Does having a turnout switch also remove power from the section of track just in front of the turnout side that would cause a derailment make sense? This is a layout for the holiday season where I'll be the bad guy if I don't let the grandchildren play with it. If so, any ideas on wiring - I have USA G guage remote switches. This is a DCC system. Thanks, Bob
I'm not sure I understand your question. Can you try to explain it better. Do you mean track switch or power switch?
The objective is to make sure a loco automatically stops in front of a turnout that shows red. Since my initial post I found out a company makes a turnout control that has an extra set of contacts that can be used to run relays to enable or disable the power to an isolated section of track. I also just found another system that stops the loco by sending a DCC signal - http://www.lenz.com/products/modules/bm1.htm So, looks like I've found a couple options.
That sounds like a great idea for our younger modelers to ensure they don't break too may things. On the other hand, sometimes crashes are COOL. Eric
You can use the turnout switch to cause the polarity of the track in the unselected direction to be the same in both rails (similar to what you would do to power the frog). The oncoming train has to stop. I saw a diagram somewhere, if I see it again I'll post it..... Jeff
Don't know much about turnout wiring but sinse my vision is so bad I can't always tell when a train is near the end of a track. I'll be putting LEDs that will light when the train is within 1 inch or so.
