Bus Wire

(Watch the wrap).

Wire stripper and crimping tool all in one.

Mine has yellow handles, different brand name, but is identical to this. You can find them at Home Depot, Lowes, places like that. Usually less than $10. Sometimes you can find them packaged with 50-100 spade terminals in different sizes.

Matt

Good deal. I envy you the opportunity to start from scratch - an established layout can accumulate a lot of wiring weirdness!

One thing that just popped into my head for you to think about is block isolation. With the exception of reverses, you don't really NEED it on a DCC layout, but one of the things you might want to do later is switch automation, and if you do that, having isolated sections of track near turnouts is very useful (so you can hang a current-sensing block detector on them). Think about isolating the two trailing ends of all your turnouts, and a section of track about 3 feet before the turnout. Read well the section of wiringfordcc that talks about dcc-friendly turnouts. I use peco insulfrog turnouts, and find them very reliable.

The simplest kind of automation is simply to flip a turnout so that if a train is approaching a turnout from the 'choice' side, the frog gets set to the right track all by itself. This borders on the advanced (you need a computer, a locobuffer or the nce equivalent, and block detectors). Since you're just starting, I wouldn't try to tackle any of that yet, but eventually you're going to ask yourself, "self, it's kind of a pain to have to watch the trains like a hawk and flip switches all the time. Can I have the layout do the routine stuff itself?" The answer is yes, and it opens up some really amazing stuff to do, including signaling systems and route controls. *

There's nothing wrong with that! Some people use suitcase connectors too, which is an expensive but very attractive alternative. While you're setting up, you don't really need to solder at all - you can just strip a couple inches off the end of the feeder and wrap it tightly around the exposed bus wire. It will work fine until you've finalized everything, and it's really easy to remove if you've gotten into trouble, like finding you have an unexpected reversing section. *

One word to know, KLEIN. Lineman's pliers will do the job beautifully for you. They have a blue handle and a funny squiggly shaped jaw on the business end to accomodate the two most common types of crimp connectors, and a wire cutter that you can do minor amputations with.

Maybe 20 bucks? *

Thank you for this link. Anything under $20 is a welcomed cost. I saw some versions that were quite expensive, and I was hopeful that model railroading would not require such an investment.

That does have a lot of appeal. This is one of the reasons I am trying to be as careful as possible with the type of the wiring that I do. In that way, future ideas, interests, and/or new module connections will not require me to undo previous work. Using terminal strips, wire spades, and some clear plastic track insulators on my switches should produce a hassle free, future-proof wiring system. I hope.

I am the kind of person who does not like to return to a project once a new project has been started. Recognizing this character trait, I decided that I would build one module at a time, and complete it. It will be an extraction from a much larger layout drawn on paper, but it will be self contained, operational, and finished to the eyes and electrically. Any additional module will merely extend the main line, bring additional switching opportunties, and create more possibilities to explore and experiment with different facets of modeling.

I am looking forward to this. I have to get past the first big investment: the NCE DCC system. But, I do own a lot of Walthers Code

83 track, a dozen Walthers Code 83 switches (the older version), and a decent collection of HO scale rolling stock. And, I have a handful of DC engines that will need a decoder. Slowly, I am making forward progress.

MC

Excellent. I will most certainly add them to my search list. They fall right at the price ceiling which makes them a perfect possibility.

Thank you!!! MC

There are special jumpers that you can purchase to eliminate the need to wire from post to post to post. Here is Radio Shacks version:

Makes things a little neater.

---john.

I am having trouble understanding that image. I'll visit a local Radio Shack, and that will clear this up with ease.

Thank you!!!

I was imagining making tiny little jumper cables using a two inch wire and two crimped spades.

I am surprised that they don't offer a horizontal terminal strip. Or do they? One that simply connects all the top row screw heads and likewise connects all the bottom row screw heads. That would remove the need for jumpers. It would also make the continuation of a bus wire very convenient. You attach the same bus wire to both ends of the horizointal and continue on: ditto application for top and bottom.

I strip the insulation off a section of wire (20 gauge is fine), screw one end under the first terminal post, then wrap the wire to the next, under the second screw, then wrap to the next, etc. until I get to the other end. (Nobody ever told me about the jumpers, and it never occurred to me to ask! The first one I saw was done with wire, so I've always done it that way...live and learn).

Matt

That's a nice solution. Mini jumpers with crimped spades is another possibility. One thing is for sure, I am convinced that terminal strips are the best approach. I like that they offer an easy approach to future additions and/or changes without having to undo soldering, etc.

:MC

One trick I came up with some years ago was this:

- remove one whole line of screws from the terminal strip

- cut a notch into each ridge of the that side with a dremel, even with the screw holes

- lay in a line of stripped wire into the notch

- put all the screws back

It's a lot less messy than zigzagging the wires around, a lot less likely to be accidentally shorted (since the wire is hidden under the screws and stuck behind the ridges), and way cheaper than those jumper things, which are really overpriced for what they are. If you have a long power strip, you can leave one of the ridges uncut, and run two wires instead of one, giving you half for one track wire, and half for the other. This is also really nice for lighting, since you tend to run a lot of little wires. *

Creative - I like it!!

Matt

This comment struck me as one of the many enjoyable aspects of model RR'ing. It allows for this type of fun, creative thinking. I have marveled for years at the many creative ideas that modelers have discovered and implemented in their layout design. You see them in magazine articles, you see them on various layouts as a visitor, and you read about them in forums such as this.

It truly is a hobby with many levels, and this is why I so enjoy it. You define your interests and your interest level, and you model accordingly. You can buy most everything; or, you can build most everything; or, you can fall somewhere comfortably in-between those two extremes. And, now, with Youtube, the sharing aspect has improved exponentially. There are some videos that I find fascinating to watch. I'll return to them frequently for inspiration and/or ideas.

:MC

Here's a shot of a similar product to that which Radio Shack sells:

In this case I cut the jumper bar to give me two, two position contacts.

---john.

True. Mostly I don't care much about the actual trains, but making the layout work electronically for my dad and cousin turned into a very fun hobby all by itself. *

Yeah, I really dislike those jumper things. Besides selling for too much, they make a nice insulated barrier strip into a short circuit waiting to happen. *

Hello there,

our modular railroad group uses for bus wire generic soundspeaker cable (black/red) for easier coding and connection of modules ('if I plug the black in right on the module entrance, then the black is expected to be in right on the module exit').

We do not demand a continuous "red=left, black=right" code for example, since modules can be mounted in the reverse direction.

We usually follow the mantra 'the thicker, the better' (at least, what can fit into the banana plugs that we use).

At each module (normally 3-4 feet in length), we solder at least one pair of wires to the tracks and screw these on terminals where the bus wire connects.

Our modules currently are in an elongated 'S' arrangement (with an appendix on the center triangle module), and the power is provided by a Roco starter kit DCC system (multimaus) connected at one edge of the 'S', without additional boosters (the starter kit provides 50 VA or 3.2 Amperes).

There are typically around 7 trains on the layout (most of these waiting on a yard, some with lighted wagons), and we didn't see any voltage-related operating problem at the far edge (25 meters, total route length 31+ meters, or nearly 100 feet).

We have watched power-supply limits, though, when there are multiple steam locomotives with sound and steam generators running while the other trains are parked, so we'll add another 'multimaus' booster to the mainline part for additional amperage. This *may* solve the problem we watched, we'll see.

Cheers, N.F.

By the way, here is a photo of our banana plugs (4mm variant, if I remember correctly):

These are the 'hermaphrodite' type (both female and male roles can be played) :-)

If you are sure that the set-up of the modules will be on a particular sequence, you can use male/female plugs in sequence, which are more protected to short-circuits compared to the male connectors plugging into each other.

And typical plastic wire terminals that our group uses are like this:

We just screw the large bus wires together with the feeder wires, without any problems. If the feeder (solid core) wires are too thin, you may have to twist these carefully together with the stranded bus wire for a better contact

Recently, I found a very nice pair of twisted cable with a solid core used by phone companies inside exchanges, that is excellent for feeder wire and it is colour-coded: orange and grey. So I connect orange to red and grey to black, keeping a consistent wiring.

Cheers, N.F.