Building a tram layout

[IST]

Thanks for your answers. If only Kato had offered more straight plates in the V50 set instead the same oval.

 

It would be good, but I'm afraid we have to wait some month for the straight plates.

[IST]

In the previous days I was thinking about a long line, which can be built from the start set. If you separate the 90° curves into 2 pieces and connect them in a different way, you got a long but curving track. I had to try it, so today I made some changes, just for fun. It looks interesting, but of course it is not so useful with these baseboards. If someone would like to build a shelf-layout, he could do it in this way.

[disturbman]

It's a start but without turnouts that doesn't look good at all. This layout cries for a little bit of operational fun which is for the moment impossible with Unitracks.

[nekomo]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your pictures, IST. With the Unitrack turnouts you show some days ago, definetively is not possible to close this circuit, is it?

[IST]

With the Unitrack turnouts you show some days ago, definetively is not possible to close this circuit, is it?

 

It is possible, but currently I have only digitalised version of turnouts. And these pictures was made just for fun, I won't use the Unitram set in this way.

[IST]

Just a quick update:

My second tram (the blue one) arrived some days ago. I started to work on the parking area set plus I bought a bank building. I also bought a #4 turnout, so I will try how can I use it to make a big loop from the track.

You can see more pictures here.

[Hobby Dreamer]

Thanks again for sharing IST;

 

That's a great link site you provided - makes you realize how well done the model trams are when looking at the prototype pics and video..

 

Given that there is only an oval available you are doing some interesting stuff with your layout!!

[IST]

Thanks Hobby Dreamer!

 

Today I made a try with the turnout. It seems to be that I had wrong, because my idea is not working. I'm sure that I did something wrong, but do not know what.

Please see the attached picture! As you see, I made a new trackplan which is a big loop with one turnover. My idea was that I can use this loop with only one controller, as the #4 turnout has non-power routing, so I can not make any short circuit. I was wrong, it does not work. Have you got any tips how can I make this layout to work?

[qwertyaardvark]

Just looking at it, and IIRC, I'm pretty sure the #4 turnout *is* power routing, and that whenever you make a "return loop" like that with a power routing turnout, it will short circuit. You will need a special setup of a DPDT (double pole double throw) switch and wiring and need to isolate the turnout from the loop.

 

A quick google search  of "model railroading reversing loops" yields this website: http://www.building-your-model-railroad.com/model-railroad-wiring.html

[bill937ca]

I think putting a loop on both ends will eliminate the short circuit.  That would really be no different than a oval or loop. The existing loop is OK.  It's at the stub end that the problem occurs with a conflict between the positive rail and the negative rail.

 

But of course loops eat up a tremendous amount of space.  I already know that! 

[IST]

I'm pretty sure the #4 turnout *is* power routing

 

It has a non power routing setup in the basement. But you have right, it seems I can not avoid isolating.

 

A quick google search  of "model railroading reversing loops" yields this website: http://www.building-your-model-railroad.com/model-railroad-wiring.html

 

I would never thought that I will find picture of Hungarian type signals in this home page. 

 

I think putting a loop on both ends will eliminate the short circuit.

 

Yes, it is true. But my idea was that there is a one track final station in the end of the loop.

 

It was a good experience for me. As so many guys in this forum, I am waiting for the straight sections and turnouts and until that time, it is interesting to see what type of track plan can I build.

[KenS]

A return loop always causes a polarity problem, because the left rail on the switch curves around and meets the right rail. 

 

If your turnout can control polarity on both rails, then you could connect the power pack to track on the loop, and the turnout would do the reversal for you, although that might cause other problems.

 

But Kato's #4 is "power routing" on the inside rails only (assuming both screws are set to "non-power routing"; yes, the name seems backwards). See suggestion #19-2b on this site for an explanation of how the switch behaves. So that won't work with this switch.  Basically, if both screws are in "non-power routing", the polarity of the inside rail of the loop will reverse when the switch is thrown, without causing a short, but the outer rail won't reverse, so even if it is isolated, the train won't run.

 

If you set both screws to "power routing", the switch works properly if you want to power a non-loop siding continuously. When set to "non-power routing", the siding (or straight beyond the switch) will be dead unless the switch is thrown towards it. This is what you'd normally use on a passing siding or engine storage track.

 

I think you'll need to isolate both rails of the loop as qwertyaardvark  said, and install a double-pole switch wired to reverse polarity.

[Hobby Dreamer]

You are in good hands here regrading the wiring..

 

But I really like your layout experimenting! 

[cteno4]

in this situation with a point on a reversing loop like this you will need to also isolate the outside point rail as that ends up common all the way around the loop -- turning off the power routing does not affect those outside common rails! you can do this with an insulated joiner on the diverging points of the turnout. reversing loops are a pain to deal with. there are some auto circuits you can get to switch the feeder track once your train is in the loop section or you can do that by hand. best way is to just do the feeder track on one totally isolated block wiring and the loop on another. then put a reversing switch on each. basically you have to keep flipping your reversing switch for a block when a tram leaves that block so it is set for the appropriate polarity when you run into it next time.

 

ill put the mention in again for the ru21 reversing/pausing circuit for odd tram layouts like this and point to points. it really does a wonderful job of doing a reversing point to point and giving you a bunch of pause points in between! really makes it seem like realistic operations. you can even get up to 10 pause points if you want, so you can have it stop at intersections as well! then it lets you not worry about dealing with reversing loops!

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,1255.0.html

 

cheers

 

jeff

[IST]

ill put the mention in again for the ru21 reversing/pausing circuit for odd tram layouts like this and point to points. it really does a wonderful job of doing a reversing point to point and giving you a bunch of pause points in between!

 

I plan to buy and try this ru21 unit, but the second tram was more important for me at this moment (my budget for model trains is quite limited). ru21 works with more trams, or there can be only one vehicle on the track?

[cteno4]

you could put more than one tram on, but it would be like doing it with a regular power supply, faster tram would catch the slower one. also when one tram trips a sensor both will either reverse or pause (depending on what circuit the sensor is plugged into).

 

to do more than one tram on a line you need to go to a block control system east penn has a new circuit like this for their ttrak. it stops a tram before it enters a block that is occupied by another tram. only problem is the stop points are not as coordinated as the sensor system and its a bunch more circuitry to do.

 

other option is dcc, but harder in the trams to install at times. also you still need to keep track of all your trams with the decoder. you can automate the dcc, but thats a whole nother ball of worms to get into!

 

the ru21 really works best with just one tram per line. getting more than one tram per line running is a big jump in automation (block control, dcc, etc) if you want them running independently.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[IST]

Thanks Jeff for your explanation. I am thinking about running more trams on the layout, so maybe ru21 won't be a good solution, but I will be curious a video about it.

 

I modified a little of my last attempt, I put back the track on the TV stand and turn the swith at the one end of the line. With this I can use 2 trams, which follows each other in one way and when one of the tram reaches the other end of the track, I have to turn all of them. Or, I can make a return trip with one tram, while the other one is just standing on the side. You can see a picture about it below.

I have the bank office, it looks good, I like it.

And I am thinking about my biiiiig plan, maybe I can have a dogbone type layout in the living room in the length of 4.5 meter.  My wife has to agree with it, so I think I have to know the vacuum cleaner in the next few years. 

[Hobby Dreamer]

the ru21 really works best with just one tram per line.

 

Thanks for the great info Jeff... 

[IST]

Hmm, I wrote here quite a long time ago. Not much happened in the past few days or weeks, I am just playing with the set and quite like it. A wrote a little review to our railway related website with a lot of pictures about the trams, so can see here: http://www.vonatmagazin.hu/?p=16726

And I am currently working on this:

[westfalen]

I have one of those waiting to be put together, good to see a good photo showing where all the parts go.

[IST]

It was a surprise for me that I had to use glue to keep the smaller parts in their positions.

[nekomo]

Is that a Kato reference?

[IST]

I don't know, but without gluing, small parts fell out from the holes.

[IST]

After more than 3 month, I almost completed my little town. I bought some new buildings since my last post, placed the stickies and made some photos about the result. I turned the layout so you can see it from all sides (and I moved my cars every time, I do not have so many  ).

I know that this layout has not finished yet, peoples are missing, I'd like to buy or make a lot of trees and I need to get more cars also. It was a very good experience to make it, I enjoyed (almost) every minute and it looks good in my living room. I won't continue it until new tracks and swithces won't be available for Unitram.

[cteno4]

IST,

 

nice! the new tomytec 5 and 6 story building will go nicely with the unitram layouts and kato buildings. hopefully new track will be out this year and you can start to expand! its nice the basic setup sits on a pretty small footprint. if you make a small base out of thin plywood framed with some simple molding you can not only make a nice display stand, but its also pretty movable then!

 

glad you had fun with it.

 

cheers

 

jeff