@Ed Kelly posted:Reverse loops are handled easily with a Tam Valley juicer. Four wires, if I remember correctly, and its done. Totally automatic.
I'll have to look into this, thanks for the tip.
I wired a wye with one 4pdt switch. Just flip the switch when the engine comes to a stop after clearing the points and your done. No problem with either one of these nasties.
I've read that allowing the engine to come to a halt on dead track, especially with a lengthy train behind it, is not good for the drive train. I think this is how gears get stripped of their teeth or cracked.
Additionally, this method only works for conventional operation, since at least for DCS locomotives there is no watchdog signal.
Overall, I realize that much of this is solved in some way or another in the 2-rail world and DCC. My points were for 3-railers looking to convert. When you add up all those hurdles and the cost, converting from 2-rail to 3-rail is less than likely.
Dead rail does solve a lot of these problems - I totally agree. However, we need to be careful about trading poor aesthetics of 3-rail for the potential hazards of lithium batteries. I understand they are getting safer and I'm not against them. As I've stated in my other posts, I just think on-the-fly charging is a safer, and more convenient, bet than charging off the layout. That's my only argument. Not that we should never allow lithium batteries in our homes. Not that dead rail is stupid. Not that 2-rail is a waste of time or that 3-rail is king. Just that the tradeoffs should be considered and a safe and practical mass market solution is what eventually wins out.
Part of me wonders if batteries could be avoided entirely with model railroads by using large supercapacitors. Their biggest drawback is that they don't stay charged very long, however they also charge very quickly. As far as I know, they don't suffer from the aging side effects that rechargeable batteries do and they aren't as hazardous to recycle.
A locomotive powered by a large supercap or bank of supercaps could recharge on-the-fly on intermittent 2-rail powered sections placed strategically around the layout, with the supercap carrying the load between charging points. The only drawback is that when the layout powers up, it may take a minute or so for the supercaps to charge to full capacity. Signaling would all be OTA, hopefully with some standard common to all manufacturers, and dirty track would not be a concern either.
