Grounding on Lionel swithes

Vitto-

Lionel's O22/O31 switches do not require a separate common (ground) wire between the switch and the transformer, as the ground is provided by the outer switch rails. There are four wires to connect to the switch - three link the DZ1002 controller to the switch solenoids (straight route, diverging route, and ground), and the fourth for fixed voltage to the switch (thus bypassing track voltage).

In terms of where to connect the ground wire from the DZ1002 switch controller, you could connect it to the DCS common bus (this is the same as the track ground) or connect the grounds of all the controllers together to its own bus, but personally I think it is easier to connect the ground wire directly to the switch, especially since you have to run two wires anyway from the switch to the controller.

-John

Electrically, they are all already connected on a common ground layout, so not only is one wire OK, you don't even need to run that one. Connect the DZ1002 commons to a nearby layout ground and the "common" brick connection.