Youtube Wiring for a O Gauge Railroad With Lots of Track

Wiring any model railroad can be a daunting task. Since we can't see it, electricity can be a challenge to understand. And when something doesn't work, it's more difficult to figure out why. Like other parts of the hobby however, wiring your railroad is not something to fear. Learn the basics, establish standards, learn as you go and wire as you build.

Wiring often looks and sounds complicated, but if you follow these steps you'll take away the mystery and the mess.

One of our most common questions is, "What do I need to wire my railroad?" Well, that all depends. How big is your railroad? How many trains do you run? What accessories do you have? The number of control switches, block sections, transformers, etc. that you will need will all depend on what you are trying to do. The basic principles however remain the same. While the quantity may change, the systems do not.

We're going to take you all the way through wiring a model railroad, from starting a basic platform, to adding accessories, to installing command control. The pages within this blog are filled with diagrams, photos and video to make sense of it all. You may not need all of this information, or you may just not need all of it right now. Follow along from beginning to end or jump around to the topics that interest you – either way you'll find this mysterious wiring monster is less fierce than he's made out to be.

The Basics

• Understanding electricity and how it relates to your model railroad
• Best Practices for model railroads – from the size of your wire to the power of your transformers
• Soldering – learn a few tricks to mastering this essential modeling skill
• Power Supplies – an introduction to our options
• Phasing Transformers – an easy way to expand and simplify your wiring
• Accessories vs. Track Power – Constant vs. Variable Voltage

Conventional Control

• Track Power
  • Adding Busses – Power distribution and organization
  • Adding Blocks – Power where and when you want it
• Accessories
  • Different types of Accessories
  • Outside Insulated Rail Activation
  • 153 Activation
    • 153C
    • 153E
    • 153IR
  • Wiring a Lighted + Animated Accessory – see how to configure the Gateman and similar accessories to operate just the way you want.
• Uncoupling / Operating Tracks – Modify uncoupling and operating car tracks for constant voltage operation.
• Switches
  • Modifying Switches for Constant Voltage– includes instructions for:
    • FasTrack
    • O-31
    • O-27

Adding Command Control

If you've followed the steps above to wire your railroad for conventional control, then installing command control can literally be as easy as attaching a single wire. You can also use your TMCC or LEGACY system to control switches and accessories from other manufacturers. We'll walk you through the process step by step.

Command Control Basics – What is it and what can it do?

What Do You Need to Get Started? – Product overviews to build your command control system, including products needed to run both command and conventional control trains.

Installing Legacy – Step by step video tutorials will lead you through the whole process as you set up your basic LEGACY system.

Expanding Command Control – ASC, AMC, ARC, BPC… It can get confusing in a hurry!  This page will help you make sense of all the controller options available as you add to your command control capabilities to do more than just run trains.

Switches

• ASC and SC-2– Both of these control switches.  Depending on which type of switches you use, one may be better than the other. Which one is right for you?
  • SC-2– The SC-2 is best suited for twin-coil type machines and can be easily wired to Lionel switches as well as other manufacturers'.
    • O Gauge and O-27
    • FasTrack
    • Other Manufacturers' Switches including:
      • MTH Realtrax®
      • MTH Scaletrax®
      • Atlas O
      • Z-Stuff
  • ASC (Accessory Switch Controller)– The ASC will handle twin-coil machines, but also motors. Here you'll find wiring instructions for using the ASC on switches including:
    • Tortoise (Stall-Motor)
    • DZ1000
    • FasTrack

Accessories

There are multiple ways to connect your various accessories to command control. For most, you can use the same SC-2 and ASC that also work with switches. For operating and uncoupling tracks, we have the OTC. And for other special accessories, we have the AMC. And of course those 153 devices and insulated outside rail blocks will still work no matter what is powering your trains. You are really limited only by your imagination when it comes to wiring your accessories.

• SC-2
  • We show how you can wire this versatile controller to use both momentary and on/off contact switches to operate up to twelve accessories.
• ASC
  • Use and program the ASC to control just about any accessory that requires momentary or on/off activation – up to eight addresses are available on each unit.
• OTC
  • Use the OTC (Operating Track Controller) to operate your operating and uncoupling tracks from your cab. We provide clear instructions for both uncoupling tracks and operating tracks in both the Fastrack and O Gauge lines.
• Other Accessories: Watch as we install a receiver in an Atlas O turntable to make it run from your system. These same techniques could be applied to many accessories.

A Sample Layout

So what do you need to wire your layout? By now you should know what each piece does and what it can handle. This sample layout puts it all together in a single platform to show what you might really nead to convert your layout.

While your layout is probably different from the one shown here, hopefully this sample will help show you the way.

Youtube Wiring for a O Gauge Railroad With Lots of Track

Source: https://lionelllc.wordpress.com/projects-and-tips/wiring-your-layout/