track insulaters ( possableitys)

[derricknscaler]

i was wondering if it was possable to insulate a sideing  sense i only have a dc system right now and if it was possable to have a section of my main
line insulated and controlled with a defferent transformer and then have the insulated part controlled by a another transformer if that is possable then it would be awsome. also does any one have any track insulating tips?

[jward]

not only is it possible to do what you want, it was standard practice for many years. AND, with the simple addition of an electrical switch, it is possibel to have EITHER of your power packs power any section of track. this is what is commonly known as block wiring.

plastic insulating rail joiners are readily available in any hobby shop, as are wiring components by atlas. the selector is the component you'd most likely want to use. atlas also offers a book on wiring your layout.

i would give you a basic diagram showing how to do this wiring, but do not have a graphics program to make the diagram. simply describing it without the diagram is confusing., but the wiring itself is easy.

[pdlethbridge]

you could also use dpdt center off switches. They have 6 lugs on the bottom, 2 rows of 3. Wiring the 2 left lugs to one power pack and the right 2 lugs to another power pack. The center 2 go to the track.           
    You could have several sections or blocks on your mainline and each siding could be a block. Each block gets the wires from the center 2 lugs of a dpdt switch. If you have 4 blocks, you'ld have 4 switches. Either power pack could control any block. Each block has to have plastic rail joiners at the end to electrically insulate it from other blocks, plastic rail joiners would go on both rails. 

[THB-DAVE]

The most efficient way to set up block control is to use Common rail wiring. This way you only have to isolate one rail. This method greatly reduces the amount of wiring and keeps a constant current from one block to the other. You only need single pole double throw switches to switch from block to block. You only need to isolate both rails and use DPDT switches for Wyes and reverse loops. Check out the National Model Railroad Association http://www.nmra.org/  for a excellent instructions on block and track wiring or get a Atlas book on track wiring.

Dave

[Paul M.]

I've done exactly what you're trying to do now. You can use either an SPST switch or a DPDT switch. A good reference for doing this is Kalmbach's illustrated Basic Wiring for Model Railroaders .

[jward]

i would advise against common rail wiring if you ever intend to convert to dcc. if you insulate both rails when you lay the track, you can daisy chain the connections to one of the rails. this acts like common rail wiring, but the gaps are already in place when you convert to dcc. you simply unchain all the wiring to that one rail and connect it to the associated power supply.

in dcc, blocks are known as "power districts" and often powered by sseperate "booster" power supplies, thus the need to insulate both rails. to be more specific, dcc uses an ac signal, generatedindividually by each power supply. this ac signal may not be in phase with that of other boosters, causing short circuits. and with dcc power supplies of up to 8 amps or more, you can actually weld wheels to the rail.

[derricknscaler]

great tips form everybody i have ten  deffernt transformers for n scale track
thats why i was wondering

[jward]

one final note on block wiring. by replacing the toggle switches with rotary ones, it is possible to have even more than two cabs. the basic principle is the same, track feeders to the center contacts, your various power packs to the outer contacts. just remember to keep the locations of the wires from each pack the same on each switch, and to leave at least one position unconnected so you have a way to turn off power to that block. also, there are two varieties of rotary switches, shorting and non shorting. the shorting onesconnect adjacent contacts momentarily while they are being switched, which causes all sorts of interesting problems because you are actually connecting your power packs together for an instant. use the non shorting ones and this will never be your problem.