# New to DCc. Track Question



## 51 chevy (Sep 16, 2019)

Hi, I’ve been into model Railroading my whole life, but the DCC is all new to me. My question is on a fairly simple layout with only 1 locomotive, can the track, being that it’s always hot and the controls are in the loco,can the track turn back on itself and go anywhere it wants with hand thrown switches. Or do you have to install insulated joiners and always check for correct positive and negative. Probably sounds like a silly question but I’m getting old. Lol. Thanks


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

same as DC, if there's a short there, there will be in DCC ...
DC or DCC , insulate reversing sections ..


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Others on here can explain it better, but this is the basic concept: You will need what's known as a reverser to accomplish this. Yes, you will need to isolate a section of track. Let's say you want to make a loop that ties back into itself. You would put insulators at the beginning and end of the loop. The feed from the power source would go to the reverser, and the feed from the reverser to the isolated section of track. When the loco comes along, and the metal wheel crosses over the insulator, it causes a short, but the reverser senses this and reverses "polarity" of the isolated section. When it crosses over the other insulator, it again reverses the polarity, so the engine doesn't stop moving. And it does it so quickly that the headlight doesn't even blink!! Ahhh, modern technology!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

51 Chevy

(My first car...a used 51 Chevy 2 door hardtop with
POWERGLIDE auto transmission!!! Beautiful 2 tone
green paint)

But back to reality...anytime a train on your layout
can go around a loop and go back the way it came
you will have what we call a 'reverse loop'. This is
a problem since the Right rail goes around and comes
back to join the Black rail, thus an electrical short circuit.
This is true whether DC or DCC. There are totally
automatic reverse loop controllers that let you run
your trains thru the loop without having to stop or
flip switches (other than the turnout points, of course).
You must use insulated joiners at both ends of the
loop. The resulting isolated section is powered by
the reverse loop controller.

So you understand what happens: When your
loco wheels span the insulated joiners there is a
'short', but the fast acting controller senses this
and 'matches' the 'polarity' so that the loco continues
without pause. When it reaches the other end of the loop
the wheels again 'short' and again the controller reacts
by again matching polarity in the isolated track. The
train continues, the light doesn't even blink. It's all
automatic.

Don


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

51 chevy, keep this in mind also: If your rolling stock has metal wheels, they also will cause the reverser to change polarity, which will cause your reverser to become confused...in other words, the dead short which you're trying to avoid. So, the whole length of your train needs to fit on the isolated section of track. If you have plastic wheels, there are no worries.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Fire21 is correct. Metal wheels do short when
spanning the insulated joiners that form an
isolated reverse loop section. However, if
your isolated section is longer
than the longest lighted passenger train...or, if you
have metal wheels on your freight cars, longer than
that train you would have no problem.

Don


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