Goods yard controls

[rugbyboys]

Hi I hope that this makes sence, I have a continuous run layout with a fairly large goods yard to one side all on standard Hornby track and points. If I keep the points at entrance to goods yard set to main line will this isolate the goods yard and would

 

I be able to supply power to it and control the goods yard with a seperate controller.

[RDS]

@rugbyboys

As you have entered your thread in the DCC section of this forum, I am assuming you are using a DCC system.

In that case, the Goods Yard will be live all the time and trains can be called up from your main controller and operated within

 

the goods yard, or anywhere else for that matter.

On DCC you would only have one controller to do the whole layout.

 

 

[rugbyboys]

Thanks RDS, but is it not he case that the goods yard will be live because the points have points clips fitted thus making that section live if I remove the clips and return the points to its origional state will this allow the points to be isolated when

 

set to main line setting against the goods yard,many thanks for your input.

[Fishmanoz]

You can't just remove the points clips, you must completely isolate these sections from each other. It is not possible to run 2 controllers on the same track in DCC. You have to have completely isolated power districts to have 2 controllers.

[rugbyboys]

Many thanks Lads as per great advice, best regards.

[RDS]

@rugbyboys

I am struggling to see why you would want to isolate the goods yard if you have a DCC system.

The fact that you have to call each loco up by it's ID means that each loco works independently of the others anyway, no matter which part of

 

your layout they are on.

[poliss]

You must not use two DCC controllers with seperate power supplies on your layout. As soon as a loco bridges the gap between sections you will get all sorts of problems.

[RDS]

@poliss

That is a good point.

I was still hoping to hear back from rugbyboys as to why he was considering needing the goods yard on a separate circuit.

Having said that, I am actually unable to work out from the above whether he has a DCC or DC

 

layout though.

 

 

[GeorgeJamesJohnson]

You could get power clips so you could run the whole lot off one controller

[walkingthedog]

What do you do if you have DCC and want to control a loco/locos on the circuit/circuits, speed up, slow down and stop/start at stations etc. and at the same time do some shunting in the goods yard?

[Fishmanoz]

Use both hands WTD.

[idlemarvel]

If you are skillful enough and have an Elite with two independent controllers you can drive two trains at once. Personally I can't do two things at once, I believe it's a man thing. If you have RM you could run the circuit trains under automated program

 

control, and drive the shunters manually.

[walkingthedog]

So your saying fishy that you can use two DCC controllers, one for the circuit and one for the sidings. Would a loco be able to cross from one controller to the other like DC as long as they were both pointing in the same direction if you see what I mean?

[walkingthedog]

I can manage 2 easily, 3 carefully and 4 slowly Idlemarvel.

[Yelrow]

showing off WTD, are we still talking about locos. Not wishing to boast, but am running up to 14 at same time, 12 non DCC, and 2 DCC. Its a bit like spinning plates, once you have got them going, john

[walkingthedog]

That's four under positive control, not just running round in circles and left alone.

[Yelrow]

there not left alone, i need to be there for the derailments. 4 under control 2 for each hand, thats good . You must have big hands. Where can i get brick or stone wallpaper, for my plywood levels, john

[Fishmanoz]

We've done this before haven't we WTD? Nothing like stirring up the DCCers? Works every time, can't help but bite.

[walkingthedog]

No not stirring honestly. I think it was Vespa that said you can't have two section running off separate DCC controllers, a circuit and a goods yard for instance. Why can't you have them insulated from each other and pass a loco from one to the the other

 

as long as both are set for the same loco and going in the same directions. Why wouldn't that work?

 

If for some reason this can't be done could you have a section of track under control of both controllers through a switch. Loco enters section on controller

 

1, stops. Controller 1 switched off. Controller 2 switched on. Loco carries on.

 

I want to know if this can be done because I am trying to convince a friend of mine to go DCC but he wants to be able to haveositive control of two parts of his layout.

[walkingthedog]

Have positive not haveositive.

[Fishmanoz]

Yes it can be done WTD. The conventional automatic way to do it is via a booster. Connect the booster input to the controller and output to any isolated section of track. Separate sections usually called power districts and you run both or more from the

 

same controller. Booster takes care of locos crossing over too.

[walkingthedog]

OK thanks fishy. But you can't let two separate DCC controllers be in contact with a piece of track at the same time if they're both live, any more than you should with DC.

 

 

I'll have to take a look at boosters. The layout my friend is making

 

is so complicated you can't tell if a loco is on the inner or outer circuit. It looks as if he's tied it in a knot.

[walkingthedog]

Can you point me in the right direction fishy. Only thing I can find is something that boosts the power for a large layout.

[Fishmanoz]

There are two conventional reasons to use boosters WTD. The first is more power for large layouts because you can have 4 Amps per district and so run more stuff at once, given you can control more.

 

The second reason is a short only takes out one

 

district leaving the other still running.

 

There is a possible third in that the Hornby booster is also an RLM and so an alternative way of controlling a reversing loop automatically. I assume but don't know that most boosters will do this given the

 

switching needed to control a loco crossing between districts.

 

Do any of those cover your friend's layout?

[Fishmanoz]

Then I don't understand how conventional single controller DCC doesn't give you positive control of 2 parts of the layout. A single controller gives you positive control of the whole layout. But maybe I'm not understanding positive control?