New to the Hobby

[raypro]

I recently purchased a Bachmann 501 set for my son.  I also purchased some turnouts and extra track to expand the set.  I have realized since that the power pack and controller will not power the turnouts.

I believe I will need to power the turnouts from a separate transformer/power pack and was wondering what would be necessary/adequate to handle six turnouts.  Also, what are the electrical characteristics of the turnouts?  Seems important enought to place on the turnout itself but nothing is there.

One last thought, I am planning to add a 22" oval outside the 18" provided in the set and connecting them with the switches.  I was wondering how many terminals I should expect to include and how are they wired from the single output of the controller?

[ABC]

You can your old HO power supplies if you have any or buy some at a train show or flea market that are cheap, as you don't need anything fancy. You could also use old wall-warts if you have any. From the size of your layout I would suggest maybe put two feeders on the inside and two feeders on the outside and add more if necessary. But before adding more feeders make sure the track and locos wheels are thoroughly cleaned as pick-up problems are often mistaken for I should add more feeders when all you have to do is clean your track and loco and ensure all the connections are good, if it will be permanent (at least for several years), you can soldier all your connections. The standard turnouts use a solenoid switch that should only be pressed momentarily, if you hold it down for more than a moment, you run the risk of burning out the solenoid and rendering the switch inoperable, and then you'll have to buy a new turnout.

[OldTimer]

As ABC said, you can use an old power pack.  The switch motors are twin coil solenoids and operate best on AC.  Most power packs have two terminals labeled "Accessories" or "16-18V AC", or less likely, "Fixed AC"  Those are the terminals you want to use to power your switch machines.

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Raypro,

Welcome to the hobby. 

Here is the 00501 set:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1532

Looks like fun.   

You can kill 2 birds with one stone with a Bachmann 44212 power pack.  It was designed to work side by side with the EZ-Command DCC controller set:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=209 

You can use its accessory outputs (16VAC) to power your twin-coil turnout solenoids, and if you plug the controller output into the EZ-command station, it will control a DC loco on your layout, and free up EZ-command address 0 for DCC use. 

I have some of these new from set break-ups.  Contact me through the Personal Message system (click on my name) for more details and references. 

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

[Joe323]

Assuming that you are not going to be throwing all 6 turnouts at once you should be OK with an old HO power pack as the other Joe suggested.  You  I would go to Radio Shack or one of those places and get a terminal block. 

Wire the end of the terminal block to the AC terminals of the power pack and then wire the  turnouts from there.

[raypro]

WOW, I'm overwhelmed by the responses.  The model railroading community certainly is  a helpful group.

I'll look into the dedicated power pack for the turnouts.  I noticed in the thread that there are a range of AC voltages noted for the turnout operation (16-18 VAC).  Is there a maximum voltage or limit?  I have checked and some power packs indicate they output 20VAC.

Also, since I'm using EZ Track, the terminal re-railers have plugs as the connector and there is a plug on the command center.  Based on what is written below for the turnouts, I should feed the power from the command center to a terminal block and then feed each terminal re-railer from there.

[uncbob]

You can always  flip the switches manually

[Doneldon]

Raypro-

You can get a terrific kit for a capacitive discharge unit which will throw up to ten turnouts simultaneously (or a combination of ten turnouts and relays?) from Talking Electronics in Australia.  They sell the circuit board and all of the parts and will ship it to you within a week.  I'm very happy with the product and service I experienced.  You can find them at

                         talkingelectronics.com/

          --D

[raypro]

Great suggestions.  Maybe I'm overly concerned about this but is there a mximum voltage for the turnouts?

[Doneldon]

Raypro-

That's not an isue with the CD system.   It outputs the correct voltage but has more amperage which allows it to work with several turnouts simultaneously.

          --D

[Jim Banner]

The first issue with turnouts is over heating the switch motors.  At 16 volts or so, you can hold the throw button down for a few seconds, maybe as much as 5 seconds, without overheating the coils and starting to melt the plastic.  But heating goes up as the square of the voltage.  So at 20 volts, you could only hold the button down for 60% as long.  If you go much above 20 volts you start throwing the turnout switches so hard that they will eventually break.

Depending on the age and manual dexterity of your son, you may want to consider a CD (Capacitor Discharge) switch machine controller because it sends a good, strong pulse of current to the switch machine but only for an internally limited length of time, usually a fraction of a second.  This avoids any possibility of him/you/one of his friends holding a button down long enough to fry the switch motor.  This is not a theoretical consideration - it happens, even with experienced operators.

The alternative, if the track layout and turnouts permit, is to throw the turnouts manually.  This may involve lengthening the wiring to your E-Z Command so that you can carry it around the layout while following your trains and throwing the turnouts.  Not only will this help your son learn exactly what the track is doing when he throws a switch but also it will enhance his and your experience of being the engineer by associating more closely with your train.  This also encourages father/son interaction, taking turns being the engineer and the brakeman who throws the turnouts.  It doesn't get any better than that.

Jim