Demonstrating the polarity of S62F Feeder Track
In this photo I am showing you how to determine and orient the polarity of a Kato S62F Feeder Track. For clarity I unsnapped it from the track that holds an engine pointed Eastbound. Notice that the cable is on the right side as you view the track.
The purpose of a power supply on a model railroad is to provide power to make the trains run, and if the layout is big enough and complex enough to require more than one power feed, the POLARITY is important. Otherwise, there will be short circuits, and the trains will not run. For the hundredth time, my layout is small enough and simple enough to run off of one DC power pack. Computerized Direct Digital Control would add complexity that I don’t need and expense that I cannot afford. Although my layout is big enough to give the illusion of visually separate scenes, I don’t have enough track space between the staging areas and the passing siding to allow more than one train in motion, so I simply alternate them. Besides, the tempo of operations on the single track Santa Fe line across northern New Mexico in the mid-1950’s was only five passenger trains and one through freight train a day each way plus a local freight that ran a few times a week.
I originally chose Kato Unitrack so I could quickly set up on my dinner table and run some trains and test various track arrangements without having to custom cut flex track and custom wire each track arrangement for my future layout. Once I built the layout, I have changed my passing sidings, industrial spurs, and staging yards several times by unsnapping, re-arranging, and popping the tracks back together. The Unitrack wiring system is simple “plug and play” with standard connectors and no soldering necessary.
When I first got started with Unitrack, I ordered a starter set that had an S-62F power feed track whose wiring cable ran to my Kato power pack. That worked fine for testing my brand new Super Chief in 2006. On longer track circuits the train ran slower further away from the power feed. I installed a second power feed track S-62F on the other side of the layout, and my train wouldn’t move. WTF? I checked for opens and found none, but the circuit breaker had popped. Both cables from the S-62F tracks connected to a 3 to 1 connector that snapped into the power pack. The connectors can only plug in the right way. Then I unplugged one of the power track feeds, and the train ran. I swapped power feeds, and the train ran but in the opposite direct. POLARITY PROBLEM! But how?
Most power feed tracks have big and unrealistic screw terminals for connecting both wires to the power pack. The sleek Kato S-62F track has a two wire cable that can run through a hole in the sub-roadbed or can be routed to an opening on either side of the track for temporary table top set-ups. These cable routing holes are near the end of the track, but the track can be snapped in either direction. When using only one S-62F power feed track, it doesn’t matter which direction the power feed track is placed in the small set-up, but if more than one is used, all the S-62F power feed holes must be oriented the same. I am not talking about whether the cables go left, right, or down but rather the location of the cable holes as you face the feeder track. Kato does not even mention it on the instructions that come with the track or in any of the booklets that come with track sets.
Here is how I standardize the polarity on my layout. Model manufactures for HO and N scales (and possibly others) have agreed that a POSITIVE voltage applied to the RIGHT rail and a NEGATIVE voltage to the LEFT will make an engine go FORWARD. Reversing circuits simply switch the polarity around to go backward. On many American layouts including mine, we arbitrarily decide that going RIGHT (as the viewer faces the layout) is EASTBOUND and going LEFT is WESTBOUND because many railfans in the Northern Hemisphere photograph east-west lines from the south side to allow the sun to illuminate the trains. I picked up that orientation when I was active in NTrak back in 1979-95. According to the General Code of Operating Rules followed by most American railroads, eastbound trains are superior to westbound trains of the same class. Therefore, the FORWARD setting on my Kato power pack is EASTBOUND, and the REVERSE setting is WESTBOUND. Given the fixed nature of the Kato Unitrack wiring plugs, in order to make the FORWARD setting propel the trains EASTBOUND, all the S-62F cable holes must be on the right as you face the track. I use two of these on my mainline and a third one on my portable test track. All of my staging tracks are reversing loops and powered by feeder UniJoiners which I’ll discuss later.
Demonstrating the polarity of S62F Feeder Track
In this photo I am showing you how to determine and orient the polarity of a Kato S62F Feeder Track. For clarity I unsnapped it from the track that holds an engine pointed Eastbound. Notice that the cable is on the right side as you view the track.
The purpose of a power supply on a model railroad is to provide power to make the trains run, and if the layout is big enough and complex enough to require more than one power feed, the POLARITY is important. Otherwise, there will be short circuits, and the trains will not run. For the hundredth time, my layout is small enough and simple enough to run off of one DC power pack. Computerized Direct Digital Control would add complexity that I don’t need and expense that I cannot afford. Although my layout is big enough to give the illusion of visually separate scenes, I don’t have enough track space between the staging areas and the passing siding to allow more than one train in motion, so I simply alternate them. Besides, the tempo of operations on the single track Santa Fe line across northern New Mexico in the mid-1950’s was only five passenger trains and one through freight train a day each way plus a local freight that ran a few times a week.
I originally chose Kato Unitrack so I could quickly set up on my dinner table and run some trains and test various track arrangements without having to custom cut flex track and custom wire each track arrangement for my future layout. Once I built the layout, I have changed my passing sidings, industrial spurs, and staging yards several times by unsnapping, re-arranging, and popping the tracks back together. The Unitrack wiring system is simple “plug and play” with standard connectors and no soldering necessary.
When I first got started with Unitrack, I ordered a starter set that had an S-62F power feed track whose wiring cable ran to my Kato power pack. That worked fine for testing my brand new Super Chief in 2006. On longer track circuits the train ran slower further away from the power feed. I installed a second power feed track S-62F on the other side of the layout, and my train wouldn’t move. WTF? I checked for opens and found none, but the circuit breaker had popped. Both cables from the S-62F tracks connected to a 3 to 1 connector that snapped into the power pack. The connectors can only plug in the right way. Then I unplugged one of the power track feeds, and the train ran. I swapped power feeds, and the train ran but in the opposite direct. POLARITY PROBLEM! But how?
Most power feed tracks have big and unrealistic screw terminals for connecting both wires to the power pack. The sleek Kato S-62F track has a two wire cable that can run through a hole in the sub-roadbed or can be routed to an opening on either side of the track for temporary table top set-ups. These cable routing holes are near the end of the track, but the track can be snapped in either direction. When using only one S-62F power feed track, it doesn’t matter which direction the power feed track is placed in the small set-up, but if more than one is used, all the S-62F power feed holes must be oriented the same. I am not talking about whether the cables go left, right, or down but rather the location of the cable holes as you face the feeder track. Kato does not even mention it on the instructions that come with the track or in any of the booklets that come with track sets.
Here is how I standardize the polarity on my layout. Model manufactures for HO and N scales (and possibly others) have agreed that a POSITIVE voltage applied to the RIGHT rail and a NEGATIVE voltage to the LEFT will make an engine go FORWARD. Reversing circuits simply switch the polarity around to go backward. On many American layouts including mine, we arbitrarily decide that going RIGHT (as the viewer faces the layout) is EASTBOUND and going LEFT is WESTBOUND because many railfans in the Northern Hemisphere photograph east-west lines from the south side to allow the sun to illuminate the trains. I picked up that orientation when I was active in NTrak back in 1979-95. According to the General Code of Operating Rules followed by most American railroads, eastbound trains are superior to westbound trains of the same class. Therefore, the FORWARD setting on my Kato power pack is EASTBOUND, and the REVERSE setting is WESTBOUND. Given the fixed nature of the Kato Unitrack wiring plugs, in order to make the FORWARD setting propel the trains EASTBOUND, all the S-62F cable holes must be on the right as you face the track. I use two of these on my mainline and a third one on my portable test track. All of my staging tracks are reversing loops and powered by feeder UniJoiners which I’ll discuss later.