Quick question about O-22 direct power wire

[yallaen]

I'm running to the store for my last list of materials. I'm getting 14 gauge for the power feeds to the track. What gauge for the power to the switches? I'm gonna run feeds from my 14volt constant voltage to each switch, so I don't have to rely on track power. 18 gauge too small?

We got a DVD from the local hobby store called "Dream, Plan, and Build" series. Model Railroader did the DVD, and it was really great. Wife is all excited on making the mountains and trees. I've got to finish mocking up the track and get it wired, and the holes cut into the walls for the turn-around loops. Too bad the Bears' game is on at noon and I have to go to work sometime this evening :(

With that said, I've gotta get rdy to run...so a quick answer would be most appreciated..

 

[Blueberryhill RR]

I have 10 each 022 switches. The feed to each aux. plug is 16 guage with a "C" clip at the end. These are fed by a 12 guage wire buss that runs from the transformer. In my personal opinion, 18 guage would be all right for a couple, unless you ran at a higher voltage.

Chuck

[lionelsoni]

For trains, I always advise using wire heavy enough to carry all the transformer can supply.  Strictly speaking, that philosophy should apply to turnouts too.  However, you could make a case that the chance of a fault in a turnout circuit is far less than for the track power circuit and thus justify using smaller wire generally.  But it is usually considered safe to use a slightly smaller wire for a few inches anyway to connect a load where heavy wire would be hard to deal with.  The justification is that the nearby heavy wire can soak up much of the excess heat that the smaller "tap" wire would generate in a fault condition.  So go for it, if larger wire is a problem.