did get lighted bank building to go with it, which has a 12-16VAC bulb, no other rating info is given.  Assuming that we would like to add additional electrical accessories later, what type of accessory power supply would we need?  Unless I missed it somewhere I did not see one here on this site, I did see the power supply/speed controller; but don't need the speed controller at this point.  Is there one that is "accessory only"?  Any links to pictures/descriptions of them would be great.  Thanks in advance for your help. 

Happy New Year

[the Bach-man]

Dear SF,
You can power several accessories via a terminal strip. When you exceed the capabilities of the pack things will dim or run poorly, at which time you add another pack.
Happy New Year!
the Bach-man

[SFTX23]

So I can just wire the terminal strip to the accessory connection?  Also once I do eventually exceed the capabilities of the power pack, I assume worse case scenario would be to trip the internal breaker and not damage the train?  Thanks Bach-man for the quick response.

[Joe Satnik]

Dear SFTX23,

Welcome !

Remember that the power pack is limited in its total power output. 

If you heavily load the accessories, your train will slow down.

Some more accessories discussion in this thread (turnout motor related):

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,11662.0.html

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik   

[SFTX23]

Thanks Joe for the link.  I still would like to understand what the average power consumption of the train is that way I have an idea of how many accessories I can safely add to the power pack.  One other question, as I stated we also bought a lighted building which says on the box works off of 12V-16V however I have no idea what wattage the bulb is.   Also is it as easy as connecting the accessory outputs to a terminal strip and then the accessories to the terminal strip?  Are there any rules of thumb when connecting simple accessories like lights?  Unfortunately there is not a hobby store close to me, I went to Barnes and Noble but they  didn't have any books on the hobby.  Which leads me to my second one other question, are there any books you guys could recommend?  I read several threads about the E-Z Model Railroads The E-Z Track Planning Guide & Track Layout Book, most were older threads though.  Is this book still recommended?  Thanks again guys for your help, and sorry for the numerous questions......

[ABC]

Newer locomotives take about 1/2 to 3/4 of an amp without sound and smoke. Sound and smoke will take more amps as will older locos. All you need to do is wire the accessory to the AC output of the power pack, but when you purchase lights separately, you need to pay attention to the watts, volts, etc...

[wjstix]

Your building's light bulb will draw very little power by itself. You could probably hook up 10 or more similar lights without much problem. At some point down the road you may want to get a second power pack to run accessories and use one just to run trains, but for now it should be no problem.

Barnes and Noble may or may not have books on trains, I would check their magazine section for Model Railroader and Railroad Model Craftsman magazines too. Both mag's publishers (Kalmbach and Carstens) print a number of "how to" books that will help you out. You can also check out their websites.

[ABC]

Your building's light bulb will draw very little power by itself. You could probably hook up 10 or more similar lights without much problem. At some point down the road you may want to get a second power pack to run accessories and use one just to run trains, but for now it should be no problem.

I would say that it probably could only handle no more than 8 lights, and a few less if running a train and powering turnouts.

[SFTX23]

Thanks ABC & wjstk for the info.  I don't need many lights at the moment, so I will just use some Christmas lights we have.  I have been searching on here for hours and come across many interesting topics, I had no idea how sophisticated a proper layout could be!  There are so many knowledgeable people willing to help its amazing.  I will definitely be going to B&N tomorrow before football to get some railroading mags, thanks for the idea mjstk.  I will throw out a couple other questions....1. The power pack is rated for 1A, ABC said the loco takes 1/2 - 3/4 of an amp, does that leave 1/2-1/4 of an amp available for the accessories?  2.  As I said I have read many posts on here so I may be getting some of them mixed up.  I have read people referring to pos. and neg. wiring of the accessory, I understand it makes no difference for lights but what about for other things?  The power pack I have has 16VAC for this use which to me implies a hot and neutral.  I would assume that if using switches you would want to be sure you are switching the hot side on and off.....

thanks again everyone for the information and help

[ABC]

I got my multimeter out and my Atlas FM H15/16-44 uses about .25amps. An old Athearn loco I have used .75amps.

[SFTX23]

I assume you connected the leads in series with one connected to the transformer and the other to the track?