Will the metal wheels on the passenger cars short out the block gaps in the rail ? All my rolling stock is equipped w/ plastic wheels except the loco's of course. Thanks in advance, Cliff
You should be fine. The wheels are insulated left from right. Now, if you install the lighting kits they will draw some current, so they might present some issues with block occupancy - you wouldn't want to stop with a car bridging a block gap and then reverse the polarity of one of the blocks.
The Kato cars will work fine on a DC layout. If you stop the train in a block make sure the whole train is in the block. With the contact strips in the cars, if one car is halfway in between the blocks you will get a little power through the car into the block you cut the power to.
Thanks for clearing that up. I would like to ask one more question at this time please. Does the KATO Phase IV box set have the interior lights included for the cars ? The description does not say ? Thanks in advance, Cliff
No. Not unless you're paying extra for the Kobo Shops exclusive version. If the description doesn't say the lights are included, then they are not included.
Thanks TD. I have another question, sorry. Does anyone know if all my Atlas SD60m's make a certain tight radius 180* turn with no problems, would a long KATO Phase IV passenger car handle the same radius w/ no problems ? Thanks in advance, Cliff