Wiring for layout.

[magicman710]

Chuck,

What fuses or breakers do you recommend?

[magicman710]

Well I got the common and ground mixed up, I meant hot and commom. So you do have to use insulated pins between additional lockons? Or is that only for multiple train operation in tmcc?

[cruikshank]

I've been wiring a 30 x 55 club layout.  One tip that really worked for me is to run the bus wires, then connect the bus to the feeds using Scotchlock Wire Taps.  They crimp on with a pliers, require no stripping of the wire and if installed correctly create a solid connection to both the Bus and the Feed.  Makes for a clean installation.  Yes it is important to have a feed both before and after a switch.  In our case we soldered the feeds on.  Dave

[Jumijo]

I think the no. 1 clip goes to the inside rail (hot) and the no. 2 wire goes to the outside rails (common or ground). You should have feeders after every switch and every 4 - 6 feet.

Jim 

[chuck]

Check you library for a copy of Peter Riddle's book, Wiring Your Lionel Layout, Volume 1.  It is well illustarted and explains basic toy train electrcity.

Your basic ideas are correct but some of your descriptions/terminology could cause problems down the road.  The "U" terminals on the ZW are "common" and these are the return path for electric current.  This side of the circuit goes to the outside rails of the lockon.  The A,B,C,D terminals on the ZW are the "hot" side and these are used to feed the center rail.

I would strongly suggest color coding to avoid problems and make sure you wire in some fast acting fuses or breakers between the transformer and the tracks.  The ZW's thermal breaker will usually not trip immediately on short circuit like a derailment can cause.  Modern electonics are not so forgiving of this type of incident.

"Blocks" were used in conventional control to allow for multiple train control.  TMCC accomplishes this with digital command signals.  The concept of a block has been morphed into a "Power District".  You assign a power supply to a specific section of track.  There are fiber pins that are inserted in the center rail to isolate one block from another.  The idea is that you try to ballance the power load on the tracks to match what is really required in a given track block.  This is close to what a real electric railroad would do, aka multiple feeds, multiple supplies.

[magicman710]

Since i'm still in the planning stages, I wont to clear up all this wiring as soon as I can. Ok, my layout will be 10ft. x 20ft. Under control by tmcc, powered by a zw transformer. With two mainlines, each being 60ft. long, how many extra feeders will I need from bus wires? Ok, another question, this is one I never can understand, I send 2 bus wires(both 12 awg) around the layout under the tracks, and one is common, and one is ground(i.e. a and b) around the layout, every 10-15 track sections put on a lockon, tap into both wires, connect the common to the #1 clip, ground to the #2 clip, and continue on, right? I dont need any blocks in the track doing this do I? It seems like i read somewhere that you had to have blocks when using extra lockons. Question #3, I can use 2 small transformers, send commons and grounds as buses, and I can use one for all lighted accessories, and the other for signals, coal loaders, ice depots, switches ect., right? Also, as far as I know, all the accessories will be powered by its own switch, not a tmcc controller.

 

Grayson