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To simplify Fred's totally correct explanation... A short a both ends of the reverse section at the same time is bad. And all that takes is metal wheels crossing the gap. So, the safest thing is to have the section longer than your longest train. Otherwise, you will have to be careful about...

I wonder if it might have been a lubrcation issue? Maybe the grease was in there, but not distributed, and was gunking things up rather than making them smooth?

OK, here are some thoughts, I'm no expert, but I'm trying to see how this works.... I'll prett much ignore the red, as it is staging, and almost sperate from the rest of the yard. In fact, I would finish the job, and make it completely seperate, and get more space in it, by widening the turn...

Besides making sure the wheels are in gauge, make sure the trucks aren't skewed somehow, in other words make sure both sets of wheels are going th esome place. A GP-35 shouldn't have a problem, I think. maybe something binding in the truck when it turns?

File->Export to Bitmap Then use a graphics manipuation program to change it to a jpeg.

Nothing happens. They contine doing what they were doing.

Generally all true. IMO, twisting is really a non-issue either way, though tight twisting might be a problem. A cap across the bus wires willseriously mess up the edges of the signal, quite possibly throwing it out of spec. Here is the termination NCE recommends on longs runs...

I believe this to be untrue. In fact, I think one of the manufacturers (NCE, I think) recommends 3 or 4 twists per foot on the track bus. The theory is that by twisting the track bus both wires are subject to the same outside interference, so at the end of the day, it cancels itself out, since...

With the usual disclaimers, such as I'm sure once your soldering iron touches the board, any warranty is kaput, and that I don't have experience with that decoder, I don't think you should have any trouble. However, you might be disappointed. It is possible that the bigger difference is that...

We'll get it. Shorts can be found. Sometimes they are just hiding pretty well!

Continued: I would disconnect every wire from every turnout, and check again with an Ohmeter. The idea being to break things down to the smallest pieces we can without ripping stuff apart. Jeff

I just want to make sure I am picturing this right.... You have two turnouts in place, and you have Ohmed them out, and there is no short. Check between the stock rails, and between each of the rails at the diverging end. You have Ohmed out the third turnout on the bench, and there is no...

Did you ohm every turnout out on the bench? I know a couple of the gaps in the PC board are in pretty tight spots. Really, that's the only place I can see getting a short from, assuming no wiring errors.

I'd be tempted to get rid of the frog power until everything is happy, then hook it back up. That said, is the track at the top a part of a dogbone coming back? In other words, is the top turnout creating a reverse loop? Jeff

I can see the usefulness of the gauge, to a degree. But the beauty of flex track to me is NOT having a particlular radius. Draw a centerline, and follow it. The only trick is at joints, but the eyes are pretty good at seeing smooth, once you do it a bit. Jeff

Whether you need to solder flex track joints depends on a lot of things. The type of track would be the first. Some hold a bend, and might not need to be soldered, some spring back almost totally, and will almost always need to be soldered on curves, at least. How you fasten the track can...

The other benefit of flex track, which is even more important with tight radius curves, is that you can form easments easily. A big part of the problem with curves is the 'instantaneous' change from tangent to curve. The easement makes this change gradually, and reduces the 'shock' going into...

The Micro Trains site has a chart, sometimes it is hard to find, so: Micro-Trains | The Ultimate in N and Z scale model trains You can buy them from online retailers, I know Wig-Wag carries them. Jeff

I'd go with DCC, especially on the small layout. It makes it so easy for you to run a couple of trains, and running the train can be a snap for kids. Here's a link to a great N scale door layout: http://kc.pennsyrr.com/layouts/dvollmer/ Show that to anyone who looks down on the door idea...

You might get this book: N Scale Model Railroading: Getting ... - Google Book Search There's a door sized, step-by-step project. That webpage has a scan of a page with the trackplan. Jeff