Yardmaster96 posted:Moonman
Tons of thank you for the information. One thing you just did was inform me that the smaller track pieces are for more than just those nagging issues of "how the heck am I going to fill this gap." I have several spots on my layout where after I used all the 10's, and inserted a switch or two, the track was 1 3/4 inches away from completing a full oval. In some cases 6 3/4 inches, and in a couple of cases because I'm completely out of 10's right now, I had a 27" gap and a 90 5/8" gap. I did the math and found my gaps need to be a bit wider to equal out to the parts I have to choose from. I had no idea those smaller pieces were also block pieces. I kept reading about blocks on your layout. I thought they were for the reason I mentioned, you started at one spot and after your finished a complete oval, you were 1 3/8, 1 3/4, 4 1/2, or 5 inches short. I did wonder how Lionel came to the conclusion you needed those specific measurements.
I have attached a FasTrack lengths combination for you. measure the gap, then check for a combination of pieces. There are some were there is no combination.
Also, and this is for clarification. You recommend I take the white wire I used to hook the Base 1L to the track, and trade hooking it to the track for direct connection to the black wire on the TIU. Easy enough to do, especially with the way I have the black wire attached to the TIU, but wanted to make sure I was reading you correctly.\
Well, it's the track wire from the Base 1L that goes to an outside rail. Connecting it to the Black Out terminal on the TIU ensures that the signal gets to all the connections that go from the TIU.
I have a lighted caboose. I know, Flashing Infrared Lights are now put on the last car of every train to tell the signals you've passed the crossings, or maybe something new has been developed, but I use a caboose. When I slowly push the car around the track, do I watch for flickering or total lights out at the weak spots. To me, and this is just my thinking, dead spots would cause the engine to suddenly just stop.
The caboose is fine, Flickering is not as important as dimming or no lights. Flickering may suggest dirty track or the caboose wheels or rollers are dirty.
