Unitram Track and Instructions

[gerryo]

It seems like I should never open a Kato wiring package.  This time it's a problem with the Unitram Track Power Feeders.

 

The instructions in the Manual and Quick Start Guide for Tram Track Feeder Installations clearly states that the feeder attachment should be placed in its grooves facing in the opposite direction to the Tram direction of travel.

 

This is impossible as both of the sets of grooves face the same way.  If two sets if cords were attached in them then both Trams would move in the same direction.  And this, according to the forum police would be illegal.

 

You would have to run one of your Trams in the reverse position on your power pack.

 

I made the mistake of taking the Tram Joiner apart last evening.  One little screw and it was apart.  I saw that the wires could not be interchanged, so I tried to put the joiner back together.  Big mistake.  Those tiny little wires can get into the weirdest positions imaginable.  Just not the right ones.  I finally got it back together with the help of two clamping tweezers and a lot of cursing which went on till well after midnight.

 

Again, I will have to adapt the Terminal Joiners to be used on my Unitram section of my layout.

 

gerryo

 

 

[enoden]

Kato assumes that you would be connecting the feeder for each track to a separate power pack/controller.  Direction would be chosen by using the direction switch on each of the controllers.  if you are planning to run the two tracks from one controller, you can cut the controller plug off of one of the feed wires and solder them to the other feed wires remembering to solder blue to white and white to blue so that the trams will run in opposite directions when the power is applied.  

[kvp]

I think you want to run both controllers with the direction lever set to the forward direction but have them running in opposite directions. Imho this is possible by cutting one of the feeder cables and using a screw terminal to join them reversed.

 

The default Kato way of running one of the lines backwards is easier if you have a connection between the two loops, because the trams can cross the isolators when the levers are set to the same direction. If you reverse one of the feeders, then one controller will have to be in reverse and the other in forward to be on the same polarity. (actually according to standard tram directions of travel on a double track line this is the correct way) If you have classic european two directions, center stop controllers, then the same polarity feeder connections are easier to learn, becaue trams travel in the direction of the control knobs.

 

ps: There is no strict rule of travel, so you can run any tram loop in any direction, even two lines parallel in the same direction, but the usual way is to have them running opposite of each other to simulate a two track tram line.

[katoftw]

If you start stuffing around with polarities, then you are gonna run into troubles if you have more than one track or crossovers are involved.

[AllenZ]

I figured it out.  Have2 different power connection tracks and then you can change direction of the connection.  Don't do them both on the same track section

 

[Paulie]

I’m glad I read this topic before assembling my Unitram system. Thanks for asking the question Gerryo.😀.

[blueregal]

ive done the above mentioned using one power pack and cutting the plug off and reversing the wires on the other wire blue to white and white to blue trams run in opposite direction with no problem so far 

[cteno4]

Reversing the wires is just like throwing the direction switch onnthe power pack so there are no worries about screwing anything up doing the wire reversal. It just lets your throttles read forward for each track traveling against each other properly. Of course if you have a crossover you just need to have the directions on the two throttle set properly as you go over the crossover. With one of the wires reversed that would mean one throttle would be forward and the other in reverse to go over the crossover.

 

jeff