@Kp33 posted:I have all my accessories hooked up to my power chief transformer which is hooked up to a timer so it goes on and off by itself, is this ok for the Derrick to run for 4-5 hours a day. Is having it hooked up to a switch better?
Well, it's probably "O.K." in the sense that you're unlikely to burn your house down or anything (depending on the condition of your equipment, of course!), but why would you do so? In addition to the wasted electricity, you're putting wear and tear on everything on your layout, for . . . what? If you *can* fill in that blank (say, you have an outside holiday display you want to have running at certain times), the timer may be justifiable, as well as the wear and tear -- otherwise, I'd just use a switch when you or someone else is there to enjoy it.
OTOH, all power to my layout is through one of several smart plugs, which in turn are controlled through Alexa. So, I can turn the layout on or off from anywhere (and activate some features), by voice command through the Alexa app on my phone or through the Echo Dot nearby. I *could* set up a timer for the trains using what Alexa calls a "Routine", but so far haven't seen the need, though I have done so for activation of some house lights while on vacation. Here's a demo of some of the voice-controlled features:
