Extending track extensively

[jerry w in FL]

i need to extend my HO E-Z Track from Bachmann Wonderless Express to about a 15x3 ft oval. Should i purchase the longer straight sections for better connections/less power loss or are the standard sections good? It will be in a permanent Christmas village display (least until, & if, i change houses!!)
Thanks in advance...
Jerry W - Largo, FL

[Terry Toenges]

Longer pieces mean less joints. Less joints is good.

[Maletrain]

Remember that you will need to feed power into those rails at more places.  Voltage drop through the rails is already an issue at that size.  And, now that you have used the word "permanent", that raises the issue that the rail joiners will start to corrode a little and increase resistance between sections over time. So, if you don't see objectionable voltage drops now, you very well might later, once you stop moving the rail joiners each year to scrape off the (very thin) corrosion layer.

You did not mention whether you are using DC or DCC control.  If DCC, you should familiarize yourself with the proper wiring standards for DCC.  Feeding a DCC oval that is only a few feet long in multiple places without any electrical gaps in the rails is fine with smaller layouts, but can cause control issues when done in larger ovals.  Fifteen feet is getting to the point that you should probably think about splitting the rails into 2 isolated sections and feed both, individually.  Probably will not need "snubbers" at the ends of those feeder buses. 

[Penn1974]

Hello.  I am reading your post about extending your layout. Are you just running 1 train on the oval ? If so  by adding a few separate feeds to the track with the longer straights should suffice as 15 feet is not that long and would not need isolated blocks even if you are using DCC. i would also recommend that you take off your Email address from your screen name.

[jward]

when you expand that layout, why not use some curves to break up those long straights? It will make the layout look even larger if the trains can wind among the buildings.

[jerry w in FL]

Thanks to all for the advice, especially the part about removing my email address from my display name!  Didnt even notice that.

Tho i like the idea of the curves, unforunately by limited space is going to only allow a straight shoot oval. & yes, there is only going to be one train on this track - Wonderland Express with it's original engine & cars.
i guess once i get the expansion built (after the new year) & new track installed & secured so it doesnt jiggle around yet still easy to clean periodically, i'll find out what type of additional power i might need. i've currently got two power feeds, the original straight rerailer & a new curved one but right now only one transformer.

Thank God & Greyhound for E-bay cause this hobby aint cheap when ya want it to work right!!
No offense intended to our host site.
Thanks again for all the input cause i will be back for more advice i'm sure since a newbie & i hope everyone has a happy & safe new year.
Jerry - Largo, FL

[jward]

3x15 is not enough room for additional curves? I beg to differ. You can zig zag along the straightaways and still stay inside that footprint. I know. I've done it in even smaller areas. Many times.

[jerry w in FL]

jward,
i understand your meaning, but most of the village layout is already filled with buildings & the train will be running around the outer perimeter of the layout - i'm already adding on a few inches to the original section for the new track run. The next (& final) section will be 5x3 so i might be able to work in a curve  or two there since it's gonna be for future buildings i acquire.
Believe me, if i had a spare room (vs the back wall of my living room), this thing thing would be ginormous!!!
Jerry

PS - i tried to attach a photo but got an error that gallery/album was full

[Terry Toenges]

Jerry - You have to upload your photos to another web site first.
Once you've done that, right click on your pic and "view image". When the image opens up by itself in a separate window, right click on the image again and click "copy image location".
Then click on the image box above in your reply and paste the link between the image tags. ([img ]http://link goes here[/img ])