Hi, everyone - a newbie question for you: I model HO scale in DC (Not DCC). I run usually just two trains at a time on one controller. I'm adding a new section to the layout and am including a passing siding. My question is how can I use the turnouts for that siding to allow a train to park there while another goes by on the mainline? Is it a matter of using Peco insulfrog or electrofrog turnouts? If so, how? Is it a matter of insulating certain rails if I use Atlas switches? Any help is so welcome. Thanks in advance.
Are the main/passing siding part of a continuous oval or some sort of complete loop, and do you have the layout broken up in to blocks, or just one large layout? The next question is what type of turnouts are you using? If PECO's you can use either Insulfrogs or Electrofrogs. The rule with these is to run electric feed wires connected to the point end of any turnout. Also, I would NOT use "common rail" wiring, but would run two wires from the power pack/controller to each block of the layout. It does double the number of wires, but you will run into far fewer problems with short circuits. For convention sake, and regardless of the actual direction the track runs relative to the real world, the tracks on model railroads always run East and West. Therefore, one rail is the North rail, and the other is the South rail.
Now, are you running the two trains in the same direction or opposite each other? It doesn't make that much difference, but you might find it convenient do the following: Wire feeder wires to the point end of the turnout where the trains will enter the main or siding (depending on which way the points are thrown. Place insulated track connectors in
all four rails on the frog end of the exit turnout. Wire jumper wires from the point end of the entrance turnout rails to the point end of the exit turnout rails (unless the main on the other end of the exit turnout is a separate block, in which case run the power wires from the block control switch to the point side of the exit turnout. You can run trains that run in opposite directions with this arrangement. If the "East" end turnout is aligned for the main, and the West end turnout is aligned for the siding, the train going into the siding will stop before it enters the siding. The train proceeding on the main should stop when it gets to the West turnout. The problem here is that if the insulators are real close to the West turnout, the train might run through the fouling point. You could avoid this by positioning the insulators a little distance from the frog, if you have the room to get the train on the main entirely on the track around the siding. Same thing if the turnouts are aligned in opposite directions.
If you are going to run the trains in opposite directions, then you might want to place the insulators in the North and South rails at the frog end of the exiting turnout (with the insulators positioned sufficiently away from the turnout's fouling point). If you are using two controllers, one for each train, you can throw the turnout for one train to the siding, run the train onto the siding while the other train runs into the main. Stop either or both trains, and throw the turnout for the exit of the train that has superior rights on the main, then have it proceed on, while the other train remains on the siding. The turnouts will control power to the frog end of the track. (Some people don't like to depend on the rail contacts between the points and the stock rails, using additional contacts on the switch machines to control power. I haven't had any problems with PECO turnouts' contacts, but that will be up to you.)
I wish I had the capability to diagram this for you, but don't have it. Perhaps someone else can post a diagram. Best of luck.
I'll answer a few of your questions, but first this caveat: this is my first layout so it is basically one medium-sized layout, in DC, and I wanted to keep it non-complicated. But I like the fun of running a couple of trains simultaneously from time to time off a single controller. Both engines are from the same company and run at the same speed, so little chance of them ramming each other - just have to make sure they don't arrive at a turnout at the same time.
