Let’sトレ活！ (Let's Torekatsu!) Thread

[Super]

What are all those blue controllers all over that Layout. They look unfamiliar to me for N or HO scale.

Hi Super, those are N Gauge power controllers from KATO.  They allow you to go forward or reverse and adjust speed.. The one with many knobs are to control switch points.

They come with the KATO sets or by themselves.

[Super]

So one controller only controls one train? I thought big layouts like these have some kind of master controls where they can control different engines.

The control lead is connected to the track that you re running but if you built a track that is long enough to run on a large track setup and switch points, that's great. One controller is needed.

You can run multiple trains on a track but that is where one would want to stay with one brand. Kato or Tomix. If you have long track setup, you can run an additional locomotive (space them out by several minutes). I can't do it because I will have trains that run faster and overtime it will catch up to the other train and a collision will occur or it will be pushing the other train to make it go faster.

Probably best to have the same track set used, so stay with KATO or TOMIX and use the same brand of trains. I know some who have two power controllers but two switchpoint controllers per controller on long layouts..

I personally run six tracks, one KATO and five TOMIX (six power controllers used and six different trains utilized) as I want to control the speed and if I want to go forward/reverse, ez pz.

I used to have connected TOMIX tracks with a switch set but KATO trains would trigger the TOMIX switch because of the magnet in the engine and I would have nasty derailments.

[Super]

Thanks KNDY 👍