Legonz Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) Hi all - Well since I introduced myself a couple of months back I've been busy scouring the web for bits and pieces of 12v track - and also building the Tower Bridge (10214) and converting it to take trains instead of cars! I'm really pleased with it so have attached a photo... I'm no electrician and obviously no genius when it comes to track layouts so would greatly appreciate any advice from those more experienced than me! I sat down this afternoon for a couple of hours and put the track down like this; the train will run in bits of it (slowly) but when it gets to other bits it seems to short the transformer. I've been around a few bits with a multimeter but don't really understand what I'm looking for, so thought I'd post it here in case anyone just looks at it and says 'Doh!' - look what he's done! I'm looking forward to making whatever changes are needed and running the trains around it so I can take and post some more photos! Many thanks in advance, David Edited February 20, 2012 by Legonz Quote
jonwil Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 Its hard to tell from the images but you may have a reversing loop in your layout. Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) Great layout but not possible for the 12v ...the reversing loop makes you short-circuit. The solution (if you don't have the train CAD to verify the polarity) is verify that the train transit on each piece of track always and only in one direction. Brick on with your fantastic lego! Note You can use this train CAD for your layout checks Edited February 19, 2012 by LEGO Train 12 Volts Quote
JopieK Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 You could fix that of course using diodes. You actually have two reversing loops. How do you do it?! Something like this: http://www.hmrg.co.uk/techtops/revloop.htm Quote
bricks n bolts Posted February 19, 2012 Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) How do you do it?! Something like this: http://www.hmrg.co.u...ops/revloop.htm Wow, nice idea! You'd still have to work out what to do with any other trains on your layout when you reverse the power flow - so they don't all start going backwards Edited February 19, 2012 by bricks n bolts Quote
Legonz Posted February 20, 2012 Author Posted February 20, 2012 (edited) Great layout but not possible for the 12v ...the reversing loop makes you short-circuit. The solution (if you don't have the train CAD to verify the polarity) is verify that the train transit on each piece of track always and only in one direction. Brick on with your fantastic lego! Note You can use this train CAD for your layout checks Thanks very much for your help Count! Realised my mistake after you pointed it out as it was pretty much two big loops... Have redesigned it - have tried to upload a photo but it says I've used 84k of my 100k allowance with the other two photos so it won't let me put up another one :-( In the meantime; another problem I'm running into is a lack of wiring to reach the far away points / signals with a large layout. I've read around and see people saying 'you can use any type of wire' - but how do people get it to stay put into the track / signals / points etc... without the handy little lego connectors? Cheers, David Edit: Removed one of the earlier photos so I could attach the updated layout. The two loose ends are going to be a bridge over the other track and join up if I can find enough bricks for the pillars :-) Edited February 20, 2012 by Legonz Quote
Mr Benn Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 Great to see more 12V layouts on the boards! Same problem as ever with Lego trains though - at some point your wife/S.O. is going to demand their floor space back! Some of the modifications that you can find for track and layouts - like the bridge rectifier above - are brilliant, but I try to keep things simple by just making sure there are no reversing loop-style issues in there in the first place (thought obviously this does restrict design a little bit!) Quote
roamingstop Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 For pictures, get yourself a flickr account (or similar) and you can do deeplinking. The Dioide idea could be further automised by using one of the old 'battery reverse pole' signals from the 4.5V sets. As the train enters the loop, it would flip the switch to set the diode bridge the correct way around. might need a bit more thinking (for the logic) but it can definitely be automated. Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks very much for your help Count! Realised my mistake after you pointed it out as it was pretty much two big loops... Have redesigned it - have tried to upload a photo but it says I've used 84k of my 100k allowance with the other two photos so it won't let me put up another one :-( In the meantime; another problem I'm running into is a lack of wiring to reach the far away points / signals with a large layout. I've read around and see people saying 'you can use any type of wire' - but how do people get it to stay put into the track / signals / points etc... without the handy little lego connectors? Cheers, David Edit: Removed one of the earlier photos so I could attach the updated layout. The two loose ends are going to be a bridge over the other track and join up if I can find enough bricks for the pillars :-) It's lovely to see other huge 12v layout after more than 30 years! Your bridge is awesome! Quote
bricks n bolts Posted February 20, 2012 Posted February 20, 2012 In the meantime; another problem I'm running into is a lack of wiring to reach the far away points / signals with a large layout. I've read around and see people saying 'you can use any type of wire' - but how do people get it to stay put into the track / signals / points etc... without the handy little lego connectors? You just have to use the mini-plugs of an existing wire if you haven't any spare. Easy to unscrew with a micro screwdriver, the only tricky part is screwing the wire back in with the teeny tiny screws, for that I find it helps a lot if you have another plug attached to the one you are attaching at 90 degrees so that the screw holes are kept in the correct position. Quote
JamesP Posted February 21, 2012 Posted February 21, 2012 You just have to use the mini-plugs of an existing wire if you haven't any spare. Easy to unscrew with a micro screwdriver, the only tricky part is screwing the wire back in with the teeny tiny screws, for that I find it helps a lot if you have another plug attached to the one you are attaching at 90 degrees so that the screw holes are kept in the correct position. There was a spare pack, with 3M of cable & 8 plugs available. Try Bricklink for it. 5065. I have at least one opened one, used for 4.5v lighting. James Quote
harnbak Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Nice to see a pure 12v layout. Please keep us updated with pictures. I would like to see more of your bridge. Do you have a flickr account? Quote
woolie Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 It's amazing you got it to run on the wall at all, though. How do you keep the trains from falling off? Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 It's amazing you got it to run on the wall at all, though. How do you keep the trains from falling off? LOL! I agree! We want more pictures of your layout ...from the right view! Quote
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