Lgb Mts With Railroad & Co? (mts Vs Dcc)
- Thread starter stevenfitch
- Start date
It is a good idea, in this green and pleasant (wet!) land, to keep the accessory wiring and track wiring separate.
That way, when a Cheshire killer-squirrel nibbles your feed to lights in the station, shorting out the wires, you can isolate the accessories, and still play trains.
Personally, I would run a separate 12V - ish feed around for lights, water-wheel, that sort of thing.
You can use accessory decoders, to switch these things on and off, but I would keep things simple to start with..
The 'tube' you run the wires in, could be an old length of garden-hose? But in my experience, this is way too small for once your garden empire expands.
Think of it like a real township:
They need power, street lights, telephones / Internet (that bit is your control-system).
If you start adding control for points, you will need 'buildings' to house accessory decoders, wiring out to the point-motors.
Wiring to detect the train, as it approaches the level-crossing. Flashy lights at the crossing. - Possibly even barriers.. Wires, wires and more wires..
PhilP.
That way, when a Cheshire killer-squirrel nibbles your feed to lights in the station, shorting out the wires, you can isolate the accessories, and still play trains.
Personally, I would run a separate 12V - ish feed around for lights, water-wheel, that sort of thing.
You can use accessory decoders, to switch these things on and off, but I would keep things simple to start with..
The 'tube' you run the wires in, could be an old length of garden-hose? But in my experience, this is way too small for once your garden empire expands.
Think of it like a real township:
They need power, street lights, telephones / Internet (that bit is your control-system).
If you start adding control for points, you will need 'buildings' to house accessory decoders, wiring out to the point-motors.
Wiring to detect the train, as it approaches the level-crossing. Flashy lights at the crossing. - Possibly even barriers.. Wires, wires and more wires..
PhilP.
I had track power for a good few years but have gone over to battery power in thengarden due to having to clean a quite extensive layout.
When on track power I used speaker cable (has the advantage of a white line to tell one side from the other) to run a bus round the line, however I split the bus line into logical sections based around my stations with switches to each one. I know not necessary with DCC but oh so useful if you get an unexpected short. The sections had a feed EACH END , thus in most places there were feeds either side of an isolation gap easy to fit if you use Massoth Isolated clamps as you can use the screws to attach the feeds. I make a circle with these and solder it up, also beneficial to melt the wire where you have stripped it to help stop oxidisation in the wire as this stuff is not the best but as I say mine lasted over 2 lines for near 2 decades.
For trunking I use Electrical stuff that has a snap on top, makes doing revisions simple. Comes in varying sizes and I use the smallest size where individual wires go to say a point motor. I spray it grey prior to fitting and on some I have done a small saw indentation to represent concrete trunking as seen in. British Railways and others.
walkerart
Cowboy
Ah so the bus has to be two buses ( as in the old joke )It is a good idea, in this green and pleasant (wet!) land, to keep the accessory wiring and track wiring separate.
That way, when a Cheshire killer-squirrel nibbles your feed to lights in the station, shorting out the wires, you can isolate the accessories, and still play trains.
Personally, I would run a separate 12V - ish feed around for lights, water-wheel, that sort of thing.
You can use accessory decoders, to switch these things on and off, but I would keep things simple to start with..
The 'tube' you run the wires in, could be an old length of garden-hose? But in my experience, this is way too small for once your garden empire expands.
Think of it like a real township:
They need power, street lights, telephones / Internet (that bit is your control-system).
If you start adding control for points, you will need 'buildings' to house accessory decoders, wiring out to the point-motors.
Wiring to detect the train, as it approaches the level-crossing. Flashy lights at the crossing. - Possibly even barriers.. Wires, wires and more wires..
PhilP.
First one is to only feed the track to ensure better all round juice and the other is to go to building lights and turnout decoders…..
ok that’s interesting…. I’m not a natural wire boy but this makes sense.
I thought it was just one bus and spure off to lights and bits.
But this way you could have a bus just to track side decoders…. In my case prob only one to feed four points.
So this is all linked to my transformer ? Of my dcc station command …. Eek sorry idiot question I guess.
Hey have you seen TVC steam effects web using vapour. I made my own on a caboose seems great but we will see.
walkerart
Cowboy
Oh sorry TRS …. Stunning but maybe only OO… not G but to my mind what’s the difference
walkerart
Cowboy
Hi folk,
hope you are all well.
So I have the right wire for my bus now. AWG refers to american guage width and 18 AWG is about 1.2mm and ideal for our G guage power.
I have fab non solder clips to T off this wire to the track or off to lights. £10 for a 100 ft roll in both black and red seems great value.
So for me another step over endless asking folk.
Like all of this when you new to it .... once you know you know and you move to the next idea / problem.
So one person said run two bus wires. One for the track the other for point motors and lights. This will make it easier to find whats gone wrong ... if it does. ANy thoughts?
Also one chap said "oh get in a tail to the bus everwhere" but another said .... " depending on your size put in about 4x feeds to the bus, then its easier to find a fault"
Any ideas?
So i'm putting in brass track connectors as they are better than fish plates. ( i am told)... should I use them all the way or just at more complicated bits?
I have copper spray so I am thinking to spray this in every connection to help.
Oh and one thing I found and tested ..... THATS AMAZING...... my girls mum is Irish and a good nose to finding things....... at some point she gave us "bar tenders friend"
It was handed to me from under the sink the other day... and reading it . ... It said cleans brass.
So its a powder I made into a paste with a drip of water. All I did was brush it on to my dirty second hand LGB track..... no elbow grease.... BINGO.... two min later as good as new.
Give it a go.
Thinking of making a carriage with a tank of this inside and just two pads to the track head.
I went to see SMTF today ... who (Dave) will be at Warwick this weekend.. he was very impressed. If you go see Dave tell him you know Chris Walker as he is looking for some second hand track for me.
Thanks gang. Happy Wednesday.
Chris xx
hope you are all well.
So I have the right wire for my bus now. AWG refers to american guage width and 18 AWG is about 1.2mm and ideal for our G guage power.
I have fab non solder clips to T off this wire to the track or off to lights. £10 for a 100 ft roll in both black and red seems great value.
So for me another step over endless asking folk.
Like all of this when you new to it .... once you know you know and you move to the next idea / problem.
So one person said run two bus wires. One for the track the other for point motors and lights. This will make it easier to find whats gone wrong ... if it does. ANy thoughts?
Also one chap said "oh get in a tail to the bus everwhere" but another said .... " depending on your size put in about 4x feeds to the bus, then its easier to find a fault"
Any ideas?
So i'm putting in brass track connectors as they are better than fish plates. ( i am told)... should I use them all the way or just at more complicated bits?
I have copper spray so I am thinking to spray this in every connection to help.
Oh and one thing I found and tested ..... THATS AMAZING...... my girls mum is Irish and a good nose to finding things....... at some point she gave us "bar tenders friend"
It was handed to me from under the sink the other day... and reading it . ... It said cleans brass.
So its a powder I made into a paste with a drip of water. All I did was brush it on to my dirty second hand LGB track..... no elbow grease.... BINGO.... two min later as good as new.
Give it a go.
Thinking of making a carriage with a tank of this inside and just two pads to the track head.
I went to see SMTF today ... who (Dave) will be at Warwick this weekend.. he was very impressed. If you go see Dave tell him you know Chris Walker as he is looking for some second hand track for me.
Thanks gang. Happy Wednesday.
Chris xx
