Its always a good idea to have a few sidings and/or yard tracks on toggles to remove power from unused/parked locos.

This minimizes the risk of damage from a short or derailment out on the main line. Its only a matter of putting a break in the center rail at the beginning of each siding and running  a hot wire to a toggle first and then to the unpowered siding.

This also prevents collisions in the event you forget a turnout is thrown onto the siding or yard.

I have lighted bumpers on all of my sidings so I know when they are toggled on.

Thanks RickO, I planned on using toggle switches on whisker tracks for my roundhouse but it's also a great idea to use them also on the sidings that I have, I have 9 sidings and probably 6 will be used for locomotives.  Thanks again man, great idea. - MARSHELANGELO

Greg:

I note you worked in IT and obviously have spent a lot of time with electronic devices.  I suspect your knowledge in this area is why your intuition is bothering you.  I’ve absolutely nothing to base this on other than personal opinion but, I can’t imagine leaving electronic devices (locomotives in this instance) sitting with 18 volts going to the boards for hours on end does them any favors. I think you’re always going to be better off parking them on a siding to which you can kill the power as Rick suggests above.

Curt

Electronic components run hotter when they are conducting current and therefore are subject to increased thermal stress (stress due to heat) which causes expansion, restraining forces at the points where the components are mounted, and internal forces in the component. Over time, this can cause breakage of connections or deformation. Thermal stresses may also be elevated due to differential expansion when power is first applied and different parts of a circuit warm up at different rates. Due to these effects, in my opinion, it's best not to apply power to a circuit unless there is a need to have it in operation.

MELGAR

Greg, it's not a bad idea to toggle any siding that is near the edge of your layout. I learned the hard way. Running my then new K-line Berkshire I had left the siding switch open. It was a short siding and when the engine hit the end of the siding it went flying off the layout. If the siding was dead I would still have the $150 it took to fix it. Don

Thanks for your service...

Army 1965-68

Scale Rail, MELGAR, Juniata Guy, thank you all for your info; toggle switches it is, and will be implemented on my layout shortly.  All 4 of you have confirmed what I thought about and I will fix this, thanks again for your input. - MARSHELANGELO

@MELGAR posted:

Electronic components run hotter when they are conducting current and therefore are subject to increased thermal stress (stress due to heat) which causes expansion, restraining forces at the points where the components are mounted, and internal forces in the component.

MELGAR

Melgar, I often run my MTH engines at less than 18 volts. The idea being to put less stress on the components. I usually start everything at 18 volts and then cruise at 15. Do you think this reduces heat?

@ChiTown Steve posted:

Melgar, I often run my MTH engines at less than 18 volts. The idea being to put less stress on the components. I usually start everything at 18 volts and then cruise at 15. Do you think this reduces heat?

Less voltage and power input should reduce the steady-state temperatures and be better for the circuitry. I run my trains conventionally and avoid high speeds and high voltages.

MELGAR

Marshelangelo, take Rick O’s advice on having a lighted bumper on those sidings with toggle switches. A great reminder as to what is powered and what is not.  😀

@ChiTown Steve posted:

Melgar, I often run my MTH engines at less than 18 volts. The idea being to put less stress on the components. I usually start everything at 18 volts and then cruise at 15. Do you think this reduces heat?

I run DCS with track voltage at 14VAC. No need for 18V.

@geysergazer posted:

I run DCS with track voltage at 14VAC. No need for 18V.

AMEN TO THIS!

There is absolutely no need to run your track voltage at 18 volts when using DCS. The lower 14-volt setting limits the maximum speed for your locomotives a bit, but that's all it does. However, the lower voltage vastly diminishes the electronic "stress" on all the components in the system, and they will still work perfectly fine at 14 volts.

@Rich Melvin posted:

AMEN TO THIS!

There is absolutely no need to run your track voltage at 18 volts when using DCS. The lower 14-volt setting limits the maximum speed for your locomotives a bit, but that's all it does. However, the lower voltage vastly diminishes the electronic "stress" on all the components in the system, and they will still work perfectly fine at 14 volts.

Thanks for this timely reminder! I'm building my first DCS layout and apparently missed that note in Barry's book.  I've run my past TMCC layouts at the requisite 18V and went through a lot of bulbs.

Speaking of toggle switches, is there any issue with DCS by installing toggles to turn sections on or off?  Does the feeder wire, for example, attached to the isolated siding via toggle cause any problems or interference with DCS?  I installed a ton of them on my last layout but I was running conventional. 

I’ve got toggles and DCS on my layout and have never noticed any issues.

Curt

We run DCS but have more Legacy than MTH and run both systems. What is the effect on Lionel’s system?

This sounds like an excellent idea if Lionel operates okay.

Thanks

Hey, just checked in to see what was going on at the site and noticed my thread is alive and kicking.  It feels good to gather up a wealth of information, pertaining to and in addition to the original question, carry on and THANKS - MARSHELANGELO

I recommend using toggle switches all over the layout, with separately switched blocks.  On myy layout I use 6 TIU channels, and have 70+ toggled blocks.  I can leave trains on dead tracks anywhere, or put off repairing a derail until I get a chance to walk to the site.  I I ever want to run conventional (I have a number of old Loonel, dtaing back to before WWII), the toggled blocks facilitate controlling trains.

@Rich Melvin posted:

AMEN TO THIS!

There is absolutely no need to run your track voltage at 18 volts when using DCS. The lower 14-volt setting limits the maximum speed for your locomotives a bit, but that's all it does. However, the lower voltage vastly diminishes the electronic "stress" on all the components in the system, and they will still work perfectly fine at 14 volts.

I thought I read a few years back in the forum that MTH admitted the DCS signal was stronger at 20V?

@BradFish1 posted:

I thought I read a few years back in the forum that MTH admitted the DCS signal was stronger at 20V?

I don’t think that’s true, but if everything works ok at 14 volts, what’s the point?

Just for the record, TMCC (and Legacy or LionChief) locos do not require 18 volts either.  And there is no question that applying voltage to the electronics when not needed for operation could accelerate the failure rate and normal aging of materials subjected to voltage over time.  Probably not a gigantic problem, but worth considering along with the possibilities mentioned for "accidents."

Landsteiner is correct.  I have found that a sparking derailment will cause all engines to start up.  I have also found that very occasionally a signal sent to one loco may cause another to start moving silently--only happened with 2-3 of my fleet, and then when signal sent to a loco with an ID 10 numbers different.  Since I have converted all but 2 of my PS2 locos to Supercaps, I don't need to leave power on to charge batteries.

Assuming Atlas heavy duty connectors (designed for O Gauge) do essentially the same thing as toggle switches, I can run trains conventionally on my 2 independently powered main lines (each controlled by a Z4000 throttle) while shutting off power on my 8 sidings where locomotives can be parked.

The Atlas connectors eliminate the need to create a toggle switch box or assembly, which I did not know how to do, and never saw an article in any train Magazine article explaining how to do it. Maybe YouTube has videos explaining how to do that today.

If one has O Gauge and goes the Atlas Connector route, be sure to use the heavy duty Connectors, which are much better for O Gauge than the regular Atlas Connectors that are designed for HO.

Arnold

FWIW, I agree with the above suggestions at running less than 18 volts, however I cannot get my Legacy engines to produce visible smoke at voltages set less than 17-18. MTH steamers smoke units produce decent smoke volumes around 15-16 volts, and voluminous plumes at 17-18 volts. I suppose someone could conduct an experiment at various voltages and smoke output for both MTH and Lionel's myriad lines of steamers.

While I usually start out with smoke units "on" I end up turning them off after about 10 or so minutes of operation due to smoke filling up my rather small to mid-size basement, and once turned "off" the voltages will spike 2-3 volts, which sometimes puts them in around 19-21 volts. I therefore try to remember to dial down the voltages prior to turning smoke off via remote controls.

If turning off smoke makes track voltage jump that much, you have wiring issues.

When the room is full of smoke, so are your lungs.

@ChiTown Steve posted:

Melgar, I often run my MTH engines at less than 18 volts. The idea being to put less stress on the components. I usually start everything at 18 volts and then cruise at 15. Do you think this reduces heat?

Actually, it does nothing for the heat.  The power supplies in the MTH boards are switching power supplies, so the power dissipation could actually be lower at higher input voltages.  At lower input/output voltage ratios, many switching power supplies run less efficiently, thus actually dissipating more power.

@RJR posted:

If turning off smoke makes track voltage jump that much, you have wiring issues.

When the room is full of smoke, so are your lungs.

Am not sure what you're saying about wiring issues. I have Star wiring, all soldered connections, 14 and 16 gauge wire. I do have some fairly long runs of wire for the around the basement layout, some approaching 40 foot. Smoke units use a good deal of power, sometimes approaching a full amp.

If the power drawn by a smoke unit causes a 2-3 volt drop, there's too much resistance somewhere between transformer and pickup roller.

@RJR posted:

Landsteiner is correct.  I have found that a sparking derailment will cause all engines to start up.  I have also found that very occasionally a signal sent to one loco may cause another to start moving silently--only happened with 2-3 of my fleet, and then when signal sent to a loco with an ID 10 numbers different.  Since I have converted all but 2 of my PS2 locos to Supercaps, I don't need to leave power on to charge batteries.

I have seen the same thing as I am testing out track on my new layout running DCS.  I have run a diesel on the layout to test imperfections.  Then leaving the diesel on a passing siding, I ran a steamer.  I had a derailment, and the diesel started up.  It told me I need to put in toggle switches to all sidings when I get past the alligator jumper powering of portions of the layout.    I run both DCS and TMCC engines with about 14 volts on my Z4000.  I only run smoke when I first get an engine to make sure it works, and the same when I sell one.  I don't like the buildup of smoke in my 11x11 room, and Mrs. B. really doesn't like it because it can make her asthma flare up.  Point is, I hadn't noticed a large voltage drop when the smoke is turned on, but I don't do it much.  Yes, I have converted most engines to BCRs, and plan to do the rest.

I'm not a world expert on TMCC but I have found that engines will operate just fine at lower than 18 volts.  I have, however, found that depending upon the engine the couplers won't fire.  I'll crank up to 18 volts and they work fine.  I never turn on smoke so I can't comment on it.  But if the couplers won't fire I run the voltage up a few volts, fire the couplers and reduce the voltage a bit.  Usually run more in the range of 16-17 volts.  Seems to be easier on bulbs.

Couplers and smoke are the common issues if you run at lower voltages with TMCC.