Well...we do have the Top Secret NMRA Compliance Ninja's flying overhead in the black stealth helicopters. I wonder if they are somehow involved...hmmmm.
I think your wife quite the clever prankster. Now, ask her to explain the trick to us. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Finally got around to installing my switch panel. I dont want a bunch of switches etc exposed around the layout. I wanna keep it clean . I have my turntable with my ready tracks off it. The tracks arent numbered...I just put the numbers on them in the picture for illustration purposes. I want to be able to turn each of those ready tracks off or on at will. Not just when the table gets to them. I DONT want those tracks live ALL the time. The only way to accomplishe that is a 'switch panel' with 15 on/off switches. I have an OLD switch panel that came off a Z Scale layout that was built in the early 80's that just so happens to already have 15 on/off switches on it !!! I wanted it 'out of view'. Most all the top panels on my base cabinets are now drop downs. The plan is to put terminal strips on the backside of the dropdowns to put my buss lines to and all the track feeders within that area. Anyways...I used the area behind one of those drop down panels... to hide my switch panel for my turntable tracks Now all I have to do is wire in those 15 tracks to the switches....
Nice idea. Is it all hollow inside those cabinets? Or are there walls to tunnel through to feed wires?
Individual cabinets sandwiched together. Basically hollow inside...just a half shelf in the middle towards the back. That makes 3 sidewalls to get to the turntable. Each wall is only 3/8 pressed wood. A 3/4 spade bit goes right thru them in short order.
George - why kill the power to the storage tracks? You're DCC, and as long as you make sure each loco is off there is no power draw. I've not had a problem in seven years...and all my locos are on the layout, many in staging attached to trains and the rest at Oakville...just seems like a lot of work for no great benefit.
Jim.... I do have some DC locomotives sitting on a few of those tracks. I've also been known to forget to turn a loco off after parking it over there. I just feel better if the tracks are able to be turned on/off. Let's just call it 'peace of mind'
Nah...if all tracks are 'OFF' except the one you are going into or out of...no harm no foul. If all tracks are powered ON...with no way to shut that power off....those DC locomotives are gonna be melting...sitting there humming with DCC going into them all the time.That DC locomotive humming just sitting there will get your attention...and you will reach down and shut that track power off. Its no different then remembering to throw that toggle switch to realign a turnout back to the main...once you put a train in a siding. JMO
George: Nice work on the turntable area and holding tracks. Keep all the holding tracks live. Just turn off all your locomotives. That's what I do in my turntable area and the 10 track yard adjacent to the turntable area and 24 stall Roundhouse. Most of my locomotives are on my layout. Have fun with it. Shades
The part everyone is missing...look at the pic of the turntable area above ^^^^^^^ Tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 have DC locomotives parked on them for now. If I leave those tracks DCC powered ON...those DC locomotives just sit there and hum ! It wont take long for a DC locomotive to burn up sitting still on a DCC powered track. THAT is one of the Major reasons for wanting to be able to turn off the power to those ready tracks. IF I run any one of those DC locomotives on "00" and put it back on a DIFFERENT ready track...I will need to turn that tracks power off too after its parked...for the reasons stated above. I hope this is making sense to someone out there
