When it comes to lighting your model railway, the choice of bulb type and colour temperature can make a significant...
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Which bulb types and colour temperature do I need on my model railway layout?Read more -
What finish should I use on my model: matt, satin or gloss?Read morePaint not only comes in different types (acrylic or enamel) but will also produce different finishes. These different...
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What is interlocking?Read moreInterlocking is used in railway signalling to ensure that potentially dangerous combinations of points and/or signals...
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How often should I clean my track?Read moreThis a hard question to answer. There are no hard and fast rules about how often you should clean the track. Bear in...
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What is meant by the term 'Conflat'?Read moreThe term "Conflat" is a contraction of the words "container" and "flat" and refers to a type of container flat wagon...
What is a reversing loop?
A reversing loop is a railway track that splits at a turnout, the diverging track then makes its way around in a big loop before joining the same turnout, but from the opposite direction.
For modellers who have enough space to fit a reversing loop, they are very handy as it means a train can leave a station and disappear through a tunnel. Whilst out of sight, the train can then magically traverse the returning loop and pop back through the tunnel as though it had been to its destination and come back again, and all without having to uncouple or touch the locomotive or train.
Of course, there are some continuity issues here, not least of which the whole train will appear to have somehow turned 180 degrees rather than just the locomotive changing ends, but for busy layouts, they are just the ticket.
Installing a reversing loop does, however, come with a word of caution. Most model railway tracks operate using a positive and negative rail, positive on one side, negative on the other. If you follow the route of either rail from the turnout, around the loop, and back to the turnout, you'll soon discover that what was once the positive now forms the negative and vice versa, or in other words, there will be a short circuit.
The remedy to the problem is simple and involves isolating the loop at both ends and installing a switch to reverse the polarity. There are a number of switches that will do the job from a basic DPDT switch to a fully automated electric point motor accessory switch. Which switch you will need depends on the type of points you're using and the depth of your pockets but there will be a solution for you.
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