Wire before or after (or during) laying roadbed

[cap3344]

Newbie here, 4x8 (human working) space constrained HO layout, DC based using materials left behind by my father.  Already placed track down (not fixed), wired up 5 blocks for 2 Cab/2 mail line operation with X crossover.  Ran and tested.   Now I am ready to laydown Woodland Scenic foam roadbed.   I have read some older forum material, want to know if there's newer thinking.  Should I lay the foam and then wire up (again) as track is getting glued down?  I am using terminal joiners for ease of wire management.   I have seen some videos where wire is placed then roadbed around that.   Since I have already done the test some of the wiring is already in place - though final roadbed location could change that.

[UNCLEBUTCH]

IMO, its easyer to wire as you go. Drill hole right where you want it.When your done with track laying,your done. No need to go back over it,trying to recall where you put last feeder

 I assume you are useing color coded wire.Makes life ezer

[cap3344]

Thanks,  that was the direction I was going.  And yes, have a wiring plan that calls for different colored wires between Common, Track Power and the Turnout remote switches.  Good advice    hopefully my early testing will hold up as I do the permanent set up.

[jmnienab]

I glued down road bed and then the track. If you're dropping one set of feeders per length of track then you can move rather quickly around the layout. Then connect to your bus under the table. I used suitcase connectors and that made pretty quick work of wiring up the bus and feeders.

[BigDaddy]

cap3344

I am using terminal joiners for ease of wire management.

I am considering using these and it seems to me the holes for the feeder have to be where the joiner is. 

I guess if the track is already down, and you are going to take it up to place the road bed, there is no guessing where the joiners need to go.  Still it would be faster to lay the road bed then deal with the wires as you lay the track

[doctorwayne]

Another DC operator here.  I don't especially like wiring, so I put down all the cork roadbed, then layed all of the track, then hooked-up the power to the rails...

Next, I took a well-running locomotive and ran it on every piece of track on the layout.  Wherever it wouldn't run, I cut gaps or added feeders, as needed, until all track was accessible to trains.
Since I'm the sole operator and run trains sequentially, I don't need blocks to allow multi-train operations, but I do use blocks to create passing sidings where a train can be parked while another passes or to kill an industrial area where a switcher might be working.  All of the tracks in the locomotive servicing areas and all of the tracks in the five staging yards can be individually turned on or off as required, too.

This kept wiring very simple (all still fed by the the two wires shown above), with all other wiring simply from a live rail to a switch on the fascia, then to a controlled rail where needed.  
This eliminates the step of taking up track already laid just to add wiring.  Your block system will, of course, need more wiring, but it would have been easier and faster, I think, done in the manner which I used.

Wayne

[IRONROOSTER]

Generally, I lay roadbed, then track, then permanent wiring.  I test wire the track as I go, to make sure everything is working okay.  I use alligator clips or just spike some wire against the rail.  Then I do the permanent wiring a section at a time, testing again.

Not to say that other methods can't work, but this works for me.

Paul

[cap3344]

Thanks. I may do some modification of my pracitce, I am looking at doing all 3 steps in sections (lay roadbed, drop wires, lay track). I am always concerned about potential for minor variance of the track that leads to a gap or mismatch of track over roadbed. So combining the processes may allow for any corrections at the completion of the last section (where "golden spike" needs to be driven)!

[tstage]

On my last layout I opted to solder the wire to the bottom-side of the track to 1) hide the wire and 2) have a larger surface area for soldering the wire.  I had to be pretty accurate where I drilled my holes in the cork roadbed in order to hide it underneath the rail but worked out great.  And I used 22ga stranded for my feeder wire.

So, I prelaid the track to determine where it would go then soldered and wired my track sections as I went along.  Slow progress...but I could test continuity as I went.

Tom

[cap3344]

that's an interesting idea

[selector]

IRONROOSTER

Generally, I lay roadbed, then track, then permanent wiring.  ...

Paul

 

As do I.  For one thing, while I may do a good job of laying my roadbed, the track segments will do what they want when I attempt to overlay them on the roadbed.  I feel it is best to place the flex track lengths, let the caulk adhesive set up, and then drill where I need the feeders.

[tomikawaTT]

Another DC operator reporting, Suh.  MZL system, which means that all wiring has to be pre-planned and documented as soon as the track configuration is established.  (MZL is user-friendly.  Less so installer-friendly.)

Some of my permanent wiring is already in place for track to be laid on roadbed that hasn't been erected yet.  It runs from the panel to a terminal strip just behind the fascia in the immediate vicinity of that future construction.

When I do lay track there, installing the feeders and wiring them to the appropriate termini will take place simultaneously.  That way I'll be ready to run my designated derailment check train immediately, under proper control.

Note, too, that using MZL forces me to maintain complete documentation.  It also seriously discourages 'temporory' work arounds (which, earlier in my life, tended to become permanent and problematical.)

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - fully documented)

[cap3344]

Thanks, if nothing else, I had to go off an read about MZL!!! Had never heard of it before. My layout is pretty simple and given my space constraints, I am trying to keep wiring as simple as possible since having to troubleshoot and repair electronics is going to be a nasty issue with high potential for some nasty head injuries!

[cap3344]

I'm starting to see some challenges. My track is a mix of flex sections as well as basic Atlas 9" straights and 30 & 22" curves. I anticipate some needing some "irregular" track pieces when I get to the end. So I'm going to be drilling some wiring holes before laying track, and some before laying roadbed - and maybe some after track is down - depending on how confident I am along the way.

[E-L man tom]

Another DC operator here. I'm with Ironrooster and Selector on progression of track/wiring installation. On my small point-to-point switching layout (it's only 20 ft long), it has the capability to run two locomotives at once, using two power packs, separated electrically at the terminal strip going into my terminal board, on the terminal board and inside my control panel. the layout is controlled by 10 separate blocks, which can be run by either locomotive anywhere on the layout. There are toggles that select which block is going to run which locomotive. Additionally, I have installed light power to these toggles, which are LED's that light up the selected loco at each block. The LED's are powered by a 5.5 volt wall wart DC transformer, using 220 to 350 ohm resistors. These are double pole double throw switches that are on-off-on, so that I can turn any block off completely as well. Also, I have on-off switches, also with light indicators, for tracks at staging, engine servicing and a house track, so that other locomotives can enter those respective blocks while those locos are parked. All of these toggles are placed on the track diagram on my control panel. I have just completed all this last night, after having to rebuild my layout after moving last fall. I have not powered the layout up yet, as I was too tired last night to deal with any snafus, so the "moment of truth", (i. e. will everything work as planned?), is yet to come. 

Back to your question. I have generally predetermined where my blocks will go, lay the roadbed and track, then deal with the wiring. I solder the feeder wires to the web (side) of the outside of the rail, drilling holes for the wire as close to the outside of the rail as possible. I use Atlas plastic insulator rail joiners, only on the side that is not the common. I leave the common as one continuous connection. Some frown on this and say that gapping both rails is better in case of a short, but finding a short is not a problem the way I have the layout wired. I can isolate any block electrically by simply turning all other blocks off, or on, as the case may be.

 

[cap3344]

thanks, would love to see picture of your control panel!! I'm only gapping one side also, with an exception for a staging line I'm running off my inside mainline. I've decided to lay roadbed in section, drill access as necessary but not permanently attaching the track until all of that is done.. and I'm leaving the 4 turnout cross over section for last (Ugh).