Wiring a layout

[guvner.d]

Hi, everybody. Well after a gap of 25 years , I've just built myself a baseboard. Track laid and wired simply via dc for now.

 

I want .to eventually run dcc so I thought I would wire it up with that in mind but still running analogue while I save up for a Nce Powercab.

 

I am at present living in the UAE so hobby shops are non-exsistent here.

 

My question is concerning the wiring. I have loads of lengths of domestic twin and earth which I was going to use for the bus wires but I also have reels of aerial cable.

 

Would the solid inner core of the aerial cable be any good for the dropper wires from the track to the bus's wires.

 

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

Dave B.

[Il Grifone]

It would depend of the wire diameter - some aerial cable is very thin. On the other hand, a dropper will not be very long anyway.

 

Any copper wire is suitable, it is just a question of the diameter. Within reason, the larger the better to keep the resistance low.

 

DC wiring is actually more complicated as DCC does not require any section switches.

[DCMarvel]

Anything that carries current is usable but beware thick solid copper needs more heat to solder to the rails it will also need polarity ident below the boards.

Assuming you are not going OTT with block section wiring for initial DC then to use the solid copper as a layout length main power bus for + and - and the more usual coloured multistrand for droppers from the rails to these would make more sense. As DCC doesn't need switching for sections just the usual live frog isolating fishplate on the frog rail this would not need any modifying when you switch to DCC but you would be limited to a one loco at a time operation on DC unless you added an isolation switch into one of the droppers in each section or siding.

[pctrainman]

Hi Guvner , if you mean the Coax with a usually Brown outer sheath as commonly used in the UK for old style TV aerials then I would say the answer is yes , and for me personally I find soldering a solid wire to either the bottom or the side of the rails much easier and neater than using stranded .

[DCB]

Using domestic wires is always dodgy, There is always a potential to mistake 12 volt for 120/240 volt and that can be embarrassing/ painful/ life threatening.  

I find flex easer to solder to rails, but I have a pretty cavalier attitude to track and prefer to solder the "Droppers" in place before laying the track drilling holes inn the baseboard to suit.

DCC wiring can be simpler or more complicated than DC depending on your needs.  If you run 5 loco lash ups on your Rocky Mountain pike you probably need droppers every yard or so.  If you run Thomas the Tank , Percy and whatever that shed on wheels is called on a 6X4 you probably don't.  If you run Tornado and 12 lighted pullman cars you need something in between

The problem is fishplates. Code 100, 83. 75 fishplates won't take loads much over 1 amp, neither will point blades and tags.  I have had fishplates glow red hot on 2 amps with a heavy double headed freight grinding round the patio....

What you must do on anything but the smallest layout is to section the layout so you can identify which part of the layout has a fault when the cut out cuts.   If you have isolator switches on the sections you can quickly switch off and switch back on section by section to identify where the problem is.  Without isolator switches you can end up taking every piece of stock off the layout and still not know what's wrong. Over the past 55 years or so I have had everything from a loose point blade in a tunnel to a displaced layshaft  on a Q1 stop things.

No need to have isolated sections for running round etc  but you do need to chunk it up into 20 feet mainline and 3'X3' or 9'X1' siding chunks to give a sporting chance of fixing faults in 10 minutes or so.

[stevejjjexcov]

SHED ON WHEELS,SHED ON WHEELS!!

 

MY NAME IS TOBY. I LIVE ON SODOR WITH ALL MY FRIENDS.

 

Just so you know lol

Steve

[cjlangdon]

Wiring Made Simple with Ian Morton at Missenden Abbey Autumn weekend (20-22nd October 2017)
We have arranged a course  specifically designed for the modeller who is building or planning a layout and suddenly realizes he has to think about how to make the trains run.
The aim is to demystify the subject and avoid complication at all costs. We’ve assumed little or no prior knowledge of wiring and other electrical issues – in fact we positively welcome modellers whose knowledge of what goes on beneath the bas...eboard is limited to connecting two wires to the controller (and perhaps not even that . . .).

Layout wiring is NOT rocket science and we won’t present it as such. However we understand that for many modellers getting things to work reliably is a necessary evil, so we’ll make acquiring the necessary knowledge and hands-on skills as painless a process as possible. The course is slanted towards analogue (DC) control but there is considerable overlap with wiring for Digital Command Control, so its content will be relevant to users of either system.
These are the kind of questions we’re expecting:

• What should I be thinking about before I start? What are my options?
• What tools do I need?
• How do I decide where to put feeds, isolating sections etc?
• How do I document which wire does what?
• How do you bridge baseboard joins?
• What different types of wiring connectors are there?
• How do you wire points?
• Section wiring – how do you divide the layout up into power areas?
• Power requirements
• Choosing controllers
• Different types of wire and switches
• Cab control and how it works
• Interlocking, common return, track sections, block control
• Advice on building a control panel
• Fault finding (the multi-meter is your friend)

Modellers who have attended Ian's courses before at Missenden Abbey have left confident that they have the skills and knowledge to wire their own layout.

 

Full details and online booking at www.missendenrailwaymodellers.org.uk