Wiring the layout - Part 1

I hoped to be able to run a train around the layout's main line by the end of 2017, but that date came and went. Instead of rushing and substituting the wrong thing (track, wire, paint, lumber, hardware), I waited for the right stuff but it pushed my schedule back. But, now at least I was ready to wire half the layout.

Previously, I had installed 14 gauge red and black wires along the front underside of the benchwork. I planned to use 22 gauge solid wires for feeders, which some books said were sufficient as long as they were kept short (1-2 feet long). Despite seeing people say that Scotchlok made no "suitcase" (IDC) connectors for joining 14 and 22 gauge wire, I looked on their website and found that #905 ones did. So, I ordered a box and tested them myself. And, the results were mixed.

I order all my wire online, and my green 22 gauge wire had thick insulation around it. My red and black wire though has really thin insulation. When tested in #905 connectors, both held reasonably well though I managed to pull the red 22g wire out with a bit of force. The thicker green 22g held solid. I cannot be sure when ordering more 22g wire what thickness of insulation I will receive, so I up-sized a little and ordered some 20g wire in black and red that will be more secure in the #905 connectors.

After drilling 3/16" diameter holes through the benchwork for the wires on the rear side of each rail), I attempted to solder my first wire to the rail. Using the techniques discussed here, the job went extremely well. Unfortunately, my first wire was inside the gauge of the first code 55 rail and a test truck pushed over the solder joint made a slight click. There just wasn't enough clearance room between the wire and the wheel flange. So, I redrilled holes so that the front rail had the wire outside the gauge. It will be visible, but it should blend in once painted and weathered. I did this for all feeder joints, even on the code 70 and 83 rails, just for consistency.

The red wires go to the "rear" rail, and remembering that was half the battle. Each joint was allowed to cool and then cleaned up with some isopropyl alcohol to remove any flux residue. I even got fancy and soldered a couple of rail joiners just to see if I could, and they were even easier. I used to think people who soldered rail joints were snobs, but that was just because I couldn't do it. I still left some free to allow the rail to expand and contract as necessary.

One problem came up. Those stupid M.E. plastic transition joiners, when used on a sharp curve branching off of a turnout, kept leading to derailments. I ripped out the track, broadened the curve a bit (so that the track hung out over the roadbed) and then soldered the joints. Some strokes with a file left a rail joint that worked perfectly. The transition joiners might work okay for straight connections, but not for curves because they just aren't strong enough to keep the rails aligned. Instead of caulk, I used some thinned out yellow wood glue.

Underneath the layout, the feeders were stapled to the layout to prevent them from flopping around (and me snagging them). Then, they were tied into the bus lines with the Scotchlok #905 connectors. It was pretty painless. Finally, some spare yellow wire that I stapled to the underside of the layout was twist-tied to the bus lines to retain them. I used yellow because I don't use it for anything else at the moment. I finished installing 19 pairs of feeders on the two sides and two corners that I have laid track on, and I also soldered up some of the rail joiners. I worked on the soldering in fits and spurts because I don't find it all that interesting. However, it is certainly not as bad as I thought it would be. Just turn the music up and go to it!

In the end, I had to test my work but most of my engines have DCC decoders and I didn't want to dig out my Bachmann DCC system. So, I grabbed the first DC engine I could get my hands on, an Atlas Classic C424. I then took the wires coming from the DC output of a cheap train set transformer I had and used them to run the engine around various sections of the layout. Since the over-center springs have been removed from the switches, the points flopped around and the engine occasionally split the switch. But, all in all I had a good time playing around with this. I can't wait until I can run a train all the way around the layout!