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Greg, It all depends on whether you want to invest in DCC now or at some time in the future. I don't have DCC myself, but I believe I will in the future after the prices drop and some bugs get worked out. The die-hard DCC guys will flame all over me for that but I don't care. If you are going DCC right now, then you have to locate the "reversing sections" in your track plan and isolate them with plastic rail joiners or open gaps cut into the rail. Then you connect each rail to the DCC system and you should be in business. I would buy some "terminal strips" (sometimes called barrier strips or whatever) from Radio Shack and fasten wire from the power source to a terminal strip and then from the other side of the terminal strip to the rail with feeder wires every six feet or so on a large layout. If you are going with DC control for now and you have a modest layout, I would use the Atlas series of components to wire your layout for 2-rail DC cab control. You still use terminal strips under the layout to help organize the wiring but the wiring is more complicated because you have to divide the layout into many more descrete sections called blocks. One of the two rails becomes the "common" rail and is attached to a single wire that runs under the entire layout. For some reason, several folks call this the "common bus wire"; go figure. The other rail, which is divided into the many sections is wired to the selector switches, one switch per rail section. For a moderate layout, this takes a lot of wires. The outputs from the power pack are then connected to the switches and you are in business. Overall, the subject is much more complicated than I have described here and I recommend you get a book on wiring unless you are running a simple oval track plan. If you can't dream of getting a DCC system and you have a modest layout, or if you have a simple layout right now, I recommend the book "Wiring Your Layout with Atlas Components" from Atlas. If you have a fat wallet and are planning to have an elaborate layout then I recommend you begin getting information about the DCC systems available today and talk with some fellows that have these systems installed on their layouts. If you need a lot of wire, find an electrician buddy to help you get it at a good price. If you have a modest layout, I would just get wire from Radio Shack. You will want several colors but mostly red, black, green and white. Good Luck - Ed
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