Getting started again

[hurricane3]

I am just getting back into model railroading after a thirty year absence (I'm retired now).I just purchased the Bachman Worlds Greatest Hobby track pack, and am planning to get an MRC power pack and add a couple of extra switches ,but I haven't a clue how to connect the power pack to the terminal track or wire the switches up to the power pack. The instructions that came with the track pack assume you already have a Bachman controller and give little information on how to connect the switches to the controller.It looks like even with a Bachman controller you only have two terminals for accessories and since the wires from the switches have three contacts I'm lost.
I watched all three videos, plus the dvd that came with the set, but these were no help.If someone could steer me in the right direction I'd be very grateful.Oh yeah this is HO scale. Thankyou

[ACY]

You need a Bachmann terminal track or terminal rail joiners or you can soldier the wires to the track. In the first case you will need to splice a Bachmann terminal wire. Forvthe turnoutsx the three wires go to the solenoid to throw the turnout, and from there, two wires go to the AC terminals.

[hurricane3]

Thank you so much for your reply ,I'm still a little confused as to how to hook things up,(I'm pretty dense) but there is a book in the Bachman catalog "Easy Model Railroads" that I'm going to get which I hope will help.

[Desertdweller]

hurricane:

It sounds like you are looking to wire a DC railroad.  This is a good choice, especially for a beginner.  The circuit you need to make is basic and simple, only slightly more complex than wiring a doorbell.  If you want to expand on it, that can be done in stages, by replicating the circuit you have started with.

Bachmann products are designed so that one can get started by simply plugging in wires with pre-made terminals.  MRC is a great high-quality line of powerpacks that can be easily substituted for Bachmann.  The only difference in hooking them up is having to make your own connections.

DC wiring is both simple and elegant.  You have a train resting on two rails. The rails are bridged by the permanent magnet motor in the locomotive.  One rail is charged positively, the other negatively. All the control system has to do is control the voltage going to the track (for speed control), and the polarity of the rails (for direction).  Both functions are built into your power pack.

Your powerpack will have two terminals (screw terminals on MRC, plug receptacle on Bachmann) that provide variable DC.  You will need to run one wire from each of these terminals to the track, one wire to each rail.  Bachmann powerpacks use a special plug for this, the MRC will need to have the wire ends stripped and wrapped around each terminal screw.  If you want to get fancy, buy some forked spade terminals at Radio Shack for a neater job.  At the track end, you can use a Bachmann terminal track, or simply solder one wire to the side or bottom of each rail.

That is all you need to get your train running.  If you do not like the direction it runs, reverse the terminal connections at the power pack or simply throw the direction switch.

If you want to have more than one train on your railroad at a time, there are books available by Bachmann and Atlas that explain how to do this.  You basically divide the track into isolated sections that are attached to the power supply individually using DPDT switches.  In doing this, you are simply replicating what you have already done.

Track switches are operated by AC current.  Powerpacks will have AC terminals for this.  Each track switch is sold with an electric controller.  The AC feeds run directly to the control switch.  From the controler to the track switch will be three wires: one for each path through the switch and a third for the return current.  Both Bachmann and Atlas (and many other brands) sell these.  The controllers can be ganged to control a group of track switches with only one connection to the powerpack.  There will be instructions with the switch on how to wire it.  Anyone's track switch should work with anyone's powerpack (except for those designed for DCC control systems).

That is pretty much it.  Welcome back!

Les

[hurricane3]

Your right in that it is a DC layout as that is what the Bachman Track Pack is.Thank you for clearing up how to connect from the terminal track to the power pack I actually understood your explanation, now I have to fully understand how to wire the switches to their controllers to the power pack. Do I have to have a terminal strip to do this? It would seem that thats the only way to go from multiple switch controllers to one connection on the power pack.I'm only interested in running one train at a time so that simplifies things , and DCC is a bit too pricy for me.

[Hunt]

Click Here for Bachmann non-DCC turnout wiring and powering instructions. Take the time to read and study all the instructions, do not depend only on the illustrations.

[jbrock27]

Cane, no, you do not need a terminal strip to operate more than one switch controller.  As LES mentioned above, the switch controllers can be "ganged" together so that on one end of the "gang" (the left) is the only place you need to run your 2 AC wires from your MRC power pack (good choice by the way).

I prefer Atlas switch controllers (look for Atlas 56 controllers)  but whichever ones you get, make sure they either have 2 "forks" on the right side of the controller or come w/little metal plates that have screw holes in them on 2 sides.  Using either the forks or the plates, you can join more than one switch controller together.  Look for new as I have found that the style that comes with forks, don't always conduct electricity at the forks-I thinks something inside them fails as time goes on.  If I was making the choice, I would buy the kind with the plates instead.

Good luck and please, keep us informed of your progress.

[Doneldon]

caine-

As far as your turnouts go, you do not need a terminal strip. You run two AC wires to one of your turnout controllers and the rest of the turnout controllers will plug into the first controller, one by one. When you get done, you'll have a line of turnout controllers, all powered by the two wires connected to the first (left most) controller.

However, if you plan to also run other accessories and/or lighting from your AC terminals on your power pack, you'll need either a terminal strip or spade or (better) loop terminals attached to your wires so you can attach more than one to each of the AC terminals on the back of your power pack.

Before you begin building and wiring your layout-to-be is the best time to think about the future of your model railroad. Will you build a "standard" 4x8 table layout and then stick with that? Do you plan to enlarge your layout as time goes by? Do you want a railroad with a train or trains that run around a loop or some other configuration which allows for continuous running? Do you want to be able to do switching in order to make up trains, run locals which can drop off and pick up cars from various customers along your tracks? Will you run just freight, just passenger or both kinds of trains? Do you prefer steam, diesel, electric or a combination of kinds of motive power? Closely related to this is the era you want to represent. This can be anything from the 1830s to today and your chosen era will inform most of your choices about locomotives, rolling stock and scenery. Speaking of scenery, are you looking for urban railroading, flat-land granger railroading, mountain railroading or some combination of these? Do you plan to run your railroad as though it were real, meaning adhering to prototype (twelve-inches-to-the-foot) railroading practices, or are you looking to have something more fanciful where you decide how to run your railroad without regard for prototype operations or rigid adherence to the kinds of trains you can run together (e.g., steam locomotives and modern super diesels at the same time)? Very important is where your railroad be located:. Will you build it in a spare bedroom, garage, part of a basement, all of a basement, attic or perhaps running around the walls near the ceiling of a family room?

You can save yourself a good deal of time, effort and expense if you can answer these questions for yourself now. For example, your answers might lead you to buy a simple, low-cost power supply or one with more power for expansion or even a DCC system. Think about these options and get back to us so we can help with questions they might raise.

Welcome back to model railroading. You'll join many, many model railroaders who have put their dreams on hold during college, raising families and planning for retirement. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of model railroad materials and products available today compared to 30 years ago, and happy to note how much more affordable things are today, at least in comparison to what you could budget for your railroading back then. Please keep coming to this board and sharing your progress with us. We all enjoy hearing about others' progress and fun.
                                                                              -- D

[hurricane3]

First I can't thank all of you enough for your very helpful replies.You've answered my wireing questions.I now understand what those connections are on the Bachman switch controllers that came with the track pack.I may replace these later depending on how well they work.My railroad is 7 and a half feet long by 5 feet wide narrowing to 4 feet at one end.It's plywood I scavenged from an old bed and a glass window packing crate.I have it on medal sawhorses and it's pretty sturdy but a little uneven which I hope to fix with track bed from Walthers.It's in a back bedroom so it's nice and dry.
I'm kind of freelanceing. as for as era and operation ,as I figure this is my own little world, but I am going to concentrate on the railroads that ran through town when I was young(about a hundred years ago).These are the B&O, and some others that showed up after the B&O went belly up.
I'll run both steam and diesel in an urban setting.
I spent over 43 years working in a refinery( with some time out in the Army) and have loaded and unloaded hunderds of tank cars( and like anyone who ever loaded them ,ran a few over,not fun)
Any way I'm sure to have many more questions and thank all of you again for being so helpful.

[Joe Satnik]

Dear HC3,

I feel like I'm piling on just a bit here, but you said your layout is

...."5 feet wide narrowing to 4 feet at one end".....

You will probably find out that you were "spoiled" by the (extra) width

at the 5 ft. end of the layout, and wish both ends were 5 ft. wide.

It is easier to do expansion in the earlier stages of layout building than later.

If you have the room, go for it. 

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

[jbrock27]

You are quite welcome C3.  Remember to have fun!

In expanding on something Doc mentioned, I think it would be worth your while to obtain an inexpenseive power pack and use its AC terminals to hook your switches to.  The reason?  When you have both the loco and the switch controller hooked to the same pack, switching the turnouts will rob power temporarily from running the loco, even though the loco is runnning off of DC and the controllers are running off of the AC.  Also, if you have lights running off the same AC source as used to power the controllers, the lights will dim briefly everytime you throw a switch.  This may or may not be something that bothers you, but inexpensive, secondary power packs can be had at places like Ebay.

A further point about fun:  having cheesy cheap cars and locos can take the fun out of it bc of poor running.  Avoid the mistake many make by going for cheap equipment; better to save (if have to) and spend a little more on equipment that runs and operates reliably.

[hurricane3]

All great suggestions the only one I can't do is expand the layout because of limited space.Thats why it's 7.5 instead of 8 feet, and I had to reduce the last foot to 4 feet in order to get around the layout without running into it.Guess you'd have to see the room to understand.

[Joe Satnik]

HC3,

Casters added to sturdy legs on a sturdy frame will allow you to pull the table out from the wall(s) to get around or behind it, which might buy you that extra foot of width. 

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=casters&FORM=HDRSC2

Hope this helps.

Joe

[hurricane3]

At the present I have the layout on metal horses and have it set about a foot away from the wall so I have access to both sides.Maybe at a later date I'll go to a wooden frame with casters.I also wanted to thank Hunt for the wiring diagram. It is very clear and I printed it out.
Once I start getting locos I'll have a bunch more questions.You guys are real lifesavers as I don't know what I'd have done without all your advice.

[jbrock27]

An excellent idea to ask questions before buying locos.