I am new to DCC and HO. In fact I have been out of trains for 30+ years and then it was all Lionel. I am using a Peco Streamlin code 100 switches, Micro engineering code 100 flex track, with Lenz 100 Dcc controller, double coil throw machines with Lenz 150 6 port coil controlers and Digitrax Quad Section Power Manager w/Auto Reversing. per the attach file, I need to wire this , it is really a double circle that can be a figure 8 too and the other side not drawn has an entrance and an exit to the main line. It uses one isolated crossover and 4 electrofrogs. My problem is where to but the isolators and hook up the wires. on the crossover and 4 switches, Going crazy here. Hope I explained this enough. Thanks for any help. BTW, I will not be cutting the switches as some suggest. With the power managers and the Lenz booster I see no need to do that. 12 gauge main bus and 18 gauge everywhere else.
actually i see no need to isolate anything. if you run a train in, it will come back out point the same way, i did some tracing and I don't see anywhere where the positive will hit the negative or vice-versa. if the switches power route the frogs themselves (i think they do), then you have no issue. just lay the track and hook up the 2 feeders. although I would let someone confirm this first.
Actually I think the two short straight tracks between the switches would have to be as it is designed to run two trains, one on each circle or one in a figure eight.
ok, wait a second, is the other half of the layout setup identical to this? if your using DCC, then it won't matter because the track polarity is all the same, the engines swap there directions based on the decoders inside of them, still no blocks required. you would have to "flop" the wires on one side of the 2 loops (on one loop red [positive] is on the outside, other loop red is the inside) but thats all i can see
Peco makes two different code 100 switches. One is called "insulfrog" the other is "elctrofrog". The insulfrog switch has the frog rails insulated from one another and looks like it wouldn't require any additional gapping in the rails. The electrofrog model has the frog rails shorted together and tied to the point and closure rails. The whole frog-guard rail assembly is power routed. These switches would need the frog rails insulated.
