Cameron Cooke

That's great thank you!

What type of diode would I need?

Love it! Regarding DCC I didn't know anything when I got the starter set but I've invested in DC that said I don't think it would be that hard to convert to DCC, I guess with DCC I would have to have the power to all loops and sidings instead of using points to switch power. That does seem easier than messing around with electrics as I'm not an electrical engineer!

So by joining the track with isolated joiners, would I then wire power to the track and add a switch which would be off by default which I could then turn on to give power to the insulated track? Are there any off-the-shelf products that I can use to do this? Also, would it be possible for when power is bridged to the isolated track that the train can only go in reverse direction? This is to prevent my kids from constantly derailing the trains.

I'm a complete novice and I've searched for this question but have not found an answer it might be because I don't know the correct terminology but how do I stop my trains from running off the end of sidings without having to turn off the power to the track on DC? I thought about somehow insulating the track but putting anything on the track would derail the train. I just want my trains to stop before running into the buffer stops. I'm just building a double oval OO gauge layout with sidings coming off the inner track. Thanks in advance.