I have been fiddling with the TTFH, trying to figure out why it keeps stalling out at that one particular spot before the bridge. I tried soldering strategic ties, thinking it lost connection because of a power gap. I tried scrubbing the rails some more, to minimize corrosion. I could probably scrub for the rest of my life and never get them perfect, but they’re pretty stinkin’ shiny right now; I don’t think that’s it. (Every time we go downstairs, I assign either Olin or AJ – sometimes Evie – the task of ‘cleaning the track’. They like the Tidy Track thingie because it’s ‘like a train’ and has the long wand, but I don’t think they accomplish much actual cleaning. I’ myself have been over every stinking inch of the TTFH with the rescue and )
Last night, I was trying to “understand” the existing TTFH layout by following wires from their location on the back of the side board under the table to their connections on the actual rails, then jumping up and identifying them on top. I was completely confounded, because it seemed like the rail circuit was only fully completed in one place. Everything that I’ve read about wiring for DCC suggests that rails must be connected at most with every segment and at least with every 6′ to 9′ span to “feeder wires”. I went to bed confused and annoyed.
Today, after my Real Life(TM) requirements for the day were somewhat addressed, I started really looking in to what, exactly, I was working with. It was a very specific case of ‘what you learn is what you know, and what you know is what you learn’. Initially, I thought the rail’s power was connected all over through one (or two) main lines. Once I figured out that the turnout switch wires went to only those turnout switches and notto the track, I thought it was only wired in two places and was essentially a freakin’ miracle. The switches on the side were like Chinese.