Hi y'all, After several months I've finally gotten around to beginning my first DCC layout. Nothing fancy mind you. Just a single main line folding over itself to give the impression of dual parallel tracks, two spurs and one entrance to a small staging area. This layout will only be 4x6 with an additional 2x4 staging and programming area. Track elevations run from 0 to 4". It is HO guage) My situation is that my two legs (artificial) don't work very well under benchwork. I have a really difficult time going down to the knees and back up. I remember reading somewhere that a layout was created with the wiring above the benchwork and hidden under the scenery. Would this be possible to do with the bus wires and feeders? My turnouts will all be manual and as for now I can think of no additional accessories I might add down the road. As I said, this is a fairly simple and incomplicated track plan. My thought is to lay the bus between the parallel tracks around the top of the layout and connect the feeders at the required 2 ft intervals (or close to). Will this work without causing some type of electrical interferance since several feeders may run under the bus to get to the track? There will be a lot of testing before burying the track! I'm planning on using the NCE starter DCC system since I won't be running more than 2 locos at a time. Any suggestions pr comments will be appreciated. Joe Wanna Bea RR (in progress)
Joe: I hear you friend. I have an arthritic condition in my neck and spine that prevents me from working under the layout. I ran my wiring (DCC) to the front edge of the layout and attached it to a "sub fascia" then I covered that with the show fascia. Good luck with your layout. Old Fat Robert
If you're using extruded foam, you can carve little trenches to bury the wires in. Should work just fine. If you're using something else, like plaster, you can do something similar. There's no electrical reason why you can't put your bus wires anywhere you like. Interference shouldn't be a concern here.
You should be able to put the buss wires & feeders between the two tracks w/o any interference problems. Do that before laying any ballast & test everything every which way (LOL). Once you're completely satisfied w/ the electrical & track work then put your ballast down.
I have been doing a project at my club that relocates the DCC buss from underneith the layout to the outside of the facia. Most of our members are up in age and it is hard to work upside down under the layout. The DCC system has four power districts that run completly around the outside of the layout. The buss consists of eight wires (two for each district). There is no reason you can't run the wires on the surface and connect them to a surface buss or one like I am constructing. The feeders can be hidden by scenery
This should work well with #16 wire. In fact, my home layout is wired with #22 as I built it for DC over ten years ago. When I went to DCC, I unplugged my DC power pack and plugged in my NCE Power Cab and easily run two DCC sound locos. My layout is about 20 feet long by about 8 feet wide L shaped. All my turnouts are manually controlled. Rivet counters may not agree, but #18 would work also. Also, I would have no problem running bare solid with which would make soldering much easier and with proper spacing and being aware of where the wire is, you should have no issues with shorting. Your layout is not very large and the Power Cab limits current at 2 amps. My Power Cab trips at 1.8 amps. I have done the measurements with increasing load on the controller. Also, 13 volts for the Power Cab is not a big deal for voltage. You could also cover the bare wires with strips of black electrical tape for insulation after all the wiring is done. Many who construct doll houses use copper strips designed for this purpose. I have not idea on what the current capacity is though. #22 for feeders wil be just fine. Rich
You are referring to "Tapewire" from Cir-Kit Concepts. Supposedly good for 5 Amps. http://cir-kitconcepts.com/shop/ind...id=236&zenid=6035d17a4f2ff0cf7129bdcc3d7d17e4 Use their brass brads or small hollow eyelets to connect (listed under "hardware"). I'd almost forgotten about this stuff.
There was a time when toy train enthusiast always put the wires on top of the layout. We model railroad types frowned at such behavior. I have most of my wiring under the table. The one thing in my favor is I built with a open grid and this allows me to work from the top down. Well, not totally. I've been known to get under the table to run and solder the wires. It's your layout and you make the rules, you set the standard, and you make it happen.
A couple of surgically altered disks prevents me from constructing any duck unders or working under the layout. I run all my wiring underneath and do my buss connections close to the front facia. Running it on top would be a maize of wiring that eventually would be covered by scenery and "if" or should I dare say "when" you have a problem; it would be a nightmare to find. As always; it's your layout and your comfort zone so any way you want it, do it! Brian
I am physically handicapped due to having polio as a child. For my small N-scale layout, I was able to put the whole thing on its side on my workbench at a convenient working height. This is where I did some of the under-layout work. When I built the supporting benchwork, I hinged the layout along the back so that I can lift it up to work under the layout. This lets me sit down for most of the under-layout work. This might be difficult with a larger layout but works well for me on this small layout. - Jeff
Thanks for the responses and advice. Since I only have about 45 ft of line I'm going to use 16 g bus with 22 g feeders. Going with the NCE Power Cab. As I mentioned I will not have any fancy accessories except maybe for some lighting and a crossing flasher. We'll see as it progresses. I am going for the scotchlok suitcase connectors though. No solder if possible. I'm also giving the Woodland Scenic sub-terrain a try. That should fit in with the above table wiring. This is my first DCC, so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the tips! Joe Wanna Bea RR
Uurrgh! If you are going to bury these in scenery or ballast I'd avoid any kind of 'mechanical' connection. Murphy's Law will be in force, especially if any dampness is involved as there probably would be in ballasting. I'd solder each joint, test it, wrap it in tape, and then test it again before burying it.
Make a runway on the side of the layout before the fascia goes on. Use strips of wood about 1/2" by 1" or what ever is needed to support the fascia and running parallel to each other with enough space to fit all of the wiring. Then when the fascia is put on with screws it can also be removed to add or subtract any future wiring work. Tho top wood would be flush with the top of the layout. I would also think that if has a router a groove could be made.
