Booster for the Rio Grande Southern

I recently added a booster to the layout to provide additional power, and resiliency during operating sessions.  I added an NCE Power Pro PB5 booster, and two additional PSX-1 circuit breakers.  The result of this enhancement is that the long power district supplying power to Dolores, Rico, Ophir, Vance Junction, Vanadium, and Placerville is now three separate districts.  Dolores is on the original district, while Rico and Ophir are within their own district.  Vance Junction, Vanadium, and Placerville are also a separate district.  The advantage of providing the additional districts is that, for example. a derailment/short circuit in Dolores will not cause the operators in Rico to lose functionality.

A note on the installation of the PB5 booster would be appropriate.  This booster is located beneath Ophir, about 40 feet from the Power Pro Command Station located under Durango.  This necessitated adding a control bus between the Command Station and the Booster.  I confirmed with NCE that the control bus can be up to 300 feet long, so 40 feet is not a problem.  Additionally, I confirmed with NCE that a floating ground should be connected between the Command Station and the Booster.  I used 16 gauge wire, and ran it from a case screw on the Command Station to a case screw on the Booster.

An interesting note on the effectiveness on the floating ground:  When I first installed the Booster, I tested the installation without the floating ground between the Command Station and the Booster.  All worked well, with a smooth transition of the locomotive from the Rico power district to the Dolores power district.  I thought, "Great!  I had a 50% chance of connecting the track wires in proper phase, and I got it right!"  I immediately completed the installation of the floating ground, test ran the locomotive from the Rico district into the Dolores district, and had a short circuit, indicating that the polarity of the rails was reversed.  I reversed the track feed from the Booster to the PSX circuit breakers, and now the polarity is correct, with a smooth transition from the Rico district to the Dolores district.

My recommendation is to be sure to install the floating ground between the Command Station and the Booster.  Incidentally, no mention is made of the need for a floating ground in the instructions that came with the Booster.

NCE Booster installed under Ophir.  The track power goes to the PSX Circuit Breakers, the control bus connects the Command Station to the Booster, and the floating ground at the rear of the Booster connects to the case of the Command Station.

PSX Circuit breakers installed under Ophir.