I'm impressed with the various methods many have used to organize their wiring -- it's clear who the elctrical engineers are. I'm just about to run my bus line and drop feeders for my current HO layout. The layout is a 12'x18' around the walls with a central penisula. I'm running a 5 amp Digitrax Super Chief with the power supply centrally located so that my bus lines won't exceed 25'.
On my last layout, I used 14 AWG romex for my bus, unsheathed the black and white wires, and then used black and white 22 AWG for the drop lines. For my turnouts I used CAT5 ethernet wiring, stripped it and separated the blue/blue-white, green/green-white, orange/orange, and brown/brown white pairs. These seemed perfect for my tortoises and facia buttons/LEDs. I controlled the tortoises through a Digitrax DS 64, which has 4 inputs, so I made sure to apply the same color pattern to each decoder: input 1) blue, input 2) green, input 3) orange, and input 4) brown. For my crossovers I used the same color combination for both turnouts, joined them in a barrier strip and then sent single wires to the DS64.
As I'm starting the wiring for my new layout, I was wondering whether I'm in need of a more sophicated organizational system. I use PSX cirtuit breakers for my 4 power districts and another to operate my turnouts. My layout will only have about 15 turnouts, a turntable, and I plan to add later on block detection, signals, and lights to structures/streets. In the past I attached color-coded zip ties to my bus to represent the each power district, and the CAT5 colored wires for the turnouts. Do you folks think I need something more developed?
In a small nutshell, unless it's a temporary arrangement that will be dismantled as soon as the pictures are taken, document EVERYTHING.
That includes part numbers and sources of anything more complex than straight wire. Everything might be crystal clear in your mind now, but some years, health problems and emotional upheavals down the road you will be glad you took the time to make a permanent record - if only to jog your memory.
Also, if for some reason someone else is repairing or modifying your electricals, that person will bless you.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)