As my son and I go about building out a layout on the basement floor, protecting the wires is becoming a priority. He's pretty good about watching where he walks - but when excited he's come close to hooking a foot on a wire and tripping (plus taking whatever was connected to the wire with him). I started by just running wires under the track - plus laying a small throw rug over where everything comes into the transformer. But as the number of wires has increased, it's getting harder and harder to keep them all under track at the same time - esp. around curves. And we haven't even gotten to the thick wire for switch controllers, UCSs, and the like.
I'm looking for a solution that's cheap and allows for easy access/removal/replacement so that we can add wiring as we build things out. Even the cheapest floor cable runners /protectors are about $1 a foot. I'm thinking perhaps some vinyl carpet floor runner (with the little nubs on the back side - about a buck a foot) cut in thirds lengthwise might be useful to put under the track and the surrounding couple of inches of RoW. It would allow me to then "bury" the wires trackside while laying flat to prevent tripping. The backing nubs would help keep the wires from escaping.
How have other fathers managed this common problem?
IT consultant by day, 3rd generation Lionel guy (raising a 3YO 4th generation Lionel Lil' Man) by night in the suburbs of the greatest city in the world - Chicago. Home of the ever-changing Illinois Concretus Ry.
If it is on the basement floor and not a table.
Get some cheap carpet to lay down and run the wires under the carpet and just poke holes throught the carpet where you want the wires to come up.
Carpet will also save the trains from the inevitable crashes you will have with a two year old.
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Table that folds or rolls under a bed, kamerade. That is what my father did for me, and my great grandfather for my great uncle.
Something that might help is to return accessories to the outside rails of the nearest track, so that you need to run only one wire to power each accessory, saving half the wires. You can also delete the common wire between each turnout and its controller and instead connect the controller's common terminal to the transformer common; this saves a third of the wires. Another trick is to connect the two turnouts in a crossover to a single controller, since they will always have to be thrown at the same time. This gets you down to two wires instead of the original six. You can also forgo the controller entirely for the turnout entering a reversing loop, letting the anti-derailing feature throw it for you when the train exits the loop.
Bob Nelson
KRM Get some cheap carper to lay down and run the wires under the carpet and just poke holes throught the carpet where you want the wires to come up. Carpet will also save the trains from the inevitable crashes you will have with a two year old.
Get some cheap carper to lay down and run the wires under the carpet and just poke holes throught the carpet where you want the wires to come up. Carpet will also save the trains from the inevitable crashes you will have with a two year old.
Good idea - an extension of my "throw rug" behind the transformer. I like it better than my vinyl carpet runners idea for its derailment protection. Perhaps cut into sections of some sort so the wires can be fed across the expanse without too much trouble. Have to stop by a local flooring store to see what they charge for remnants...
lionelsoni Something that might help is to return accessories to the outside rails of the nearest track, so that you need to run only one wire to power each accessory, saving half the wires. You can also delete the common wire between each turnout and its controller and instead connect the controller's common terminal to the transformer common; this saves a third of the wires. Another trick is to connect the two turnouts in a crossover to a single controller, since they will always have to be thrown at the same time. This gets you down to two wires instead of the original six. You can also forgo the controller entirely for the turnout entering a reversing loop, letting the anti-derailing feature throw it for you when the train exits the loop.
All good ideas - I've definitely been running accessories' commons to the nearest track (so much so that I'm going to run out of LockOns soon!) but hadn't thought about minimizing the 022 controller wires. Will have to give that some thought...
tinplatacis Table that folds or rolls under a bed, kamerade. That is what my father did for me, and my great grandfather for my great uncle.
Hehe...me and the boy have got about 125 track feet laid out, so much so that my wife has now weighed on any "future expansion plans". Any sort of table would now consist of my building something akin to a new floor to our house...
Beautiful. I got relegated to the attic when I tried to do that, but good for you.
If you're using tubular track, how about nylon cable ties? You could attach them to the metal ties using the screw holes and run your wiring bundles beneath the track.
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
KRM If it is on the basement floor and not a table. Get some cheap carper to lay down and run the wires under the carpet and just poke holes throught the carpet where you want the wires to come up. Carpet will also save the trains from the inevitable crashes you will have with a two year old.
Get some cheap carper to lay down and run the wires under the carpet and just poke holes throught the carpet where you want the wires to come up.
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
Penny Trains If you're using tubular track, how about nylon cable ties? You could attach them to the metal ties using the screw holes and run your wiring bundles beneath the track.
This might be a good solution - a few well-placed zip ties left a little loose would help anchor the wires running under the track every few feet and keep them from escaping so easily. By leaving them a little loose, wires could be added / removed without having to use a new zip tie. I'll try a few tonight.
So, I bought some vinyl carpet runner from Home Depot yesterday (http://www.sterlingbrandsllc.com/ProductInfo/page5/index.html) for about a buck a foot X 24" width (bonus: made in the USA!). Seems to work perfectly - I cut it lengthwise into three ~8" strips to create something that fits under the track to create a "right of way" on the side of the track for "burying" wires. The nubs work great in keeping the wires under the runner. Definitely not in the same area code as hi-rail - but should be effective in keeping the 2YO (and the equipment) safe.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month