Powering my Railway

[Striker1945]

Alright so I've been a model railroader for a few months now. I started building with the Bachmann Cavalier set and have expanded from there. I have been buying some E-Z track to play with and I have also been acquiring DCC fit locomotives for my eventual transition to a more permanent and larger layout (NOT USING E-Z TRACK). However I have one issue and that is power. The trains tend to lose power/speed on the far section of my layout. I know it is because I'm not providing power all across the layout at regular intervals. My question is this: Using the Bachmann power-pack included in the Cavalier set can I simply splice copper wire onto the transformer wire ports and then run those wires out to the rest of my layout?

[Doneldon]

1945-

Welcome to model railroading and this site. I'm sure you'll grow to enjoy our hobby and find new things to do and learn along the way. That's what has kept me going for nearly 60 years.

You have two issues with your electrical supply. The first will be one you'll have to deal with routinely: track and wheel cleaning. Nothing interferes with electrical contact more than dirty track and/or wheels. This is true regardless of rail material; although brass and steel alloy are the worst, even nickel-silver rail needs to be cleaned from time to time. To do that, use a track cleaning bar from your hobby shop, a Scotch Brite pad, some Wahl clipper oil and a rough cloth, or any of the commercial cleaning products. Do not use steel wool because it leaves tiny steel fragments which are attracted by motor magnets and which get into gears and wheel bearings. There are a number of products which will clean your rails as you go, including rolling stock with integrated track cleaning systems, or a homemade car with a piece of Masonite which rides the rails, cleaning them as you go.

Wheels can be cleaned with a cleaning solution and Q-Tips, or with the careful use of a small blade which scrapes off the crud. Locomotive wheels aren't free rolling so they present a special problem. Some people use a little cleaner on a rag right on the track with some current applied to spin the loco's wheels on the rag. I like a product which has a set of electrified brass brushes for each side of the locomotive's wheels. Turn on the power, hold your loco on the brushes and get clean wheels right away.  When cleaning wheels, be sure to also clean any rail wipers on a loco, and any wipers which transfer electricity from the wheels or axles to the loco.

The good news is that you probably don't need to clean your wheels right now, judging from the symptoms you described. The problem sounds more like a deficiency of track feeders. Model locomotives need excellent electrical continuity to operate. This is especially true for DCC which will reset itself and run through a start up routine after even a momentary power interruption. This is true even for locos with flywheels which keep them moving through turnouts or rough track.

The little folded metal pieces which we use to connect our rails are a weak point for electrical continuity. Over time, they oxidize, increasing the electrical resistance at the joint. This eventually gets bad enough to block the flow of current. Add in the oxidation and dirt which build up on rails and the fact that (other than brass) rails aren't great conductors in the first place and you have a recipe for electrical gremlins.

The solution is to add more feeders. If you ask three model rails how many feeders to use you'll get at least four opinions but they'll all agree that you need more than one. The way to do that is to run a track buss under your layout, with feeders running up to the tracks every as often as you think best. Use at least 16 ga stranded or 14 ga solid cable for the buss. You can run a continuous buss roughly under your track or run the power to a central point on a small railroad, with feeders coming off of it like the spokes of a wheel. I prefer the running buss because it keeps my feeders, which are 20 or 22 ga stranded wire, short. Electricity flows better through larger wire than smaller wire. Using long feeders from a central point means soldering medium size wires (for the stretch from the nexus to right under the point where the feeders go to the rails) to the tiny ones which actually travel up through your train board to the rails. That's more work and time than I think necessary (or fun).

I run enough feeders that no piece of rail is ever more than one rail joint from a feeder. That may sound obsessive but not when three-foot sections of flex track are used and I solder every other rail joint. Some folks on here will recommend feeding every track section or soldering every rail joint. Others will recommend just a few feeders here and there. Who is right? Everyone and no one. You'll have to decide for yourself how you want to handle track power.

Good luck and, once again, welcome to our great hobby.

                                                                                     -- D

[RAM]

Ok since you only have a temporary layout just run wire from your power supply to the track a need.  When you build your larger layout follow Doneldon's advice.  As far a the cleaning bar,  I would stay away from them.  Other ways of cleaning are far better in the long run.

[jbrock27]

RAM, what don't you like about a cleaning bar?  Are your referring to a particular kind that you don't like?
Thanks.

[RAM]

from what i understand in will scratch the rails. 

[Doneldon]

from what i understand in will scratch the rails. 

RAM-

The cleaning bars which look like erasers are gritty but not hard enough to scratch rails.
They do leave a few crumbs behind but not much.
                                                                             -- D

[rogertra]

I use a Peco track eraser every now than then but always after doing scenery.  I give the track in the vicinity a good clean.

[Doneldon]

1945-

I forgot to mention that your power pack probably is anemic but it should work for two trains, especially newer ones with motors which are much more efficient than the ones installed in older locos. However, it won't do for much more than that. You'll need something better if you expand beyond a 4x8, and you'll need a whole DCC system if you go that way which sounds like your plan. The little power pack is not useless, however. It will work just fine for running lights on your layout, operating remote turnouts or powering animations so don't just junk it.

                                                                                                                                    -- D

[Striker1945]

Thanks everyone for the responses. Right now I'm working with E-Z Track and plan to pickup at least one other re-railer section. I also plan to get some of the red terminal connecting wire so that I might power my layout more evenly. I am able to run my N&W Class J on the outer loop and my NYC FTA+B on the inner loop at the moment, however they suffer from the power shortages previously mentioned.

-Striker1945

P.S. For those wondering my layout is currently based on this track plan which I found online here:
http://www.thortrains.net/4holay4.html
My layout is based entirely on the 4th plan (bottom right).

[Doneldon]

1945-

There's a lot of railroading on that layout. It would be tough to operate with DC because the blocks would have to be so small. But it should work great with DCC. You can use DCC turnouts under control from your hand piece, remotes operated from one board or manual turnouts controlled with either groundthrows or rods to the fascia. Excellent choice.

                                                                                                      -- D

[jbrock27]

RAM that is true of the "old school" cleaning blocks like I first used.  Dark brown color, almost as hard as a rock.  PERFECT now makes a yellow cleaning block that is softer-somewhere between a rock and pencil eraser that does not scratch the rails.
If you are not a fan of cleaning blocks, can I asked then what do you use/recommend?  Thanks.

Striker1945 , I have been to that site before; a good site.

[RAM]

I use a centerline track cleaner.  I would like to get another but hate to pay the price they want now.  When I first started using it I had a bottle of MP or LL cleaner.  I found out real fast that you can use it.  I guess it was water base cleaner.

[jbrock27]

Thank you for the answer.
I still have a bottle of some LL liquid track cleaner, 30+ years old. 
It works ok, but still like the new cleaning blocks and Wahl clipper oil better.

[RAM]

I was not saying it was not a good product, it was that it would not work with the centerline track cleaner. It would short out.  I still have a bottle of some LL liquid track cleaner that I use for hand cleaning.  I also have Wahl clipper oil.

[jbrock27]

Oh, I see, you had said "can use it" but meant to say "can't use it".