Wiring help please!

[emjaybee]

It's a simple question.

I'm building a shunting plank for my father for fathers day, and I'm just after some confirmation on my wiring please.

It's fairly straightforward, I think.

Two turnouts, both electrofrog.

I've labelled my proposed feeds with red/black triangles, and the green dashes are insulating joiners on the frogs. Turnouts will be operated by H.O.G.



Thank you for your consideration!




Oh yes, sorry, it's 00 gauge (my Dad is 84!).

[LASteve]

Looks alright to me. I'd put feeds on the stock rails of the turnouts too, but that's just me being finicky.

[emjaybee]

Looks alright to me. I'd put feeds on the stock rails of the turnouts too, but that's just me being finicky.

Okay, me being thick here...

...which bits are the stock rails?

[LASteve]

The two outside ones that the blades touch against when they're moved from one side to the other.

[emjaybee]

The two outside ones that the blades touch against when they're moved from one side to the other.

Aah, okay, thanks. I'll probably leave those. I concede that would be a belt and braces approach, but should it be a issue I, or he, can deal with it, either with a retro wire, or by soldering fishplates.

The main purpose behind this is to give him something to create. He has a gorgeous 00 gauge Sentinel shunter that is screaming out for this kind of thing.

[Malc]

Just as a point of interest, you could dispense with the top red and bottom black on the RHS. They are part of the same rails as the power feeds.

[emjaybee]

Just as a point of interest, you could dispense with the top red and bottom black on the RHS. They are part of the same rails as the power feeds.

By George, so I could! Hmm,  I may leave it in as a 'backup' for the other end of the turnouts.

Thanks.

[Bealman]

You rang?

Oh no, obviously not. 

Everything is under control! 

[emjaybee]

It's a worry.

[Platy767]

...and if you really want to keep it simple you only need the single left hand feed and no insulating joiners - all conductive.

The disadvantage is that one of the sidings will be hot, but if the single left hand feed is switched it can all be dead.

I'm impatient, and would probably do it this way!

Mark

[chrism]

...and if you really want to keep it simple you only need the single left hand feed and no insulating joiners - all conductive.

Indeed.

The disadvantage is that one of the sidings will be hot,

Unless the user wants to "shunt" multiple locos, does that matter for a shunting plank?

but if the single left hand feed is switched it can all be dead.

As easy as switching the controller off.

[Newportnobby]

Agree. One feed only at the LHS
Simples.

[Bealman]

I was going to suggest isolating sections at the ends of the sidings, but that's probably overkill and they look too short anyway.

[Newportnobby]

It's the shortness of the sidings that makes me query the need for separate feeds as there's no room to run anything in a siding while something else is running.

[emjaybee]

Blimey, this topic got hot suddenly!

It's a shunting plank.

My father has a 14'x 3' (+ bits at the end to loop back) layout which was started in '73, and which he declared he'd done all he could to it in about 2015. He doesn't want to rip it up, but tinkering with it involves leaning over it as you can't get legs under as it's built on cupboards. He has a really bad back, and I was worried he'd make it worse and get frustrated by trying to work on the layout.

So I'm making this for him for father's day, it can sit on his desk, or the dining table and he can work on it sitting comfortably.

It'll only be one loco at a time, but I was thinking the extra feeds as a more robust/reliable supply as it'll be moved around a bit and there's nothing more frustrating than a bad connection.

Whilst everything mentioned previously is correct and valid, that was my thinking in this instance.

BTW, it's been a while since I handled 00 gauge track...

...it's huge!