Problem is, it is. You said a mouthful and I never thought of the term "common and/or "neutral" the way you described it. I agree that both are misleading due to running DC and reversing directions (polarity).
You are well on your way to getting it all together. I can't wait to hear from you, news of your layout.
An un-gapped common rail will normally be no problem for DCC. That is as long as you have only one booster and one power district. One output terminal of your DCC system will get connected to the common rail. The other terminal will get connected to the one cab of your block switches. All of the block switches get turned on to the same cab and DCC is ready to go. For safety sake, you should really disconnect any DC power supplies to the other cab(s). now if you decide to break the layout up into power districts (more boosters) or sub districts (one booster and DCC circuit breakers) that un-gapped common rail will need to be cut at the distrcit boundaries and a separate bus installed for each section. If the layout is already wired and ready to go DC, cross that bridge if and when you get to it. Martin Myers
I do agree with Martin in that you can use the "alleged common" as one of the bus wires. I like to think of it as breaking up the layout into operating blocks, just like the 1X1 foot scale. That's how mine is wired...but...this isn't about me it's about your railroad. On the other hand the lingo/vernacular of the day is what Martin has used and that's perfectly acceptable. DCC without a doubt is the simplest form of wiring and can be done without all the complications of the DPDT block wiring. The key here is you can stop a train anywhere you want it, shut it down and crank up another one. I prefer to shut down the power to a train by shutting off a DPDT. Has to do with problems of older (common) wiring techniques and the fact I've burned up motors, while they are (allegedly) sitting with half the power to the track turned off... idling. Just something to think about.
Here is the plan (subject to a few changes). The radius shown for the curves is incorrect. Minimum radius is now 14.5" (again, this is N scale) I understand the advantages of DCC, but my major problem/issue/concern and thorn in my side is/are all the existing diesels I have, all with MicroTrain couplers and the four or five semi-custom painted and re-numbered units all that I like and run fine. (I just spent a few hours testing and lubing them)
