Am I mad?

[auximinies]

I have a box of used OO track, a box of rolling stock and a sunny day. So I lay the track down on top of the paving flags in the back garden, plug in a power clip and hey presto, instant garden railway!

I can't build anything permanent, not with the for sale sign in the front garden, but a removable set up has already been great fun for the few days its been there. The flags are pretty flat so there's no issues with levels, and at the moment its tucked away behind the back of the garage so it doesn't get under people's feet. But you can never have too much, and I've been out looking at doubling the length of the run.

Here is the question - how long a track can I power from a single power feed? Currently got 30-40 feet of set-track down and no issues with conductivity even with some old rails, old fishplates and some interesting track geometry! If I reduce the number of joins by using quad straights on the longer runs could I get away with 80 feet or so off the one feed? Remember that its an oval of track so power runs all the way round. I've seen power clip jumpers made by Hornby, so could I use them to jump power from one side of the oval to the other (with balloon loops at either end it resembles a twin track main line....)

As I said it all has to be temporary. The only thing I plan on leaving out when its not in use is the track. A proper set up with permanent track and scenery etc and proper electrics will have to wait for the next house! In the mean time the kids are having a ball, and thats the important thing.

[Bufferstop]

As it's purely temporary I'd go for whatever works. You could run a second feed from the controller to half way point on the loop, that would mean the maximum distance from a feed was a quarter of the total. Use something like loudspeaker wire to keep down volt drop or as it's outside and both ends in view 2 cores of a length of mains flex. (Something I would never suggest for indoor permanent use, you know what it's for, someone else might fit a plug to it!) If you leave the track out in the rain, clean it before running it again. Will save having to clean the wheels as well!

[thomas the plank engine]

enjoy it and once you have moved hopefully you are convinced that 00 gauge in the garden is the way to go

Ian