Does anyone use the Bachmann auto reversing track? Looking for info

kmcsjr Apr 4, 2017

  1. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    Folks
    I have a complicated reversing system, that involves adjusting sensors and a lot of wiring. I'm looking for quick, easy, reliable.
    1) does it work well?
    2) how does it work?
    3) is it limited to trolleys, or will it reverse longer things? I can't figure out what triggers it, from the literature. So i can't figure that out.

    Thanks
    Marty


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  2. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    The system you mentioned is simple to the extreme. So simple the trolley or whatever it is you want to operate on the line. It simply runs in and stops and then comes back out at full speed ahead. Lot's of sore necks from riding that trolley. Whiplash!
     
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  3. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    Rick,
    So... if it creeps in, it creeps out? Or does it run fast? Some sort of minimum voltage?


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  4. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    I should have started with... You might remember what Lionel had and jumped off from there.

    If you have the speed slowed way down then yes it will creep in and then creep out.

    I'm thinking there is a better system out there. Also thinking Micro-Trains makes it. Can't put my finger on it right now.
     
  5. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    I don't know what Lionel had. I know that getting MTH bump and go trolleys, to bumpand go, at slow speed works.


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  6. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Lionel was crash and bang. They'd of been calling the ambulance crews to remove the carnage.

    Looks like you had the answer to your question all along.

    Nothing like solving it yourself.
     
  7. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    Nope. MTH is O only, bump and go. I bought the Bachmann set up yesterday. It will arrive Sat or Mon. Then.... we will see.


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  8. glennac

    glennac TrainBoard Member

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    Mike Fifer has a video showing an auto-reversing loop he has installed on his layout. If I find it I'll post the link.

    This might be the video I'm thinking of:

     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2017
  9. acptulsa

    acptulsa TrainBoard Member

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    Just to clarify, this thread has now covered apples, oranges and grapefruit. The trolleys in question have switches in their bumpers that, when they hit bumper posts, reverse polarity to the motor. This causes an abrupt stop and reverse action that seems sure to give your little plastic passengers whiplash. I've never heard of such bumper switches in anything but trolleys.

    The Bachmann track in question works much the same way, except the switches are in the bumper posts, and when the (perfectly normal) trolley collides with the bumper posts, polarity to the whole track is reversed. A train could be run on this track, but if it isn't a bi-directional train, it'll look funny going backwards (and might not be very good at backing up, either). It would work for, say, RDCs, or a New Haven TALGO train with locomotives front and rear. But you still get the whiplash effect.

    Any system that slows the trolley or train as it nears the end of track and pauses it long enough for passengers to disembark will involve sensors and timers, and will therefore be complex.

    A reversing loop is another animal. This is the big strength of three rail systems. Both outside rails are common in a three rail system, and the center rail is always in the center. So, you can make a reversing loop without shorting out the whole system. But a two rail system involves the left hand rail curving around and becoming the right hand rail, and things get more complicated...
     
  10. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Reversing loops aren't as complicated as one might think. You can go to a number of How To Websites, mine included and learn how.

    Got to run. Operations night at John A.'s, Gulf & Pacific Railroad.
     
  11. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    Folks. I started a thread about a fun sensor driven switching track. Which is what the Bachmann N scale auto reverse set is. I saw the HO gauge bumper driven setup at my a certain store that is on Long Island and in Brooklyn. The O gauge and other stuff are pleasant side tracks. Isn't that what this is about? Sidings and such. I should have it set up next week. I'll check back in


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  12. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    Can't wait to here how it all works out.
     
  13. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    Should arrive tomorrow, but I'll have a pair of 2 year olds visiting... The Christmas O scale works around kids. N scale and 2 year olds... Monday night


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  14. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    I couldn't wait.... house settled. So I took out the set. 6.67VDC at minimum output of the variable control.

    Ludicrous Speed, from Spaceballs!
    I'll call Bachmann on Monday and see if I have a defective controller, or it's a design flaw, or limitation. If it's a design flaw, back it goes. I don't think the auto reverse signal would make it back through a step down


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  15. wpsnts

    wpsnts TrainBoard Supporter

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    It' too bad that Bob Kendall, author for N-Scale Magazine, has stopped writing articles. Maybe he could have designed a circuit to build.
     
  16. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    I'm going to play with some of my DCC equipped engines. Some of the CV settings seem to affect analog behavior. If I can limit top speed? Maybe that will allow me to use it. I'm really looking for unattended use, like my MTH bump and go, in O.


    I have a circuitron, but the lighting in this room is so variable, I'm not sure I want to try setting it up. The instructions call for adjustments, based on lighting.


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  17. kmcsjr

    kmcsjr TrainBoard Member

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    This story ends sadly. The minimum output on the n scale autoreversing set is 6.67VDC. Bachmann replaced the controller. The first on was defective and put out nothing. The second replacement also put out 6.67VDC. The Trolley depicted, on the box, runs GREAT at 2VDC. At 6.67V...... Noisy BulletTrolley. I sent it back :-(
     
  18. engineer bill

    engineer bill TrainBoard Supporter

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    Marty, sorry I'm late to the party but I think i am using the best reversing setup ever. its a ARM-5 (5amp automatic reversing unit) I run my Kato RDCs from the palms to the pines on my layout(one end to the other). all it takes is cutting rail gaps in one rail at each end of track with each end getting a wire to the controller module. And I can set the stop times from 5s to 3.5 min. your speed is set by your own controller (I use a cheap power pack) I love just watching them run all on there own with just turning on the power pack. The company name is Bazooka Electronics I think they are in Canada.
     

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