14Steve14 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Plastic p clip. They are cheap to buy, easy to secure under the baseboards and are available in many sizes. We sell thousands of them, so someone must think they are good also. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Whilst drilling large round holes in each cross-member is perfectly acceptable (and helps to reduce weight too), if you have the more 'traditional' type of solid flat baseboard surface on a framework, then I prefer to cut a rectangular 'notch' (say 1" x 1/2", depending upon capacity required) out of the top of each cross-member *before* fixing on the top. This then enables all cables to run flat against the underneath of the top (possibly in plastic trunking if required) without the need for them to drop down in order to pass thru' the holes and then rise back up again. Apart from resulting in another inch or two of extra cable (which does add up if you have lots of cables and cross-members!), it also eliminates the possibility of something snagging against the wires if it's a portable layout that gets moved about a lot - and IMHO looks a lot tidier too :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montague Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I use ring screws. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJB Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Get a length of plastic conduit from Wickes and cut inch sections of the chanel and cover. Stick/screw the channel sections in appropriate places, (might be an idea to drill screw holes before you cut the sections) hold your wire up into the channel and clip the cover sections on. When you add wires simply slide the covers sideways to take them off, add the wire/s and clip the cover back. Provided the conduit sections are not more than about 8 inches apart the wires don't move much when you remove the individual covers and they are easily reinstated. A six foot length of conduit will give you 70-odd clips. Cheapest option I know. To obviate soldering upside down I brought all my connections out to mini boards hinged vertically off the front edge of each table. These could then be swung back out of the way. Properly labeling the wires makes trouble-shooting a breeze. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billbedford Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Corse there is alway this type of trunking Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Or these http://www.bindingbazaar.com/Binding-Combs.asp Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 DCC is making me reconsider my layout wiring practise. With so much less wiring to accomodate, there's not the previous space constraints that precluded having the wiring on the same surface as the track, at least for the non-scenic areas. Copper tape under parallel tracks takes the power across the track base, rail connections require no holes through boards. It's all so very simple, accessible, and solderable from above. So much for the non-scenic areas, still some way from anything scenic, and was thinking much as Bill Bedford posted, bus wires and other wiring on the front edge of the board. And then I read this: I'm going to be wiring up my layout soon, and FWIW I've been buying up old flexi track at shows and from the club, I intend to use this as the bus, well it comes ready assembled, and it has nice little fixing holes evenly spaced... Don't know about the rest of you but my inclination is for copper for the bus. So to the question: is copper rail readily available in common model rail rpofiles (code 75 my preference), ideally supplied tinned? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I'm going to be wiring up my layout soon, and FWIW I've been buying up old flexi track at shows and from the club, I intend to use this as the bus, well it comes ready assembled, and it has nice little fixing holes evenly spaced. I'm all for reuse and recycling, but this is not a good idea and certainly should not be entertained if there's a chance you will ever switch to DCC. Nickel silver is much higher resistance than copper and will potentially play havoc with overload protection. Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff park Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 So how's this for a challenge. Taking the idea from 34theletterbetweenB&D, (you really need a shorter name) if you are modelling anything reasonably modern there are loads of cables, trunking, troughing etc running alongside the track. So how about modelling this, but make it your busbars/points wiring/frog switching, all visible. Hidden in plain sight, so to speak. May need to be thicker than scale to carry the current, but some of those comms cables are quite hefty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanRogers Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 If you're going to use self-adhesive copper tape for your wiring bus, use the largest you can. You can obtain 5mm wide from model railway suppliers but, if you look for Slug Tape on the site of a well-known loss-making book retailer, or indeed an equally well-known auction site, you can get it up to an inch wide. Tape is just like wire; the smaller cross-section increases resistance and therefore reduces current flow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF96 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I found the self adhesive 'tidiers' I used for points wiring stuck fast to the underside of the board until I had crawled out then they fell off so in the end I had to screw them on - kind of defeating the self adhesive logic. For bus wires I use O type screw in ' closed hooks' on the boards with pull apart choc block connectors across the board joins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Many moons ago Corax67 suggested attaching one side of the baseboard to a piano hinge, so it could be raised for attention to any wiring. I used this method on my previous layout, and it worked very well. Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
citadel12003 Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hi all, I'm currently laying track on my "train set". Baseboards are of largely plywood construction a la Barry Norman. The outer longitudinal beam sandwiches also support a series of transverse plywood formers every 12 inches or so on which the trackbed is mounted. Where appropriate this also acts as a profile support for the scenics. I have drilled a series of 10mm holes at 3" intervals right across these formers through which I can thread bus wires and other cables (I like to keep bus wires separate from other point or signal cabling). This means I don't need additional clips or other devices to support the cables. Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
28XX Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I've posted this before but it doesn't hurt to do so again. These "comb binders" are a cheaper alternative to industrial cable trunking. They can be attached to the underside of the baseboard with a decent staple gun, or double sided tape if you prefer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I've posted this before but it doesn't hurt to do so again. See post 31 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Hot Glue Guns make for a quick, easy & cheap job. Glue isn't hot enough to impair or damage insulation. Easily removed if you screw up or need to alter repair anything. Reasonably transparent so easy to follow wiring. e.g. Porcy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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