Auto Reversers - Not so hard...

Howdy everyone,

Well this a quick post and a plug for Richard from DCC Concepts in Western Australia, for his great customer service and help with explaining how and where to install the auto reverser on the JL&T.

Basically our trackplan has created a reversing loop that was going to require a dedicated auto reverser,  the problem was I wasn't understanding the concept on where to actually place it, and how they really work.

I had been doing research online to find a suitable reverser and decided on a
DCC Specialities - PSX-AR, these were recommended by several people.  DCC Concepts are dealers in Australia.  So I sent Richard an email this morning and asked for some help on the layout and location of the PSX-AR and within an hour or two he'd replied with two possible solutions and diagrams as well.

After looking at the diagrams I still wasn't 100% sure I had the concept right, so I gave Richard a call to ask a few more questions.  Within a couple of minutes the light had come on and I was set, no more wondering if I had it right, it's all understood and I'll be ordering one next week.

Anyhow for those interested here is the auto reverser block Richard offered as one of the two solutions that we will be using on the JL&T.  This one works perfectly for the layout design as it allows us to keep the outer loop connected as it is presently, it is also longer than "any" train we'll be running on the JL&T.  This design will still allow trains to enter and exit the south staging area, from both east & west too.  The auto reversing block is marked by the red dashes across the track.

The Auto Reverse block is marked by the red dashes, and circled...

For those that are new to the concept and how the auto reverser will work, the power for this entire block will be first routed through the PSX-AR and then fed out to the remaining bus wiring in the AR section.  When a train (the powered locomotives) cross either of the AR block boundaries, this will cause a short and make the AR switch the polarity for the entire section.  The only caveat to this is that only one train or locomotive can cross either boundary at anyone time.

Jas...