TMCC Locomotives Not Responding

Is the Legacy base plugged into the same outlet as before with the floor layout ?  A outlet not properly grounded or even some terminal strips can cause weird things to happen.

TMCC relies on house ground to propagate its radio signal.  If you're plugging your TMCC command base into a power strip with a surge protector or using a 3-to-2 "cheat" adapter, you won't get a good signal.

If you've connected your command base to layout ground, you also have to make sure you have good continuity on the outside rails.  With some brands of track, the two ground rails are not electrically connected through the ties, so it might be necessary to add jumpers for reliable operation.

Since ALL of your locos seem to be unresponsive, I would suspect your wiring or the base itself.  Keep searching, you'll find the problem.

The command station is plugged into a surge protector.  I’m pretty sure I’ve been able to use it before, it’s my own surge protector that I got specifically for the railroad.  I am using a 50+foot cord that it’s plugged into, though, as there are no electrical outlets located anywhere near the railroad (it’s being displayed at church, not at home).  I don’t know if that could affect it.  Track is a mix of FasTrack and traditional tubular, with power feeds at regular intervals from a 12-gauge power bus.

"I’m pretty sure I’ve been able to use it before, it’s my own surge protector that I got specifically for the railroad."

If it hasn't been tested before with this exact configuration (50 foot extension cord, the same outlet you used successfully), that's very likely your problem I'd guess.  First order of business is testing the setup without the surge protector.  If you haven't previously used this particular outlet with the extension cord, testing without the extension cord is the next order of business (just plug the base into the outlet directly and test a loop of track). Finally, if the outlet hasn't been used before, it may be, if the building is old, that the outlet is not giving you a good earth ground.  So one of those three factors (the surge suppressor, the extension cord, or the outlet itself) may be causing your problem.  Hopefully the surge suppressor.

Use the 50' extension cord (or two 50' cords in series or a single 100' cord) and loop the cord around the perimeter of the layout. If this gets you operational with TMCC, you need to figure how to route the cord so that kids/people can't cause a problem with the cord.

Here is a crude drawing showing how to try to run the extension cord.

I think it is the building/outlet I’m using.  That’s the only real difference from operating at home, the location.  I tried plugging the surge protector directly into the outlet with a short length of track, with no change in results.  I could plug the Legacy system directly in, but I would only be able to plug in one of the two power supplies.  The plug on my surge protector can only plug into the lower outlet, so I can't plug the surge protector and the Legacy system into the same outlet.

I found a video about running an extension cord under the layout.  We found a second cord, so I tried that, but I’m not sure I set it up right.  I’ve got it suspended directly under the bench work, but I don’t think it’s close enough to the track.  The track plan is a single track main line with a couple of staging yards.  I’ll post photos once I can get to an actual computer.

Oh, wait, does the extension cord have to be plugged into the surge protector by itself?  Because I just added it to the extension cord I was already using and then looped it around the layout.

Try plugging the command base into a 3-wire properly grounded outlet.  If you use an extension cord, it should be a 3-wire cord directly to the outlet.  That usually fixes stuff like this.

I’ll give that a try on Wednesday.  I won’t have access to my railroad until then.

Plug into the closest wall socket without the power strip or the extension cord for a test.  If you must use and extension cord use a shorter one and it must b 3 prong for the ground.  Keep power cords as short as possible. 

I tried the separate power cord; unfortunately, no change.  I even tried laying the extension cord directly next to the track, plugged into the power terminal

For reference, here's the photos of the layout:

We aren't going to be in our current space much longer, so it's not worth assessing the building for improvements.