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9 replies

Shutting off power to sidings

G GondolawillieOGR Forum Member

I am constructing my little 4 x8 retirement layout and will have several sidings. I want to store a loco on some of them. Locos will be MTH PS2 and PS3 type. Transformer is MTH z-1000. Track is K-Line Shadowrail tubular. Can I just put a fiber pin on the 1st track coming from the switch track and use a lockon connected to an Atlas Connector?  (My son helped me to this with our regular layout and it worked, but he is unavailable right now to tell me exactly what he did). Also which rail do I put the fiber pin in? Thanks

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Joe FautyJoe FautyOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

Willie:

I have used the Atlas connectors ( I assume you mean the 3 single pole on-off sliding switch module) in the past for sidings but if you are using the HO style please be aware though I did not have issues they may not be up to the task of providing current to the MTH locos. Atlas makes an O scale heavy duty version of the switch - https://shop.atlasrr.com/p-2310-hd-connector.aspx . A while back I replaced the Atlas O controls with 10 amp heavy duty toggle switches as mentioned above. I now use the Atlas control switches for accessory lighting.

If you decide to go with the toggle switch be sure to connect track power to them - not ground. You always want ground connected to drain off any excess voltage when the toggle switch is turned off.

Joe

P prrjimOGR Forum Member

Put the fibre pin in the center rail.   I suggest doing all sidings at each switch to provide more flexibility.   Then you can turn each one off separately rather than the whole area at once.   Back a loco into one siding and turn it off.   Turn on another siding and pull a loco out.

route the same wire as the center rail connection to a toggle switch (on-off) then to a connector (lock-on) to the center rail on the siding.    Leave the outside rails connected as is.

 

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