Need Help with Fastrack Kill Switch

Aren't you using FasTrack? The 1 3/8" straight has a center rail jumper that you can remove and make it a Block Power Track.

Track power to switch-switch to side of 1 3/8" that you want to remove power.

It's that simple as long as you can squeeze in the 1 3/8"

 

Moonman,

I have two of those 1 3/8 straight pieces with the jumper wire. What do I do just cut the wire in the middle and add the switch to each end ?

It sound too easy, but that is probably all, RIGHT !!

 

LOL-here is my crayon drawn diagram and a pic of the bottom of the 1 3/8" track 6-12073 is the part number

 

Brian

A little more for you. This is the 1 3/8 he is referring to. When you remove the black jumper you kill all center rail power to the end of that track.

 

Then run a hot wire to your switch from your power source. 

 

From the other side of the switch run a wire to the center rail of your track you killed. You then control power to that section of track with your switch.

 

The outside rails you can pick up your common any where you want.

 

Like Moonman said it is simple. Once you get good you can learn to cut the track pins and forget about the 1 3/8 piece. But that's a different story. Good luck

Larry

Moonman good drawing. You are quick on the post.

Larry

Don't cut it, it slides off like a terminal track. The switch only powers the stub side. Existing track power supplies the other side. Notice the cut in the center rail.

 

 

Thank you both Moonman and Larry Sr.

I have pulled the pins out on another spot of my layout, so that is what I was going to try before I called you guys. I just wanted to be sure of my choices before I FRIED anything.

The reason I di not want to Pull the Pin is because it is on my switch track. I will get back soon.

Im going to work on the railroad..

 

 

My SIDES come to an End with Bumpers...

They do not rejoin the track. That is why I asked if I can just put the switch in the middle of the jumper. This would be easy and then it would power up the loco when I want to pull it out of the side and park the other train. Sought of.

 

And...I use those round hole mounting, rectangular automotive switches that they sell in the auto section of the farm store. Calrad I think. They have an LED so you can see if the circuit is on. I just power the led with the 18 vac with a diode in series so the back voltage is not stressing the LEDs.

Yes, that's another way to do it. Whichever way works for you with Block switch location and shortest wires. Replace the wire with the switch is the concept.

Like this:

 

Moonman,

Thank You..

This is what I am working on right now.

Now I won't have to keep taking the loco's on and off the sides.

I am getting a whole new education building this layout.

AND..I am loving every day of it.

Enjoy your weekend.

Thanks to ALL that helped in my EASY quest..

 

You have fun, too! My grandson (2 1/2) will be visiting and we are going to run some trains! He has taken ownership of the Polar Express.

For a carpet central, here's a solution to siding power using the 1 3/8" sections.

 

Hey Guy's..It WORKS 100%

Another Great day on the railroad because of OGR Members like you.

Thank You.

 

Hi John,

My plan is to hook up a dim LED where you show the toggle switch so I will be sure the power is On or Off to the sides.

You guys are great.

 

Note the small spot on the other side of the track segment, that's a 2mm LED to indicate when track power is on.

 

Moonman,

Here's a ??

If I follow your drawing (cartoon but understandable, TY,) When I throw the switch I still have power on the main line. My Main Line (innerloop) has power drops every 5-7 tracks. So when I try to kill the power on the main line I still am receiving power from the drops. The 1 3/8 Track even with the switch ON still has power coming to and going away from that track.

The sides worked 100% because they end at the Bumpers. The main line is a complete circle, sought of.

What I want to accomplish is this:

I have two sides now with trains parked and the power is dead.

I want to be able to pull the Main Line Train up to a DEAD Track and Pull the Train out of the side and run it half way around the loop.

I want to now KILL that train on a DEAD Track and power up the 1st train and pull that into the empty side.

I only want one train on the Main Line at once.

Remember I am all Conventional.

Can this be done ?

BTW..This question is open to anybody that has a good answer for me.

Thanks in advance.

 

UPDATE:

Moonman, Larry and John,

I DID IT !!!

In the Lionel Fastrack Book Page 32 are the instructions to get the job done.

I had to put One BLOCK Track Before and After the Drop Lines from Track Power.

I put the On/Off Switch on the center rail and now that ONE track is dead.

Just enough to stop the train so I can pull the other train out of the siding.

Now I have to do the same thing on the other side of the layout so I can have Two DEAD tracks on the main line to achieve what I want in my layout.

No sleep last night just thinking of what I was doing wrong.

I did not have any more 1 3/8 or 6 inch Block Tracks so I took the center rail off the Fastrack and cut it in half and then filed down the edges a little to be sure nothing touched.

Mission accomplished.

Once again.....,Thank you ALL

Im going to run some trains now..

see me smiling.

Oh!! Also we painted the mountain top and the slopes yesterday.

Pictures pretty soon.

WoooWoooo

 

We love success stories, glad it worked out for you.

 

Be careful! Next you'll be wiring collision detection and speed control

I'll look for the mountain photos. Some nice work going on there.

DC regulators aren't going to solve this issue.

 

If you have a track that only has one-way traffic, you can use back-to-back diode drops in the feed on the downhill side to slow things down.

 

Dale H is the conventional running relay king, he has some solutions to this issue.

 

Brian,

What are you using for a transformer? One way to get it done is to create separate power divisions for the up slope and down slope. Then use a constant throttle set at the needed voltage. If you have a ZW or Z4000 with multiple channels, you would use say channel A, variable for train operation., B for the upslope, C for the downslope, and D for accessories. For example, 5 volts from A, 7 volts from B, 3 volts from C.

 

Another way to control the downslope voltage is a voltage dropper setup using diodes.

Dale H. explains here. Do this for the downslope and then you only need one channel of the transformer for the upslope increased voltage.

 

Lastly, install a cruise control module in your engine from ERR.

Thanks Guys..

I am using the MTH Z1000 Controller. Traffic ONLY goes one way.

At best I only need to slow the train down for about 4 track lengths coming down the incline. My problem is the incline ends at a 048 curve.

My volt meter only shows about 5-7 volts with the train running at a nice pace around the track. Any more added volts and the train would fall in that curve.

I am ALL conventional so I don't mind using the throttle, but I also want the train to have sought of a cruise control once in awhile.

I would like to get this done pretty soon so we can start laying down the Ballast before any more track work needs to be done.

Thanks in advance.

 

WOW, I think I'd think cruise control before I'd do all that!

That is just a LIL ahead of my time right now.

Sounds neat, but NOT today.

Thanks Dale..You always have Great Ideas and help me more than you know..

If I ever take over the complete basement and extend the railroad then I will go to DCS and make the changes then.

That's another day and another topic.

Thank You all

NOTE:

My wife is finishing painting the mountain as slopes as I type.

Pictures to follow in five minutes.

 

My simple solution for constant speed up or down an incline running conventional control. MTH Locomotive with Protosounds includes Cruise Control.  That's my solution for my incline on the layout I'm building. Dale is the expert on doing it with relays.

Gary P

All my current locomotives are Protosound 1

They did not have cruise control back then. This is the one part I did not do enough research on when I was buying trains for my collection. Any future trains will be Proto 3 or nothing. I am still enjoying working the throttle for now.

Thanks for your reply.