Backwards Wiring….. Worked?

If you are using Alternating Current for your power source(s), and if more than one source with a common connection among them, as long as these sources are phased with each other, then the electricity doesn't care what color your wires are as long as they are consistently connected the same throughout the layout.

Remember that AC travels in both directions and changes direction 60 times per second.

If you're using Direct Current, polarity matters more for some loads.

Sadly, I knew a person who I help with a layout who has since passed. It was all tubular, 2 ping-pong tables, 4 ZW transformers. The tracks were in theory split into 1/4 blocks. It would take near full throttle all the handles to get the trains to move. You could cook eggs on the top of the ZWs. There were tons of lockons, maybe every 3 feet. Only when I was ripping this out and replacing with fastrack did I discover, more or less at least half the lockons where wired reverse polarity. I found blueing, yes blueing of the rails and track pins in a few sections from getting so hot. How this did not melt and in some cases did but did not start a fire on the outdoor carpet the track was on, or the wiring burning up under the table is just insane. I saw a 4 foot piece of wire spliced 3 times- so that also contributed.

So, I know for a fact what you say is 100% possible and there are likely people out in this very forum who have at least one reversed. I know that the resistance of track pins and connections, can be such that it's high enough to heat, but not enough to stop a train.

https://ogrforum.com/...5#163461606350916675

I didn’t think 3 rail o scale engines would work with the power going to the outside rails and common running to the inside rail. Is there something inside the engines that allows them to run this way?

Actually three-rail engines run fine with the transformer connections reversed.

For conventional running, the whistle and horn controls on the transformer would have reverse function.

For TMCC/Legacy command, most engines wouldn't notice at all, one or two might have signal strength issues.

For PS/2 DCS, they would exhibit issues as you have to have the wiring from the TIU correct for them to run.

You are correct that Center rail hot is the convention, but AC motors and other electrical devices will work with either scheme (center rail hot and outside rails common or vice versa).  "Power" is running through both wires and all 3 rails.  It's not like DC where you have a ground even though some call it that, in AC its called Common and is electrically isolated from ground by the transformer.  With AC there are hot and common, but the power and current flows in both directions between these two conductors.

It’s true what they say, you learn something every day and I would have believed it without seeing it with my own eyes. I didn’t know the engines would know the difference either. I run Lionel Legacy and I thought everything had to be inside hot and outside common but apparently you can do the opposite like I did and everything still runs perfectly fine.

I’m still surprised that there was never an issue, mind blowing!

Like I said, only DCS (PS/2) would really notice the difference.  And, or course, conventional would have the transformer whistle/bell controls reversed.