Hi,
I am building a new layout (jpg below) and would appreciate some tips on the best approach to the block wiring. I have already insulated the center rails every 6-9' and put jumper wires in for the center and outer rail, but looking for suggestions on the block configuration (one per loop plus yard or by area/geography).
I plan to run Legacy and maybe MTH (I will wire in star fashion to have that flexibility). The dimensions of the layout are 48ft East/West and 26 ft N/S. I anticipate running 3 trains on the loops and maybe one in the yard at one time. All trains/passenger cars will be new to 2 years old. I don't have any purely conventional trains so anticipate running mainly Legacy/DCS if that helps. I plan to use 3-4 Lionel 180 bricks as power. I was thinking of placing the bricks and Legacy units to the right of the main yard, but open to suggestions there as well.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
George
If you have isolated the center rail into sections of 6' - 9' you have created the blocks referred to in DCS documentation.
Jumper wires, I think you mean wire drops from each block for power
If you are asking how to group the blocks on the channels, that is up to you. Same with how you allocate the channels. For instance, just on the main tracks, you could alternate between two channels as a train passes between blocks. Or you can put all blocks in an area on one channel, like in the yard and turntable.
I think you had this in mind when you asked the question. Sounds like you're heading in the right direction.
The layout I'm building is a big, single track loop that is folding a few times. When I look down a straight section it appears as an inner track and an outer track. That's how I ended up grouping the blocks and channels. I only use two PH180s and two TIU channels so one for the "inner" and one for the "outer". I have other plans for some track where I'll park engines and staging.
There are going to be issues with DCS and parking MTH engines in the yard and turntable. You can leave all of the track powered and everything will work fine, but your parked engines are still seeing run time. You can turn off power to parking sections, but turning power back on creates an issue with the DCS watchdog not being present when that parked engine gets power.
A few searches will turn up lots of information on this issue, as well as some pretty elegant solutions. Especially regarding the turntables.
