Right now each block is seperated by two plastic joiners. Can i go with only one in dcc? Do you need a common rail for dcc with out any plastic joiners.
you can actually do it the way you want... as long as at least one rail has no current, your loco will stop... give current to both rail and your loco will start running again... usually one joint is enough... that means one on each end of your block on the same rail. (2 instead of 4) Seb
Alan: I don't use common rail wiring in DCC. All my blocks on the JJJ&E are separated by two plastic insulated rail joiners on both ends of the block. This is the easiest way to wire a DCC layout in my opinion. Stay cool and run steam......
Theoretically, you can use common rail wiring within a power districtrict (i.e. a section of track connected to a single booster (or a single circuit breaker). If you have more than one power district, you absolutly cannot use common rail wiring for the whole layout. Paul [ September 11, 2005, 07:36 PM: Message edited by: Paul Bender ]
I'd recommend to gap both rails and not use common rail wiring. It makes isolating any electrical problem easier (at least in my mind) , and if you plan to add a second power district (i.e. buy another booster), you'd have to do it anyway. However, this is based on how I built & operate my layout, and I never tried the other variation. hth Michael
While it can be made to work, common practice with DCC is to avoid common rail wiring and gap both rails. Plastic joiners and a few extra feeders buy you a great deal of flexibility. The only time you might see common rail wiring is with detection blocks that are within a DCC power district. I would still gap both rails and connect the feeders together "underground" as necessary.
