Sufficient gauge for HO DC layout?

[perstuen]

Dear fellow Modelers,

If you are not an old-timer in the hobby you might be familiar with the experience that you buy some stuff and during the course of progress you get more knowledge and start questioning wheter you can make use of your aquisitions. I might have fallen in the buy-first-learn-later trap...

Here are som charachteristics of my layout soon-to-be wired:

• Modular HO DC layout.
• Non of the electrical block sections will be longer than 4 feet.
• Longest distance from block to power supply is less than 8 feet.
• Motive power consists of small steam locomotives (low current draw?)

My question is if 20 gauge stranded copper wire from Atlas is sufficient or should I get some lower gauge wire?

Based on recommendations in Kalmbach's book on wiring I should get lower gauge wire but that might be more so if the sections to be powered is longer and/or at a longer distance from the power supply.

Will it be of any help if at least the common connection wire that runs along all trackage is thicker or does it not have any meaning if wiring from the switches still is of a higher gauge than the common connection?

 Thank to everybody contributing with advice

[grizlump9]

 i use the wires out of salvaged telephone cable and double them.  worked well for many years. 20 gauge should be plenty for your application.

grizlump

[60YOKID]

The Atlas website and I agree, that your 20 gauge wire is fine. 

If you want to prove out your wiring system you can do the "quarter test" by laying a quarter across the track at various points.  The overload on the power pack should trip.  This tells you the wiring is heavy enough for safety.  And if it trips, then you also know your connections and wiring are good for running trains.

[mfm37]

 Here's  link to some recommendations for feeder and bus size.

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/track_2.htm#feeder_experiment

While the info is pointed at wiring for DCC,  good wiring practice works for DC too. Dc has the advatage of being able to just turn the throttle up to overcome voltage drop. That doesn't remove the voltage drop, though.

For NTRAK modules, the wiring RP calls for 12 ga bus with feeders ever two feet. That is probably overkill for the scenario you describe and voltage drop is reduced through larger HO rail. 18 awg or 16 awg supply wires to  20 ga feeders would be more reliable although just a little more expensive.

Martin Myers