Setting up and Running Your Model Train Set

Three-rail O scale uses AC voltage instead of DC. Three-rail transformers have a direction button. Most modern three-rail locomotives have a "reversing unit" which watches for drops in electrical current on the rails. The direction button causes these drops. Pressing the direction button one time will stop (brake) the locomotive. Pressing it a second time will start the locomotive moving in the direction opposite to the one it was last traveling. If you press the button twice in succession too fast the unit won't recognize the interruptions; if you wait too long between presses, the reversing unit thinks you've used the throttle stop the train and start it again. In either case the locomotive won't reverse. Reversing takes practice!

With the throttle again set back to zero, and your locomotive situated ahead of an open straight area on your track, rail and connect your cars behind the locomotive. Roll each car back and forth a few inches like you did with the locomotive, to be certain they are properly railed. When you are satisfied that a car is properly railed, couple it to the car adjacent to it on the track by bumping them together gently. The photo shows a car being railed using the railer.

When all your cars have been properly railed, remove the railer and slowly back your locomotive up to the string of cars until the coupler connects. You may have to push the lead car against the locomotive gently to get them to couple.

Once everything is securely coupled, put your train in "forward" and turn the throttle up to somewhere a bit under your fastest safe throttle speed. Let your train travel around the track a few times to be sure that all of the track pieces are connected properly and the cars are all correctly railed. When you are satisfied, reverse your train and make sure that it can back around the track without any snags too. Then, with your locomotive traveling in the forward direction again, you can increase the throttle and find the fastest safe throttle speed for your whole train. A basic train set usually has only four or five cars, so the weight shouldn't affect your maximum throttle much. Advanced modelers frequently run trains of 30 or more cars.

Now is the time to enhance your layout with those expansions and extra track you bought. If you didn't buy any, I'll bet you're thinking about it now. Set your throttle to zero, unplug your transformer or power supply from the electrical outlet, and remove your train from the rails before making any changes to your track.

If you bought an expansion set, follow the layout diagram that came with it to add your track and turnouts. In the photo, a siding has been added to the oval.

When you're ready to start making up your own layouts, use a track planning software to design them. When you've completed your layout diagram, the program can give you a list of the track pieces you need to buy when you visit your LHS.