Hi all, well i used my xmas money on a walthers r-t-r 90' turntable (mainly as electrics are not my strongpoint!) It has code 83 rails wich was the excuse i needed to switch from code 100, so far, so good. My problem is how do i wire up the tracks it serves? Do i need a seperate feed to each track? As obviously the tracks arent fishplated from the table im having a dumb moment and cant figure out how to power the roads the table feeds? thanks paul
First check the little stub rails around the pit, they may be HOT when the table rails are hot. If so, then you can 'fish plate' onto them OK. They are called "Stall Tracks". One engine to each 'stall' see? With DCC all you need is power to all the stall tracks, and control each engine as desired. With DC, unless you want to have all engines in the roundhouse come out at the same time, then yes, you will have to wire each stall track separately just like a siding block so you can choose which engine to run while the others remain in place. You will need one SPST (on-off) switch to each track. Wire the HOT wire to the track, then to the SPST switch, then to your power supply to control speed and direction. Do this for each stall track. The ground wire is connected to all stall tracks anyway. It is different for the turn table rails. (You may find that some r-t-r turn tables are made so the +&- wires are automatically reversed when the table is rotated 180°, so you have no problem. You can test for this on the little stub rails around the pit, with a motor.) I use the little operator's cab to 'tell me' that when the cab is close to the roundhouse, then I can run an engine from the main line onto the table track set to 'forward'. (Hot wire is next to the cab, so ground is the other rail.) Remember the "Right Hand Rule": Hot wire on the right side of the engine. *If I turn that engine to go back out onto the main line, then I set my main layout direction switch (which includes the Stall Tracks), in 'reverse', but leave the Table Track switch set to 'Forward' because the engine will go forward off the table, see? *If I want to turn the engine and back it into the stall track, then I leave the main layout direction switch set to 'forward' but just flip the table switch to 'reverse', and the engine will back into the roundhouse. *If your turn table is not 'automatically wired' to reverse direction, then the engine will short out as it runs 'forward' off the table track and tries to run onto the main line track that is still set to run in the original 'forward' direction, see? So, you can add a DPDT switch (with 'center' off), to the turn table track (for DC) and solve that problem. This is what I did. I use the center off DPDT's anyway, so I can isolate an engine anywhere I want, (because I am still trudging along with DC.) OOPS! Sorry for the mistake. (I'm getting too old for this.) .
I have that turntable. I merely soldered tiny bared feeder wire ends directly under the feet of reach rail between the pit lip and the stall track apron on the roundhouse. If you won't be using a housing, and only radial tracks, wire them wherever you wish. In my case, I just dropped short feeders to a bus that was nearby, under the yard. That means my rails are always live, but if I want the sound systems and decoders to go dormant, I can shut down the QSI decoders with double-tapping F0 three times in succession, or I just mute the decoder.
