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Mike, We use the exterior low voltage (12V) exterior lighting wire for our feeds to the track. I believe it is 16 ga. Our RR main line has 3 blocks controlled by the "Blue Streak" which has a tethered hand held controller with 3 individual throttles, forward/reverse switches and momemtum off/on switches for each throttle. The cable from the base power pack to the hand held controller is a computer type and can be anywhere from 5 feet to a hundred feet long. I have set our system up so we can either run the trains outside from in the basement or switch to a outside control "Tower" about 30 feet from the house. Parts of the cable are buried a couple of inches. My longest electrical feed with 16 ga wire is approximately 120 feet. All my main line track is LGB flex rail with rail joiners and rail clamps. That system has been in use for about 15 years. A few years ago I noticed a voltage drop in that far loop (Block) and installed a "helper" wire from the feed end to the middle of the loop. Last fall, on that loop or block, I removed the old joiner and clamps, cleaned up the rail ends, installed new joiners and re-installed the clamps. I found that the original joiners had started to decay from age, weather, etc and the rail ends because of this had become dirty/oxidized. After this effort, I tested voltage and found that the helper wire was not needed, but I left it installed because you never know. Most people recommend that you bury the wires, run then in conduit, etc. I never know when I want to change things around so I really just throw the wires on the ground, cover them with mulch, gravel, or scrape a small 2-3" trench to put them in. Been working good for all these years! One thing I would suggest is that you use the longest pieces of track you can buy. Long sections of track mean fewer electrical joints to fail. I also suggest to go the extra mile and use some sort of rail clamp to ensure a firm connection. Some will recommend using a conductive paste in the joiners, but I find (For us) this can be messy, pick up fine particles of dirt, etc and really not needed if your track ends are secured tightly. Hope this helps George E
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