Railpro power supply

[atsfguy]

 This is probably a stupid question but here goes, anyway.
 I intend to go dead rail on my HO layout to be constructed after PCS but I am not 100% certain if
I would need a 56 watt power supply. Since my trains will be powered by on-board lipo batteries, I think the power supply is unnecessary.
  Thanks go to everyone at this blog for the intelligence information I have gleaned from it. You gentlemen have eased my decision to go railpro.
Cecil

[William Brillinger]

Deadrail - you are correct you will not need the 56W power supply.

However, if you want to do signalling, you will probably want some sort of power on the rails for block detection.

[Dean]

You would also need some sort of power supply if you plan on powering switches and other devices from the rails.

[Alan]

A few years back I built occupancy detectors for a dead rail railroader in Hawaii. They operated on any voltage from 6V to 18V needing only a 15K ohm detecting resistance = 10mA current. Powered by a tiny wall wart. No need to buy a 56W power supply just for detection and signaling. Hold off on that purchase until you are ready to install the signaling. Good chance the charger for your batteries could also power your signals.