# Parked engines always getting DCC power?



## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

Being new to DCC, I'm having to get used to thinking ahead a bit on it's effect on a layout, such as a bunch of engines "coming to life all at once".

I don't have a layout yet, just test track. When the controller is powered up, all engines on the track light up and are obviously powered. This starts me to thinking about a couple of dozen engines on a layout when the controller power is turned on.

Is this good to have all of the engines powered, even those that are just sitting. Or is that part of the concept, all engines are available to the throttle at any time.

Do you just turn the lighting off when you park the engines, but let the decoder be powered on every engine on the layout?

Inquiry mind wants to know.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

for myself, i have my sidings and spur tracks on switches so i can power them on or off as needed.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

DCC by its very nature is always powered by a constant track voltage. You can sit all your locos on the layout if you wish, they wont be pulling much power but Cole226's suggestion is good, put them on a holding track. You actually don't need a switch if you use a turnout with an insulated frog as you can just switch it to the main line and the spur will be unpowered.


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

These approaches make sense. It didn't occur to me until this morning that DCC needed this issue to be planned for. Thanks.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

It's a some do, some don't question.
I don't turn off the power to idle locos.

I have 9 DCC non sound locos on my layout.
They are all powered anytime that my DCC controller
is on. 

The lights do not come on automatically in the
locos. Most of us use the controller to turn them
on and off.

The idle DCC locos draw such a tiny amount of
power that it is not a concern.

Unless you have a track that can be turned off,
the lights in passenger coaches and cabooses
will come on when you power the track. They
do pull a bit of current whether sitting or
moving.

Don


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

Hadn't thought about the passenger car lighting either. I have 22 BLI California Zephyr cars, some Walthers UP Heritage cars, and possibly some others. I guess I need to think about those also. Thanks for the heads up those DonR.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

also always the chance of something getting across the rails and shorting.  thats why i prefer to keep unused tracks powered down.
eliminates that much trackage.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

You need to take all your current drawing items into consideration when determining how much power you need.

That said, it is a fairly simple matter to divide your layout into a couple of power blocks and add boosters. Don't excessively agonize over it.


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## sachsr1 (Mar 3, 2016)

I have the NCE Power Cab with the amp draw displayed on the screen. I'm never any where the limit, but I'm kind of fussy about keeping the draw as low as I can. I always try to turn off all the lights when I park locos. I use Peco turnouts which are power routing. I park both of my sound locos on a track and when I throw the turnout the track looses power. I didn't really plan it that way, but it worked. One of my sound locos makes an annoying hissing sound when it's muted, so I prefer to have it powered down.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Deame

Are the lights in your cars LEDs or incandescent?
There is a big difference in current draw. If LED,
it really doesn't matter much, but incandescents
can drain your track power. Many of us have
converted to warm white LEDs. The light that shows thru
the windows gives a florescent type glow standard
in all but the older heavy weight cars. The more yellow
LEDs make the most believable light in those.

Don


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

All my track is powered all the time. I have 5 sound locos and they are set such that they don't make any sound on power up, only when they are commanded to. It works fine for me.

Your tv is plugged in and powered all the time, right? It was designed to work that way. Same with your DCC locos. They are designed to have constant power to them, so I don't worry about it. There are better things to worry about.

Mark


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