You may have noticed that in more recent years whenever you purchase a new locomotive that there is a little label on...
Cart 0 Product Products (empty)
No products
Free shipping! Shipping
£ 0.00 Total
Product successfully added to your shopping cart
Quantity
Total
There are 0 items in your cart. There is 1 item in your cart.
Total products (tax incl.)
Total shipping (tax excl.) Free shipping!
Total (tax incl.)
Search Tips
Tips categories
Latest Tips
-
What does "DCC ready" mean?Read more -
What is the best way to run a catenary system through a tunnel?Read moreThe best way to run a catenary system through a tunnel is to ensure proper planning and installation. Here are the...
-
What is a hospital train?Read moreA hospital train (or ambulance train) is exactly what its name suggests - a train that acts as a mobile hospital....
-
What is a sheet rail on a wagon?Read moreA sheet rail, more commonly referred to as a tarpaulin bar or longitudinal bar, is a metal bar that is suspended...
-
What is Thomas the Tank Engine?Read moreThomas the Tank Engine is a beloved British children's character who originated in a series of books titled The...
What is an isolating track section?
An isolated track section is a section of model railway track that is physically connected to other tracks on a layout but is electrically insulated, meaning the rails are not live. An isolating track section is one way of achieving this.
There are many reasons why you would want to isolate a section of track on a layout, the simplest of which is to keep a locomotive still at the end of a siding while driving a second into the same siding. Another more complicated reason would be when creating a returning loop where the track requires isolation in order to reverse its polarity. Whatever the reason, a break in the rails will be needed to prevent power from reaching the section.
For permanent isolation, a homemade break in the rails or the use of isolating rail joiners provides a cost-effective and easy solution, but for isolated sections that require the power being switched on or off regularly, a manufactured isolating track section is a much better option.
For all intents and purposes, a manufactured isolating track section is simply a regular section of track with a break engineered into it at the factory, the advantage being that the break is properly insulated with a specifically designed plastic moulding to the sleepers. Such track sections also feature sockets to facilitate a switch being fitted, therefore, making the job neat, tidy, durable and reliable.
Posted in: Tracks
Click here to receive the tips weekly in your mailbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Related products
Isolating Standard Straight & Switch, 168mm...
Price: £ 6.95Isolating Standard Straight & Switch, 168mm (6⅝in) long
Isolating Standard Straight & Switch, 168mm...
Price: £ 14.00Isolating Standard Straight & Switch, 168mm (6⅝in) long - pack of 2
Hornby Double Isolating Track Section
Price: £ 13.99A OO gauge double-isolated track section measuring 168 mm in length...
Related posts
-
How to clean model railways track?There is of course the old tried and tested method, the track rubber which does the job, no railway modeller should... - Is Peco track and Hornby track compatible?Peco Setrack and Peco Streamline are compatible with Hornby track as they all share the same gauge width of 16.5mm....
- How often should I clean my track?This a hard question to answer. There are no hard and fast rules about how often you should clean the track. Bear in...
- How do I cut flexible track?Once upon a time I would have said a newly bladed junior hacksaw and some warding files, but these days I would have...
- How many pieces of curved track do I need to make a circle?As we all know it takes 360 degrees to create a circle, a standard curve is 22.5 degrees and a double curve is 45...