ChooChoo1972 posted:Hi all, reading another post in another forum about dead rail trains got me thinking. Since all LC/LC+ locos will run on DC is it possible to create a dead rail LC or LC+ layout. What I am thinking about is a car being towed behind the loco, where the baggage car would normally be. This would have trucks with normal pick up rollers and wires from the outer rails into the car. Inside the car would it be possible to connect those wires to a lithium battery? So instead of those trucks picking up power from the rails they would be putting down 12v from the lithium battery pack inside the car. The LC/LC+ loco could pick up this power in the normal fashion from the conductivity in the rails. Is something like this possible?
What you are suggesting here is something short of true dead rail. You would want to apply the battery power directly to the controller board in the engine. Dead rail is really not intended for indoor 3 rail, though it can be done. It was developed for garden layouts where it's difficult to keep the track clean in the weather. I've even heard of some HO guys using it.
I have a buddy who's into On3. He's decided to dead rail his layout, but he has reverse loops, so it makes a little sense. Part of the exercise is about how he communicates with the engine. He's an electronics wiz and is developing his own system. You don't have those issues, which is why this concept seems a bit off to me.
BTW, for LC+ you may need 18V, so bigger battery pack. They'd still fit though.
