RailPro User Group
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: rdickson on October 15, 2024, 04:34:09 PM
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Will the track need to be isolated in my yard so engines parked there will not always be "on" when track power is on using the RailPro system?
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Generally speaking, yes.
RailPro, like DCC or any other command control system if the locomotive is sitting on a piece of track connected to the power supply with nothing to isolate that power then the locomotive is "on", ready to receive commands from the controller. If you don't want the locomotives to receive power while on a certain yard track then you'll need to isolate that track with a toggle switch of some sort. Other that troubleshooting or you have some sets of power you really don't use except once in a blue moon I don't see why you want to do it, the power consumed by the locomotive module while just sitting there waiting for commands would be negligible.
- Tim
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Thanks for clearing that up Tim, appreciate it.
-BD
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I had considered this same thing but more about power going to a locomotive(s) generating heat while not being used, sitting in my 18 stall roundhouse. The LM3 will get a little warm even if it is not doing anything because it has current going through it. I have seen some articles and photos where the decoder or module in this case have melted the locomotive shell. While this is indicative of a fault in wiring or perhaps something else, it has happened and by no means is this statement meant to disparage Railpro or any other manufacturer. Stuff can happen. On my layout I have decided to isolate my Roundhouse and associated tracks where locomotives may be parked for long periods without using them. I have used the Atlas Connector #205 to individually control when I want power to a given track. I would simply turn on the track when I want to run a particular locomotive out of the roundhouse and onto the turntable. Since this will be a rail yard complex with multiple turnouts and is fairly isolated from the main line I also have all of this running through the Ring Engineering CB-1 Circuit Breaker Controller. If I have a shorting incident inside this yard area it will not affect the main line that is receiving power from the same Ring Engineering PWR-56 power supply but is not part of the CB-1 Circuit Breaker. Back in the DC days you would have to wire your track in blocks and such but in some instances this can be a good thing in the modern "DCC" era to allow some isolation and flexibility for certain areas.