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Subject: 
Re: Railroad Dilemma
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.trains
Date: 
Thu, 25 Feb 1999 01:35:11 GMT
Viewed: 
2343 times
  
All,

see my comments below prefixed with 'ben>>'

Scott Edward Sanburn writes:
That sounds great Matt, in regards to TD3!

I guess my biggest concern involving the train situation is I would like
to have one switch rail between two lines or different tracks, each
having its own controller. I have a few questions regarding this
situation, I don't want to risk blowing anything up! :(

ben>> Lego trains seem pretty blow up proof, but I'll keep trying.  If I find a
way to blow them up using only Lego pieces, I'll let you know.


1) Can a switch exist between two separate lines with two different
controllers?

ben>> Yes.  Simply be careful not to cause a short.



2) If so, is it possible to run just one controller for one train on the
same line if the switch is going to the other line? (I think it can)

ben>>  Not sure what you mean.  The train will simply respond to the voltage it
sees.  If by switching the switch to the other line, you eliminate voltage to
the part of track the train is on, the train will stop.


3) Along the same lines, can I have both controllers operating if the
switch is not connecting the two?

ben>> Yes.


4) Lastly, what would happen if I had both controllers running at the
same time with the switch connecting them is active (both would be
connected.)

ben>> You have essentially connect both loops in parallel with two parallel
power supplies.  If the two controllers have opposite polarity you have a
problem, which will cause a fault and stop the motor and possibly damage the
motor if the situation lingers.  If both controllers have the same polarity,
both trains will run with an amount of voltage from summing the addative powers
of the two power supplies.  Note: since they are in parallel it is not a simple
1+2=3 scenario.  The formula escapes me but is a little more complicated.

<snip>

ben>> hope this helps.



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: Railroad Dilemma
 
Ben, Thanks Ben. I will try it out tonight. In question 2, I was just saying if I ran one train around track#1, and had the switch going to track#2 (and not having the controller on, all the trains would be switched off), would it cause a problem, (...) (26 years ago, 25-Feb-99, to lugnet.trains)
  Re: Railroad Dilemma
 
(...) I suspect the short would happen even if the two controllers have the same polarity, but are set to different speeds. I'm guessing it's the voltage they put out which increases as you up the speed. If that's the case and you have the (...) (26 years ago, 25-Feb-99, to lugnet.trains)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Railroad Dilemma
 
That sounds great Matt, in regards to TD3! I guess my biggest concern involving the train situation is I would like to have one switch rail between two lines or different tracks, each having its own controller. I have a few questions regarding this (...) (26 years ago, 24-Feb-99, to lugnet.trains)

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