Cutting middle rail for isolation?

Yes, you can cut the middle rail for isolation.  You don't need Crazy Glue or anything else in the gap.  Just make sure the gap is large enough to prevent contact.

Joe

John - I have DCS and used star wiring system.  I never isolated blocks of track on my entire layout except for sidings.  I placed drops every 6-8 feet throughout the layout and all works fine.

Paul will get good signal.  If you do not need blocks for any reason, wire it like Paul did.  My friend Al Peters has a layout with just loops containing about 100 feet of track per loop.  He came out of the TIU to a buss block then hit the rails with drops about every 20 feet.  Perfect 10 signal with no voltage drop.

My layout is buss wired as it is an older layout.  Perfect 10 signal.  I am not saying anything is wrong with star wiring to blocks but try what you have and chances are very good you will get perfect signal.

My friend Carl Chancey (OGR forum member) has a very big layout that was built by SMARTT in Miami.  It is a common ground layout with buss wiring.  Wire size is 12ga and when we hooked a TIU to it, perfect 10 signal.  This layout has no blocks.

Good trackwork with good track connections is always a big help.  I am a big fan on using larger wire size on larger layouts. 

I would suggest if you are starting fresh with a new layout to buy the book Barry Broskowitz wrote.  Follow what is in it for wiring and you and your trains  will be happy.

I agree, you probably don't need gaps. Try it without gaps and see if it works. If not, add gaps as needed.

Rail tends to shift with time and temperture. Something in the gap to prevent them from touching is a good idea,

i gapped both of my loops so each block was equivalent to 5 to 8 pcs of track.

some places in my track plan i had to use a dremel to gap in certain places as i ran out of the small pieces of fastrack that had the gaps already in it.

sometime their are little whisker's that bridge the gap when using the dremel cut-off disk so one has to be sure the metal whisker's are in fact removed.

thop.......