Railfan Technology > Reverse with Wye

Please excuse my crude sketches, but I wonder if someone can tell me if the track plan labeled Proposed Track in the two attached sketches will work. If not, what can I do to fix it? The problem with my current track plan is that the reversing section is only long enough to allow a locomotive and two lighted passenger cars. I'd like tone able to get longer trains going down from the right fork of the wye, and I'd greatly appreciate some advice.

Thanks,
Don

Don Stafford
New Oxford, PA

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If I understand what you are doing, you will need one more set of gaps between the two turnouts on the far right in the second drawing.

Rob

Thanks Bob,

The attached image shows my whole layout. Someone else on the forum told me that this arrangement as notated would work if I moved the dcc controller to the other side of the insulated connectors, and that doing so would make the make the left side the main and the right side with the turntable the reverse loop. Does that make sense?

Thanks,
Don

Don Stafford
New Oxford, PA

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This will work.

Thomas Eckhardt
Hurricane UT

Http://tewe.borail.net

What I don't understand is how to do this and maintain multiple power bus drops on both sides of the insulated joiners.

Don Stafford
New Oxford, PA

Power bus should go into the reverse module?

Thomas Eckhardt

To tumulus,

I have copied above two messages from tumulus which he sent me in response to private messages that I sent to him because I could not modify my notated drawing of my entire layout. I am including this because I feel that inclusion of tumulus's responses are important to better understanding of this discussion.
If this will work as shown in the drawing of the whole layout, is there a better way of doing it, and if so, could you use the non-annotad drawing to dhow it?

Don


From: tumulus
To: donstaff
05/13/18 18:28
Hi Don, I hope my post didn't seem to abrupt. The previous question you posted looked really simple with the first drawing you supplied, yet when you showed your layout I was concerned about the complexity of trackage around areas where polarity reversed. I think the final answer there is pretty good. It's still easier when you build the layout acknowledging that a reverser is needed or desired.

Stacking up multiple reversers in adjacent blocks can create problems - each reverser can try to "fix" the short at the same time! This can lead to a "reverser war" as they try to each get to a point where they match the polarity of the other block. Some reversers allow setting a "slave" mode where one will adjust more slowly in order to let the "master" reverser "settle in". I've never gotten to a point of needing that. It seems that could be a bit touchy. I know the DCC Specialities PSX-AR can handle that, but I'm not sure other manufacturers can.

If you haven't laid track yet on this latest one you might want to revisit your plan. I tend to keep my reverse loop segments single track and only created areas where a single train will be in them at any point in time. Your passing siding and switching area suggests that you intend to have multiple trains in that module set. That could create problems in reverser switching.

I hope this helps!

- tum




From: tumulus
To: donstaff
05/18/18 09:08
You're supplying all the power to the layout from the DCS-100. Connections direct from that to track are the "normal" block - run a bus of large gauge wire under the track in the normal block and connect feeders to that bus, and connect that bus directly to the DCS.

Your reversing track block is the leg leading to the yard (and the yard). You should run a separate bus for that section and connect feeders from the reverse block to that bus - the leg to the yard, and the yard. Connect the reverse block bus to the autoreverser output. Connect the autoreverser input to the DCS. The autoreverser acts as a circuit breaker/polarity switcher only - it doesn't act like a booster - it doesn't provide more power to the layout.

You have two points where a train can traverse the normal block to reverse block barrier. You should make sure not to attempt to run two trains over those at the same time. The autoreverser can only deal with one transition at a time. (These are the two insulating points on the wye). Given the track configuration that seems to be a mostly improbable chance, but sometimes life is surprising!

- tum

Don Stafford
New Oxford, PA

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