Don’t be Intimidated by all the Wiring! April 11, 2007
Posted by railroadman in Electrical/Electronics, Layout Construction, Model Railroading, model railroad, railroad, railroad construciton.trackback
I got down on my hands and knees to photograph some of the wiring needed to make the railroad run flawlessly every time for years to come. All the wiring seems intimidating at first but for the most part it is the same circuit repeating several times. I know DCC has nice sound capabilities and is basically a two wire system but I enjoy working with the wires knowing how it all works and being able to fix the problem without having to ship a module to the manufacturer. Some of the wiring is for directional LED’s on the control panels, switch machines, block feeds, etc… It’s also a good idea to have a wiring schematic or directory laid out before hand. I use mine as a guide to ensure all the connections are correct. If it doesn’t work on paper it probably won’t work on the railroad. It also helps identify all the connections and wires down the road when you want to change something.
These are my switch machines. They work every time with no chance of burn out. I also try and color code my wiring to help me sort out where the wires go.
Here is where most of the wires funnel into the main control panel or relay board.
A full view of the relay board which controls the operations of the main turnouts and LED’s on the control panel. The yard throttle can be seen on the right side.
This is the main control panel for the town and yard. It is laid out the same as previous control panels for a neat and clean consistent look.
These are the power packs that my Grandfather built for me. The two on the left are for the walk around throttles, the middle pack feed one yard throttle and feeds DC power to the blocks. The last pack on the right supplies reduced DC for the LED’s and turnout switch machines with an auxiliary for additional signals, crossings or building lights down the road.
the time spent detailing is so obvious…time should really be spent understanding the flow of current with future expansions in mind
your handy work looks amazing
great job Daryl
Thanks Garry for the great comments.
Daryl
Hi, I’m trying to get a hold of the drawlings for wiring up LED on my control panel. Using them with Track switches, showing direction, blocks, on and off or red & green, and signials a long the lines. Can you help or point me in the right direction? Thank you.
Thanks for your inquiry. A great resource that will help you out is http://www.modelrailroadforums.com. I frequently visit the forums and get numerous ideas from the other members.
Thanks again and have fun railroading
Daryl
is this basically all dc operation? I operate lionel on ac and was wondering about developing a control panel like yours. My layout isn’t too complicated at the moment but I do have many operating features that are dc current and have lionel operating accessories on simple on off switches and of course typical lionel switch mechanisms for their switches..any advice or links would be appreciated.
thanks
Thanks for your comment. The layout is all DC. Making the control panel is the easy part. Making it all work properly and fit in the control panel is more challenging. I am not sure what voltage is used by your lionel equipment but the switches and push buttons could be made to function on DC. You would have to have a dc circuit if you wanted the LCD routing lights or you could use very small flashlight type bulbs. Check out http://www.modelrailroadforums.com as there is a lot of great information to be found that I am sure will assist you.
Thanks again and have a great day
Daryl
Can you help please? At 87 I’m not as bright as I used to be. Consequently I cant fix a Peco turnout that shorts for no apparent reason. I have two complete tracks with turnouts to each and a third portion of track betweem them. When I switch the turnout to the third track, it shorts.
The yards tracks with several turnouts works fine.
Thanks for your comment. I am not sure what to say as I do all hand laid track. I would try subing out the problem turnout with another one to see if the problem remedies itself. Check the problem turnout for any metal particles that may be in between the tracks like a spike or soldier .
Hope this helps.
Thanks again and happy railroading
Daryl