Background synopsis: I model the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway.  Most of the railroad is flat, crossing the swamps and lowlands of NE Minnesota.  However, at the geographical edge of the Lake Superior basin, the Missabe brings long strings of loaded ore cars down Proctor Hill to the docks in Duluth. 

At the dock, the Hill Ore Job drops off its loads, ties on to a string of empties already at the dock, then heads back up the 2.2 percent 7-mile grade of the coastal escarpment to Proctor (MN) yard. 

Hello, I would appreciate some advise about Flyback diodes on turnout magnets. Because recently I fried my DCC system. The damage assessment concluded it was a major electrostatic discharge or some other kind of  spike that killed my system. I came to think there may have been 2 reasons: Myself rolling on wheels underneath the layout getting loaded electrostatic (most likely?), and/or magnets in relays and switch machines causing flyback voltage spikes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_diode

I am building a 4 X 8 layout that is located in a spare room in our house. One day I know I will have to give up this room to be used for another purpose. To make moving the layout possible, I knew I would have to build it to come apart. Here is what I have done to make things easier on myself.

Found this in a Yahoo DCC forum that might interest some and prevent frustration.

FYI.

A fellow in a DCC forum mentions that he has a new batch of TCS lighting decoders with two wires swapped. The green and blue wires were soldered in the incorrect places.

The blue (common +) is suppose to be on the outer edge however the factory had the green wire in this position and the blue wire where the green was suppose to go. Apparently the green wire is not used so there was no damage.

Rich