Dave Campbell has switched to Dead Rail for locomotive control on his HO scale Nickel Plate Road Minster Branch project. He sent the following notes.
Awhile back I promised an explanation of why I adopted a dead rail system for the new layout and how that’s working out for me. Here’s my adventure!
Why Dead Rail?
My previous layout was 6 ½ scale miles of track on four levels. It was complicated with many moving parts. But the really big problem was the fact that my layout room is actually my garage. Here in Arizona dust and dirt finds its way into garages. I was able to fine-tune my track work to the point of eliminating derailments, but I was never able to solve the messy, dusty, dirty rail problem. Of the several dozen op sessions I hosted, not one proceeded without multiple stalls and decoder reboots. No matter how often I cleaned track, and no matter that I kept the layout under dust covers when not in use, reliable operation remained beyond my reach. If I was going to have a reliably operating layout, then I needed to focus on minimizing the importance of track/rail contact. The dead rail concept seemed like a very promising solution.
What system to buy?
I started my on-line research at The Dead Rail Society, which is a good source of basic information as well as providing a list of available systems. After a lot of reading, wondering, and fretting I ended up choosing the Stanton Dead Rail System for the new layout. Their simple, compact throttle was one reason for my choice. It also seemed to offer a flexible and straightforward transition path from my existing NCE PowerPro.
I started by emailing Neil Stanton, as suggested on the Stanton website. Neil is a retired electrical engineer who’s been working with dead rail since the 1990’s. Neil quickly responded. Over the next week or so he was very generous with his time as he answered all my questions. I was confident I was making a good decision.
I refer you to Neil’s website for a more detailed technical discussion of his system. I’ll just cover some basics here.
There are two on-board components: the power control unit (which Neil terms the BPS) and the radio control unit (LXR). The other components required are the decoder, the battery, and the speaker (if needed).
The first locomotive I converted was an HO scale Bachmann Consolidation (NKP 396 on my layout). The photo above shows how the components would fit in the tender.
At the rear of the tender is the power control unit (BPS), which is where the battery connects. Against the top wall is the radio unit (LXR) with a Soundtraxx Economi steam sound decoder attached. It’s a tight fit for the battery and speaker. I had to trim everything I could from the tender’s interior.
I’ll also be converting one of my ten-wheelers to dead rail and this time the components offer even more flexibility for installation.
That’s the BPS upper left next to the battery, then the radio unit and decoder, and the speaker lower left.
Neil has provided two types of plugs for attaching the BPS to the radio unit, and the output from there is simply the red and black rail power to the decoder.
One of my concerns with battery power was running out of juice during an op session. Neil’s system includes a charging function with overcharge protection that uses track power if it’s available. I wanted to take advantage of that feature so I ended up running a track bus the length of the layout. I already had a LOT of #22 gauge wire from my previous layout so it was easy to do. As far as drops, I’m only connecting to the main. I’ll only need ten drops total for the layout. I’m using the locomotive wheels for pickup.
For power Neil recommends a supply that includes circuit protection. I found this one online at a reasonable price. It’s adjustable so I have it set for 12v DC at one amp.
As I mentioned, I like the Stanton throttle because it’s simple and compact. However, the throttle has limited capability for programming decoders. In programming mode, the throttle offers direct access to only CV’s #1,2,3,4,5, and 6. No one I know would be satisfied with this limitation, particularly if they have sound. This is a serious issue and I was concerned that the S-CAB system wasn’t going to work for me after all.
But S-CAB offers a component that not only solved my programming problem but gave me flexibility in how I use the system to operate my locomotives. It’s called a Radio Programming Adaptor (RAPA).
Here is the Radio Programming Adaptor sitting on my NCE PowerCAB command station. The RAPA gets power from a wall wart. The track power output from the command station is connected to the unit. RAPA’s output is a radio signal, addressed to the selected locomotive, that simply contains exactly what it gets from the command station. That means I can use one of my ProCABS in Programming on the Main mode to fully program the decoder.
Alternatively, I can connect my laptop through the RS-232 port on the command station and program the decoder with Decoder Pro. I’ve had this system a LONG time. Current systems will have a USB port. I can also set the locomotive on a test track and directly connect the programming track outputs and read and write CV’s as I’ve always done.
I’ve also learned that with the RAPA I can simply use one of my ProCAB wireless throttles to operate a locomotive. The throttle talks to the command station, which talks to the RAPA, which communicates directly to my locomotive. This may help one or two of my operating crew who’ve never used anything but ProCABS.
I’m extremely happy with my decision to go with dead rail and specifically with the Stanton dead rail system. Next time, I plan to discuss the industries on my branch and what it means for my freight car fleet.
Thank you, Dave Campbell, for sharing your experience with Dead Rail. This has been part six of his chapters on the Nickel Plate Minster Branch. Here are links to previous posts.
Update 1
Update 2
Update 3
Update 4
Update 5
Thank you for visiting my blog. You can share a comment in the section below. Follow the instructions so your comment can be posted. All comments are reviewed and approved before they appear. Please share the blog link with other model railroaders. To subscribe to this blog, add your email address to the function at the bottom of the right column on the main page.