Hi All.

I have just hit a serious snag with my planned layout. I laid out the station track and completed a single circuit, so that I could actually see s train running snd do some tests. To my horror I found that the whole layout was live even though I only had one controller.

On inspection I find that the points are permanently wired to feed both tracks. How have others got round this problem? If I have to route current using relays the wiring will be horrendous. In most cases there will be an isolator a couple of rails on from the point (see http://trains.manvell.org.uk/layout/) so the blades would not be carrying current much distance.

Can one cut the straps and still get a reliable contact? Marklin seem to skirt this problem in the publications I own.

All the best,
Chris

Chris,

I run HO scale both AC and DC. I am in agreement with Ozzman. I thought Marklin Z-scale was 2-rail DC just like TRIX N-scale or Peco or Fleischmann Piccolo. If you are operating under digital control for your locomotives you will not need to worry about isolating track sections around a station area. If you are operating in analogue mode then you will have to use isolating track sections with either relays or momentary contact switches. I can refer you to this link for wiring for TRIX HO: http://www.mein-hobby.info/trixratgeber/

The text is in German, however, you should be able to follow the wiring instructions in the diagrams.

Hope this helps you a little.

Sorry. I can only type a few letters at a time at the mo - 'traps' should be 'straps'. Looks that Z is different from all. Am on DC.

Thanks replies.

C.

Hi. Not much point in cutting them anyway (no pun intended) as all that cutting them would achieve can be done with two insulated fishplates. But it means that, at all places where I had intended there to be a short protected sections of track before a converging point, I will now have to have an isolated section controlled by a relay or a switch linked to the point orientation.

I notice that Marklin are very cagey about the loss of the switching facility. There is no mention of it at all in their track layouts book which, in all other respects is extremely thorough.

Best wishes to all,
Chris

Hi Maurice.

I remember my uncle's Trix Twin back in the late 1940s/early 50s with those chunky Bakolite tracks. You never knew which direction the train was going to go off in!

What little I did with trains was with 2-rail DC (Triang then Peco) so having to deal with Z scale is all new. I had a quick look at the problem while I was in hospital but whatever I came up with ended up with including a lot more wiring and insulated fishplates. :o(

You can see the (pre-revision) version of the power feed configuration on my website at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/layout/ and clicking on the appropriate thumbnail.

All the best,
Chris

Hi Chris,

It looks like you are already on to this but... Since Marklin Z uses a two rail track system, you will have to deal with all the electrical peculiarities of two rail track. Essentially that means you will need to block your track into sections that can then have their power routed (or turned off for that matter) via a series of switches to the transformer of your choice. This is accomplished by separate power leads for each block (or isolated section). You use the insulated track joiners to establish these blocks. Watch out for reverse loops as these are a special problem in and of themselves.

Looking at your diagram, I think you are starting to work all this out. If it helps, I wouldn't think about the power routing to the frogs and points but rather about those insulated joiners that separate blocks. Typically you only need to insulate the diverging radius of a turnout. The whole turnout does not need to be isolated. That should simplify your wiring a little.

Marklin z turnouts are of a special and unique design. They are not really live or dead frog or power routing like in other scales or manufacturers. The point rails are powered by the straps on the underside you mention above. Unlike most turnouts each point rail is a separate electrical polarity(?). The little springy bits of metal along the bottom of the frog take over providing power as the wheels pass from point rails to frog so like the point rails each side of the frog is a different polarity(?). You shouldn't tamper with any of this as they are not power routing like a Peco turnout (or many others.) Instead focus on those insulated joiners where turnouts meet to establish blocks.

Hope this helps.
Chris