# Wiring a WYE



## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello
I posted this same question on LSC knowing that some guys favor one over the other so in the hopes of covering all the bases here is my question. 

I have been planning putting in a WYE on my track powered layout and it is getting there. The track is lined up and ready to be cut to fit now comes the question of how to power this arrangement without popping fuses and setting fires. My idea and I like to keep things simple and cheap is to use on/off switches to isolate each section. 
Here is my logic. a WYE has three "legs" the main, the track that is electrically the same as the main and the leg that will reverse the direction of the loco. Say the loco turns off the main and onto one leg without an issue. I stop the loco, hit the switch on my TE to reverse direction but before I do that I will throw 2 switches one for each rail to kill power to the section I just went over and then turn on 2 more switches that will power the section "3rd leg" that I want to get onto to reverse the loco. Since I jsut reversed the direction on my TE and transformer the polarity will change on the track. Power will be taken from the main to power each section or leg accordingly. The Aristocraft WYE turnout will be powered by which ever leg is on. At the end of the line after the WYE switch will be 2 track yard that will not be connected to the rest of the RR.
The only trouble I forsee is if I forget to throw a turnout and the loco gets onto the unpowered track but if both rails are dead this should only stop it and not cause a short. of course if all 4 switches were turned on the fuses on my TE would FRY. 
In the past I have used electric light switches and lamp cord to power or unpower sidings so I can park trains. The switches are cheap and highly visible. I will just need to build a structure to house 4 of them. 
Obviously this arrangement would only allow one train to be run at a time.
What do you guys think of my plan ? Feel free to comment to tell me it won't work but please state why.
Thanks
Todd


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

How to wire a wye.

If you do it this way, you don't even have to press reverse on your Train Engineer. When you throw the wye turnout to the other direction, that reverses the current.

If you put a diode toward the tail end in one rail (as is done for reversing units), the engine will automatically stop at the end before it runs off the track. Then just throw the wye turnout, and the train will back down the other side without ever touching your Train Engineer.

Wiring a Wye


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks for the diagram link. It looks like I would need a LGB part. I'm using #6 Aristo Wye turnout which has a switch and diode underneath to power the metal frog I'm assuming. I wonder how this would work with or disrupt a wiring setup like the one you linked to? I'm not very good with the ins and outs or should I say the pluses and minuses of wiring setups like this that's why I really need to keep it simple. 
Todd


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

On my new layout I used an Atlas controller on my Wye, it was simple to wire up and it actually works. I am track powered w/ single power pack with a Basic Train Engineer R/C controller so my Wye power connection was simpler than the diagram on the back of the package indicated, the guys at Whistle Stop helped explain it to me when I bought it. 





Double insulated rails each end of the wye section then connect the +/- leads from the power pack to Cab A inputs (red switch left top), feed a jumper wire from the adjacent section to the directional inputs (top right) and then connect the +/- connectors from the directional inputs to the wye rails, the directional switch (grey switch right center) controls the polarity of the wye. 





Heres how it looks on my wiring diagram, as long as the red switch Cab A is kept in one position all you have to do change the wye directional switch to control the polarity of the train once its on the wye. Luckily if its wired right the switch should (like mine) end up where when the switch is on the left its polarity matches the left hand trand and viseversa on the right side, so all I do if the engine is coming from the left is to set the wye switch to the left, run the engine onto the wye, stop it, flip the switch to the right, hit reverse direction on the BTE controller and power up and it rolls off to the the right hand side which is also now the correct polarity thanks to the BTE system. Yeah sounds complicated, but I wired it up in less than an 1/2 hour and took less than than learning to use it in operation.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By cape cod Todd on 26 Jul 2011 08:34 AM 
Thanks for the diagram link. It looks like I would need a LGB part. I'm using #6 Aristo Wye turnout which has a switch and diode underneath to power the metal frog I'm assuming. I wonder how this would work with or disrupt a wiring setup like the one you linked to? I'm not very good with the ins and outs or should I say the pluses and minuses of wiring setups like this that's why I really need to keep it simple. 
Todd 

I'm not familiar with the "auxiliary connections" (if any) associated with the AristoCraft units. But if they offer a DPDT, they can be used in the same way as the LGB units, and the frog should be the polarity of the "tail track."


I run my AristoCraft 10' diameter turnouts on LGB switch machines but recognize that those aren't the ones you are using. In some cases I replace the LGB DPDT that attaches to their turnout motors with a 24 volt DPDT latching relay. These are wired in parallel with the turnout motors and throw with the turnouts. This actually has several advantages to using the LGB DPDT attachment in that even they are mounted in a sealed environment and stay clean, and if the points foul or are moved by a train, the relay maintains the correct polarity regardless.


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