I am considering DCC on my small HO layout. Picture a double main line oval. The inner oval connects to a yard in the middle of the oval. The yard has a turntable and engine house at the end. The yard can exit to the inner main line via 2 paths, each one connected to a section of the inner oval, allowing the train to exit and travel either east or west on the inner oval. The ovals are connected with 4 switches in a double slip configuration so no matter what direction the trains are travelling, they can swap from one main line to the next.

Again describing the yard connection, at its easiest, its one track with a turntable at the end, that track connects to a wye switch. the track from each wye exit goes to the top and bottom of a segment of the inner oval. Like a lollipop on a stick.

I hope I have been clear on the design. Is this a DCC nightmare on a small layout? I am considering Digitrax, Empire or Genesis. Budget will not be unlimited.

At the current time, all blocks are gapped on both rails and three DPDT swithes are used to contral the direction.

Any advice greatly appreciated before I make the plunge.

-- Wally M (cards@texas.net), May 21, 2000

Answers

From your description, you don't have any reversing loops except at the yard end of the wye track. So provide an auto-reverse loop controller for the entire yard. Crossover tracks by themselves do not constitute a need for DCC reverse loop type wiring. Neither does a turntable if you have the split slip ring type power feed to the turntable track and some way to ensure that the feeder slip rings do not short the DCC bus while the turntable rotates. Simply make sure all your track switches are DCC friendly and you should have no problem.

-- Don Vollrath (dvollrath@magnetek.com), May 25, 2000.