Track feeders for Fastrack

I went with 14 ga buss and feeders with feeders about every 10 feet and have no issues. My layout just turned 17.

(17?? where does the time go? Its not even finished yet!)

I did solder the feeders directly to the tabs under the fastrack. I highly recommend this if your comfortable doing so.

For a small to medium sized FasTrack layout, then @RickO has the answer for you.  Although if you have a bunch of short track pieces, there may be some long term benefit to adding feeders about every 6-8 track sections.  One thing to keep in mind is that the length of rail does not cause nearly as much voltage drop along the length of track as do the connecting pins in between pieces.

Another thing to keep in mind is if you plan to wire for MTH DCS command control, then wiring recommendations would be different.  Multiple feeders to the same track block can interfere with the DCS signal transmitted through the tracks.  Please let us know if you're planning to run DCS locomotives.

I'm running 12 gauge buss wires from my transformers to barrier strips, 18 gauge wires feeder wires from the barrier strips to every 6 pieces of Fastrack. My track was stored in the garage for 6 years so a lot of the track either rusted or tarnished. Cleaned it up the best I could but was still having electrical conductivity issues so soldering jumper wires from one piece of track to the next one. It's a pain but it's working much better doing it so for me it's worth the time doing it.

The distance isn't as important as the number of joints. Some pieces will be under 2", some pieces are up to 37" depending on the track type(30" for FasTrack).  A better guideline would be feeder wires every 10-12 track joints, so no track will be further than 5-6 joints away from a power connection. I use 022 & K-Line switches as feeders, so if there is a switch in the area there is no need for a dedicated power drop. 1019, UCS & RCS track sections can be wired this way easily too, 6019 sections with a little effort. Similar connection can be made to FasTrack pieces as well, but the beauty of FT is that most track sections have the male .110 Faston connectors on the bottom for easy connections.

If you're running conventional or Lionel TMCC or Legacy- you've got great suggestions above. About 6 months ago I switched to a nearly all fastrack layout. I soldered 14awg wire the at the center and an outer rail, then connect them back to a terminal port(I've never used a bus wire for track- likely because I got "serious" when I bought DCS). There are 5 connections on my outer loop of my 9' by 16' layout with "one o-72, three o-60" at the corner curves- so I'd say there's a power drop about every 6-8 sections. I have found the connections to be much better when soldering vs. crimping the tabs with fastrack.

If you're doing conventional, tmcc and/or Legacy- you can stop here. If you're doing DCS, feel free to read on.

If you're running DCS, as has been mentioned, that changes things. When I got "serious" into command control- made the plunge to invest in DCS and already had Lionel TMCC- I wanted to do it right. Back then my layout was something like 8' x 13.5". I had an inner loop(3.5 to 4' x 7.5') which was initially o-31 realtrax, outer loop(outer ran the entire span) was 0-42 realtrax.

I'll get to the point- many above have mentioned about the loss in power/DCS signal where two sections of track join. Totally true. Besides using many 30" sections as I could, for each curve in each corner of track(three o-42 curves) I'd pick one of the "holes" under the Realtrax center rail/tabs for fastrack(which my inner loop would ultimately become). I'd take a Dremel to remove the black covering in that "hole" on each section, then solder, using stranded wire, from curve to curve. If the wire was too thick, I used a Dremel cutting wheel to create notches in the center of the plastic supports(?) that go side to side under the railbed. I also did this with non-30" straight sections. Sometime I'd also, in addition to the above process, solder the center pins hooks together or solder a small wire at each each center joint. For 30" straights, I didn't solder the contacts but soldered wire near each track joint to connect to the next one(for easy removal).

Take one side of my layout with a two corners of o-42 and 25" of straight track. Starting from the end of the first section of o-42 in one corner to the end of the last section in the other corner and you have 8 track joints. By doing what I did to combat voltage/signal drop, I'd only have THREE joints over 9 pieces of track, sometimes two if I did a quick connection between curve and straight.

It was totally overkill but it totally worked.

@ADCX Rob posted:

The distance isn't as important as the number of joints. Some pieces will be under 2", some pieces are up to 37" depending on the track type(30" for FasTrack).  A better guideline would be feeder wires every 10-12 track joints, so no track will be further than 5-6 joints away from a power connection. I use 022 & K-Line switches as feeders, so if there is a switch in the area there is no need for a dedicated power drop. 1019, UCS & RCS track sections can be wired this way easily too, 6019 sections with a little effort. Similar connection can be made to FasTrack pieces as well, but the beauty of FT is that most track sections have the male .110 Faston connectors on the bottom for easy connections.

What would you suggest for wiring this layout.  It is all FasTrack including the switches.

1.  There will be two transformers (one for each loop).  A Z-1000 controller and an MRC 84 Watt 1301 Throttlepack.  That will allow both conventional and LionChief bluetooth to be run on either or both.

2.  No DCS and No Legacy.  Turn up full power for LionChief.  Variable AC for conventional.

3.  I can solder jumper wires between each section of FasTrack if necessary.

4.  If I wire the switches as you suggest we are talking about track power to power them it seems.  I thought using the fixed voltage (say 14v) might be better.  What are your thoughts?

5.  Center rail toggles will be used on the sidings.

John

John, I can imagine that adding a third transformer to your grandson's 4' x 8' layout may not be ideal and that's why you'd prefer to power the switches from one of the fixed track power sources.  If you do that, I would highly recommend adding 1.5KE39CA TVS diodes across the switches' power inputs (or as close as possible to clusters of switches).  As you know, the voltage spikes from derailments are bad for electronics.  The electronics inside FasTrack switches are also susceptible to damage from these spikes.  With the switches on the same power source as the track, derailments will take a toll on the switch electronics and likely lead to premature failure.

@SteveH posted:

John, I can imagine that adding a third transformer to your grandson's 4' x 8' layout may not be ideal and that's why you'd prefer to power the switches from one of the fixed track power sources.  If you do that, I would highly recommend adding 1.5KE39CA TVS diodes across the switches' power inputs (or as close as possible to clusters of switches).  As you know, the voltage spikes from derailments are bad for electronics.  The electronics inside FasTrack switches are also susceptible to damage from these spikes.  With the switches on the same power source as the track, derailments will take a toll on the switch electronics and likely lead to premature failure.

Hi Steve,

I have plenty of circuit breakers and TVS diodes and plan to use them, but what I was asking is about wire routing, jumpers, and a clarification about what Rob was suggesting which was how to use the switches as feeders.  I think he is using track power and I kind of thought fixed might be better.  I think you are saying that fixed would indeed be better, but that it should be from a third transformer.  Do I have that right?

John

One could certainly power the track using the power connections on the FasTrack switches as Rob indicated.  They have convenient screw terminals for wired power connections.  I've wired small temporary layouts this way, but also added more power feeders around the layout connected to the tabs under the standard track pieces.

I wasn't suggesting that you should use a third transformer for this layout, rather suggesting how it might be done with the two you're currently planning to use.  I understand that adding a third transformer may not be practical for your grandson's layout

Since, I have plenty of transformer outputs, my personal preference is to power the switches from their own supply to minimize their exposure to transient voltage spikes in the track power circuit.  Either way TVS diodes connected at or near the switches is cheap insurance.

Which method you use for wiring power into the switches would determine which Hot terminal under the switch is connected to which power feed.  If you use the same power source (transformer) to power the switches and track, the jumper under the switches between Track Power and Aux power would remain in place and the Hot power feeder wire would connect to either of the switch's Track Power terminals.  If using a third power source independent from track power for operation of the switch, the switch's jumper is removed and the Hot wire would be connected to the switch's Aux Power terminal.  The Track Power terminal could still be used to supply power to the switchs' rails and tracks physically connected to the switch as Rob mentioned.  Either way, the Ground (common) terminal connection under the switch would be connected to a phased transformer common buss.  Aux power connections are also explained somewhat in the Switch manual.

EDIT: One more thing worth mentioning about the FasTrack switches is that I have found many of them came from the factory with their Track Power, Aux Power, and Ground terminal mis-wired (mixed up order not matching the stamped labels).  Before I connect power to them I now check continuity between the terminals and the track rails to verify or correct the discrepancy if needed.  Here's a link to more information about this issue.

I hope this helps.

Thanks Steve.  That's pretty clear.  I do have a doorbell transformer.  I wonder if that could be used to power the six switches.

John

John, Please see my edit above regarding FasTrack switch terminals factory mix-up issues.  As far as using a doorbell transformer, that would depend on it's voltage, many have a 24VAC output, which is obviously to high a voltage.  16VAC 2A should be fine for this layout as long as good safety precautions are taken to protect against the 120V AC connected to transformer primary.

These precautions would include:

• UL approved wall outlet plug and Cable to connect from the wall outlet to the transformer enclosure
• The enclosure housing the transformer should be designed to isolate the 120V power from the outside of the box.  If the box is metal or made of another electrically conductive material, the box should be either be double insulated or connected to the 3rd ground pin of the house ground.
• For use around children, a means of preventing them from easily opening the enclosure with commonly available tools
• The 120V power chord should have a UL approved type strain relief where it enters the box.
• The 120V hot wire should be connected with a fuse or other means of over current protection in series with it and the transformer primary.

@SteveH posted:

John, Please see my edit above regarding FasTrack switch terminals factory mix-up issues.  As far as using a doorbell transformer, that would depend on it's voltage, many have a 24VAC output, which is obviously to high a voltage.  16VAC 2A should be fine for this layout.

Mis-wired?  Good to know.  Will check that.

Doorbell transformer:  Mine is 16V

John

@Craftech posted:

..a clarification about what Rob was suggesting which was how to use the switches as feeders.

Here is the bottom of a switch.  Outside rail power to the screw at black arrow(AUX GND), center rail power to the screw at red arrow("Track Jumper"remove jumper for aux switch power, leave it for track powered switches).  Don't try to feed the entire layout through one switch - the FasTrack wiring is not heavy enough to do this).

Thanks Rob,

So would you suggest track powered FasTrack switches or auxiliary powered FasTrack switches for the layout in the drawing?

John

If you have a need to operate the switches with the track power off, use AUX(I think the Z1000 has a 14 volt accessory tap that would be ideal for this). Otherwise, use TRACK, as the switches use almost no current when idle.

@ADCX Rob posted:

If you have a need to operate the switches with the track power off, use AUX(I think the Z1000 has a 14 volt accessory tap that would be ideal for this). Otherwise, use TRACK, as the switches use almost no current when idle.

Thanks Rob.

John