WHICH TRANSFORMER(s) ARE YOU USING?

I rotate them but Optimus Prime and Thunderhoof garner the most time.

What, me worry?

After reading everyone's posts on this topic, I realized that I forgot to mention one rather important detail about my system. It only has two speeds: on and off. I run 100% TMCC, conventional is NOT possible on my layout. When on there are 18V on the rails.

An MTH Z4000 powers the main railroad which has over 300 feet of track, 14 switches and several operating accessories. The two EL lines have their own MTH Z750 transformers.

For TMCC/Legacy operation I use a ZW-C with 4- 180 Watt bricks. For conventional operation I have 2 PW ZWs. For 12 volt lighting I use a Malibu outdoor lighting transformer. For my test bench I use one MRC Dual Power.  For accessories and various other uses I have two CW80s and several HO MRC DC power packs.  Pat B.

I forgot to mention that I have a Troller brand transformer, think it is 100 watts, and it is a 2 train transformer that I use with my Williams engines now. The transformer has switches for 0 to 9 volts & 0 to 18 volts and a whistle button too for each track. Bought it at a Flea Market with some 027 tracks and stuff.

Lee Fritz

Z4000 for the trains and a couple CW-80's for accessories, lighted bldgs., etc.

I have just one Z4000 to tun the trains, anywhere on the layout, separated into four power blocks.  For lighting, and I have lots of lights, I have an old Type Z for one area of the layout and a Type V (150w) for the other, the "west" end.  Plus, I have a DC power supply for turnout control and a separate DC power source for my LED track occupancy lights.  Finally, I have some larger lighted buildings, the Union Station, the platforms beneath it, a two stall enginehouse and a factory that are lighted by series lights, 9 in series, and are connected directly to the 120v. power source, without any transformer.

Really a lot of "stuff" plugged into my surge protector.

Paul Fischer

Wow, I'm pretty plain Jane or Lionel fanboi, just three 180W bricks into three Legacy 180W PowerMasters.

Then some PW transformer on the bench for debugging. I sold my second base so I just run a wire over to the layout outer rail if it involves TMCC.

Track Power:

Four MTH Z-4000's

Lionel post war 275 watt ZW

American Flyer #12B 250 watt

Accessories and Lighting:

Lionel post war 275 watt ZW

American Flyer #2B 75 watt

Lionel 1033 90 watt

Lionel 1032 75 watt

Marx 1209 50 watt

Lionel 1016 35 watt

Lionel 1029 25 watt

Lionel 4126 25 watt

MTH Z4000

Lionel ZW 275

Z4000's.

 Also have an Atlas 80 that I take to shows to power my dynamic test stand.

Ron

Doug N

I do.

Larry

I will be the first to admit I have more power than I need.  The best way I can describe what I have is to think of how many “throttles” I have.  One throttle is made up of one or two PH180, one TPC/PowerMaster, and one channel of a TIU.  The limiting factor is how many sections of track I can connect to a TIU channel.  The TIU is connected in passive mode, so if I need to run conventional I run it via the PowerMaster.

My mainlines have two PH180s attached to one TPC400.  On my old layout, I would trip the PH180 CB when running my long passenger trains, so I now run two PH180s per mainline.  I do not need the full 20 amps, so I limit the power to the track to 15 amps using CBs.  My passenger trains only need 11-12 amps at speed, and if I’d change out the incandescent bulbs for LEDs I could go to one PH180.  I may do this someday.

I have one throttle for each of my three mainlines, one for my yard, one for the engine tracks, one for the industry tracks, and one for the staging yard.  That is 10 PH180s total, or 100 amps available to run trains.  I calculated the most I would ever use at one time is between 45 amps if I have trains running in all blocks, so I do have excess power available.

I use a Z4000 from MTH for track power, and a modified computer power supply for 12 volts DC (it has 4 isolated buses)

I'm using a Post War Z-DUB 275 to power my track and a Post War 1033 for lighting.  Both work just fine!

Chief Bob (Retired)

On my main layout I use two 135 watt bricks for one loop and a 180 watt brick for the inner loop, each with a TPC 300. The layout also uses another 135 watt brick with a Powermaster for the operating accessories, and a Malibu Lighting transformer for the lights.

My Marx layout uses a Lionel 1033 (Gasp!) for both power and lights. There's not much of either on that layout.

Under the tree I use a CW-80 from a starter set. I think it is even one of the early ones that gave the transformer such a bad name. This transformer also sees duty as a test transformer, or if we set up a floor layout in the basement. (currently there is an American Flyer loop of track set up.)

The modular club I am in uses a similar setup for power that my main layout uses. Each of the two loops is powered by a pair of 180w bricks that feed into a TPC 400. The club is the reason my home layout is powered the way it is. I used to run the trains off of a postwar ZW before I joined the club. I was having troubles remembering how to use the Cab-1 at the club, so I hooked up TMCC to the home layout. I even assigned my TPCs the same numbers that the club uses. Practice makes perfect.

J White

My tinplate layout uses a ZW and a KW to power the trains.  I have a Z for some of the 12volt power and a Right O Way  monster to furnish fixed 12V, 14V AND 16V.  Right now the other layout has a ZW during construction.  I might go with an MRC Pure Power dual control later as I just bought 4 of them.

Al

I use a transformer I built from scratch so to speak.  A twenty amp, twenty volt center tap transformer purchased from Mouser.  Fused at the input and output, which runs into a TPC300, then feeds two PSX circuit breakers and then into my TIU, out to the tracks.

Just couldn't see spending all that money on bricks(at the time), a new ZW, or MTH monster transformer.