May i ask is there any limit to length of track layout that a regular Bachmann controller will handle without power loss? or is it more that you are limited to the amount of loco's on track at one time. :thankyousign:
Not knowing your length of track I would put numerous feeds in to solve the problem, yes you can have power loss but I should not worry to much unless you are thinking of putting in serious lengths of track.
Hi geoff,my design is only a continuous loop of 8' x 3' so was just wondering before i start if that would be any drama at all.So what does that involve?-dividing power wires and placing them around track on opposite side.
You do not state if you are DC or DCC because in your first post you state you want to run a number of loco's on the track, is your continuous loop a single track or double track, it is quite easy to solder wire to the rail joiners so you can drop through the baseboard, if you are going the dcc route then I would put down 4 sets of droppers but that is my opinion, if you are going DC then you are only able to run one loco on one track, hence the DCC option is better, also how many amps does your controller give you? this will decide when going DCC how many Loco's you can run at one time.
What type and gauge of wire are you using please?
This could have a huge bearing on voltage drop, even on a relatively small layout
I feel that a lot of people seem to get unnecessarily worried about wire size and voltage drop. For N gauge, it is almost a non-issue - any common size of wire will handle 1 amp over moderate distances. That equates to one double-headed train around a small room. Wire size only becomes relevant for common returns (handling power for several such trains), point motors, DCC or other power buses, really big layouts with long wiring runs, or US layouts where "normal" is a consist of 4 or more locos.
Assuming that your Bachmann controller is a basic DC unit, it should have no trouble with running one set of double-headed N gauge locos at a time.
One real issue is continuity problems with rail joiners - never put too much faith in these. Putting in a power feed after every two or three pieces of track is highly recommended, so having a second (set of) feed(s) on the far side of your layout would be a very good idea.
I agree with Martink, the rail joiners can cause problems. On a basic oval i find that two feeds does the trick, one near the controller and the other one at the furthest point away from the controller. After that i only add feeds where needed. If your trains need more power then a more powerful controller is needed, the cased mains controllers from Gaugemaster will give you up to 1 amp - more than enough for any N gauge loco's. (you could run at least 4 loco's on that!)
Sorry for any confusion Geoff-my layout has not yet begun,i was just curious to know if one basic analogue controller will handle much more track than you get in sets.It will be a single track in a continuous loop and yes only one train at a time.This is my first ever layout and was going OO Digital but decided to go N Gauge as i love them.Sounds like i might feed track in at least 2 spots then.-Many thanks.
Train set controllers are pretty good these days so if you stick with your current plan you'll be fine.
As Mike states you should be ok, and if you feed in 2 places you ill be fine, enjoy your up and coming model railway.