Model Railway Electrics - Power Clip

How to Fit a Hornby Model Railway Power Clip

If the track is manufactured by Hornby there will be two little holes in the straight between the track and the sleepers. These holes can be located by two small arrows on the underside of the track pointing towards the centre of the track. You can also locate them by holding the track up to the light and looking at the track sideways on.
 

Once located it is simple (or not so) to push the power clip between the sleepers and the rail making sure that the long arm goes under the second rail as well.

These holes are not found on points and some small or special sections of track. Hornby now produce a special straight section of track called “power track” (R8206) which is pre-fitted with a non removable power clip.

You do not need to use a power clip. Many railway modellers connect wires directly to the track usually by soldering. I found the best place to do this is at the joins between sections of track or by threading the wires through the gaps for the power clip and then fixing them in place with some solder.

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Power Clip Placement

The point at which power is supplied to the track is very important. Poor placement can result in areas of your layout not receiving power, if for example, a point is changed. In some circumstances this is desirable, for example, when you want to put one train into a siding and bring another one out. Below is a simple double tracked layout, the areas in red indicate where not to put a power clip and the area in green indicates the most ideal place to locate a power clip.

By locating the power clip in the green area you can power the loco from one oval to the other and then back on to the original oval, without stopping to change points.

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