Toggle Switches and Bus Bars

Vin, you might want to check out this thread about using 12VDC lighted switches (like the ones you linked in your OP) for AC track power switching:

OGR - Lighted toggle switches for power districts in conventional

some excellent info there.

The most reliable and easy to install track toggle switches I have are regular light switches.  The cheap ones for a buck.  The down side is they take a lot of space.

I have lighted rocker switches too.  They look good but take time to solder wire and the hole in the fascia better be near perfect.

Have fun.

Ron

Thanks for the responses, guys.    I did some searching but didn’t think to search for the word district. I’ll have to add that to my model railroad vocabulary. 😝

On a slightly related note, if you use toggle switches to turn power on/off to selected pieces of your layout, there is a slight problem if you also use the MTH DCS control system.  Specifically, any track section not turned ON by toggle before you power up the whole layout misses something from DCS called the "watch dog" signal.  As a result, when you do switch that toggle to ON, any engine sitting on that piece of track will act like a conventional (not command control) engine and take off with a full 18 volts of energy!

There is an electrical fix for this; some gizmo created by Gunrunner John prevents the runaway.  Search the forum for watch dog signal and you should be able to find info about this gizmo/product.

Chuck

@Ron045 posted:

The most reliable and easy to install track toggle switches I have are regular light switches.  The cheap ones for a buck.  The down side is they take a lot of space.

I have lighted rocker switches too.  They look good but take time to solder wire and the hole in the fascia better be near perfect.

Have fun.

Ron

Yep. My first layout about 10 years ago was a Christmas layout that is what I used. I got a 4 place gang box and 4 3 position switches. I drilled the box and mounted RCA type jacks on the front (power only) to control what was on or off. I had 2 transformers so I could tell which transformer controlled what section of track. I still have it, it is bulky and I doubt I will go that way again. It did work well, though.

Frank

@PRR1950 posted:

On a slightly related note, if you use toggle switches to turn power on/off to selected pieces of your layout, there is a slight problem if you also use the MTH DCS control system.  Specifically, any track section not turned ON by toggle before you power up the whole layout misses something from DCS called the "watch dog" signal.  As a result, when you do switch that toggle to ON, any engine sitting on that piece of track will act like a conventional (not command control) engine and take off with a full 18 volts of energy!

There is an electrical fix for this; some gizmo created by Gunrunner John prevents the runaway.  Search the forum for watch dog signal and you should be able to find info about this gizmo/product.

Chuck

Not entirely accurate 100% of the time.  I will not deny that this can happen.  I have one MTH PS3 engine that has been known to turn on and take off like a rocket, but not every time.  I know to be careful with that particular engine.

All of my other engines do turn on, but they remain in neutral and do not take off.

But if there is a GRJ fix, then all the better for safe and reliable operations.

Ron

One other note ........ if you're running command control (Legacy, DCS) where 18 volts is needed and you plan on using LED lighted toggle switches that are only rated for 12 volts, the LED lights may eventually burn out after continued exposure to 18 volts. 

The solution is to add a diode to reduce the current going to just the LED bulb.

After trying all sorts of Bus Bars (low and medium cost) these are the most efficient.  Best prices for these can be found at All Electronics when available (I don't see any now.).

Barrier Terminal Blocks above can be purchased with 2 to 16 positions.   Use blocks with screws that hold down a binding head.
See on this page Toy Train Layout Wiring - Wire Management

These Terminal Strips are on one of my Control Carts shown here:   Toy Train Layout Wiring - Bus Wiring

All, thank you again for the input.  So much to learn.

@Susan Deats The picture you posted makes me go crossed   I'll understand what all that wiring means some day ..  haha

I use these small toggles for track power. They come with the leads attached which makes wiring easier. The small size takes up little room on a control panel.

Several different types of buss bars as well. For track power I'm using bare grounding bars (available at HD/ Lowes). They are made for electrical panels. Just mount them with an insulator between the plywood and the bar.

Switches and accessories go through barrier strips and euro-style terminal strips. Jumper bars can be added to the barrier strips to make the whole bar powered by the same source (good for track buss).

@PRR1950 posted:

On a slightly related note, if you use toggle switches to turn power on/off to selected pieces of your layout, there is a slight problem if you also use the MTH DCS control system.  Specifically, any track section not turned ON by toggle before you power up the whole layout misses something from DCS called the "watch dog" signal.  As a result, when you do switch that toggle to ON, any engine sitting on that piece of track will act like a conventional (not command control) engine and take off with a full 18 volts of energy!

There is an electrical fix for this; some gizmo created by Gunrunner John prevents the runaway.  Search the forum for watch dog signal and you should be able to find info about this gizmo/product.

Chuck

Here's one of John's threads on WD's

https://ogrforum.com/...chdog-in-yard-tracks