A noble thought, but impossible to implement.
You could get the NMRA to try and lead the way, but the problem is that you cannot influence or control what the modeler does inside his own layout room.
You can influence a manufacturer with standards, but how do you control the behavior of the modeler?
Rich
Alton Junction
I believe this question has been answered. If you read any book on layout wiring for DC operations, recommendations have been made, the same with DCC!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Would be a good idea for modules in a club or multi-club layout.
Things that vary like length of wire run, number of locos and accessories being run off wires makes a difference in the needed wire size.
For most small layouts where costs can be a factor, most of us use what we've got to keep costs down.
It is a good idea even on ones own layout to have color codes when possible and write them down somewhere, such as:
Track power: color x & y
Turnout wiring: colors a, b & c
Building lighting: colors d & e
Keep the list going for other uses.
This helps in trouble shooting should the problem arise.
Have fun,
Richard
There are color and size standards for the electrical and electronics industry. Why? Because it is an industry where technicians and electricians have to work on circuits wired up by other technicians etc., thus the need for standards. And, the color standards between AC circuits and DC circuits are different. This is not the case in a hobby such as Model Railroading. We tend to get our wire as cheap as possible, and that means taking any color that is available that is cheaper than ordering it from somewhere. Also, we don't tend to go work on electrical problems on multiple layouts for a living.
When wiring your layout, you should create a 'Wiring Book' as you build it so you will have the information available to you later on, should you ever need it. And the first thing to put in it is YOUR color code scheme that you have set up for your layout.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
cedarwoodronGiven the small demographic of the NMRA, that is why I didn't mention the idea as suggesting any formal "standard" as opposed to an informational set of guidelines. Like many others who remember Radio Shack when they actually were involved in electronics parts, that is the very LAST place I would now go for wiring supplies.
Not that I think you are going to get a standarized set of wiring protocols any time soon for model railroad layouts, but I wouldn't dismiss NMRA so quickly just because the registered membership is small. Which organization has influenced the hobby more than the NMRA?
Electricians have a fairly standardized code system for structural and intermechanical wiring.
Inside of an appliance, such as a washer or a copier, there are many colors.
Generally, Black = Hot; White = Neutral; Green = Ground; Red = Switched/Hot; Orange usually indicates the Wild leg of a Delta system.
Telephone companies have a different coloring system.
On the Computer Network we have Blue, Blue-White, Orange, Orange-white; Green, Green-white, Brown, and brown-white. What they do may be dependent on following spec 802-a or 802-b.
It truly would be difficult to come up with a color code for a model railroad.
On the Route of the BroadwayLION I started with 14/4 stranded speaker cables that had Black, Red, Green and White conductors in them. I also had an aux power system with - 12v dc (green); +12 vc (red) and neutral/ground which was white.
Then the LION "simplified" his wire system. That is to say he made it far more complicated.
Now he has a heavy copper braid going around the entire layout. This is GROUND, and is grounded to the building ground via the electrical system.
Next he has a 10.5 volt regulated power supply with a 15 amp output for the trains. The (-) side is connected to GROUND, and the (+) side goes around the layout to run the trains. The Left rail is grounded, the right rail gets the power on it, and the trains will all move forward. (That the LION cannot run trains in reverse is of no matter to the LION.)
Next he has sthe Aux Power which consists of a pair of 12 volt, 5amp transformers, the ac output passes through a pair of full wave rectifiers. The (+) of #1 and the (-) of #2 are connected to GROUND, leaving a +12 vdc and a -12 vdc leg, with 24 volts across them. This is used for the switch machines, for signals, layout lighting and relays.
Are you with me so far...
LION uses 25 pair cat 3 (telephone) cables to connect between the interlocking tower and the layout. There are panels all around the layout where these contacts can be accessed. All the LION needs to do is to write in a book what wire number does what.
Cable 3, Wire 26, Tortoise Switch Machine No. 7 at Union Square
or
Cable 2, wire 15, Block Indication at Dykman Street, North Bound
Simpler it could not be!
LION gets all of his wire surplus, what color it is is what color it is. LION cares not about colors.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Most of us use what is cheap. We wire with what ever wire we have, or can scrounge, or can order from a surplus house like All Electronics. Which means we don't get much choice of color or wire gauge. Many, if not most, wiring runs are short, and don't carry much current. In these cases any sort of wire is adequate. For throttle buses that run the length of the layout and have to carry current for several locomotives, I tend to use #14 gauge house wire, which is total overkill, but I have some, and it is mechanically rugged. #14 is as heavy as you want to go on a model railroad. The next biggest size, #12, is so stiff as to be difficult to bend with pliers.
If you want to compute the adequacy of wire, first compute the resistance in ohms of the total wire run (out and back). There are copper wire tables on the internet that give the ohms per foot of all wire gauges, from 000 down to #32 or so. Multiple the resistance of the wire run by the current going thru it and you have the voltage drop on that run. Long as the voltage drop is no more than 10%, everything will work fine. That means a drop of 1.2 volts on a 12 volt run, a drop of 2.4 volts on a 24 volt DCC run.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
GANDYDANCER, how true your words are. Two years ago I had about 80% of my layout wired, about 3/4 of the way through I switched colors of my wires due to the fact that I could not get the wire I was using originally. I was then struck down by a kidney issue that side lined me for over a year, when I finally got back to working on my layout I couldn't recall exactly where I left off and which color wires where to be connected to the bus wires. I decided to take out all the wiring and start over, after taking out the wiring I decided to redo my layout. I just finished framing out, laying the plywood and foam board. Next week I will begin to lay track and wire. I now have on hand note books to record every wire connection, which track rail and color of wire I am laying. I won't make that mistake again.
cedarwoodron If we had a more or less standardized system (in consult with the more knowledgeable experts), then modelers could have a reliable guide for their own layouts and such. Perhaps MR could do a comprehensive article on this for an upcoming issue- or review existing thought on the matter and summarize it for everyone's benefit. Cedarwoodron
base on this and other comments, it's not clear what would be standardized: wire color, size, mechanical features.
as gandydancer mentioned, there is a national electric code we all should follow for house wiring because it specified wire gauges, protection, methods for routing and attachment, ... that both prevent faults (e.g. fires) and protect individuals from electrocution. (for example, 3 prong outlets should be mounted with the neutral prong on top to potential prevent some falling across the hot lead of a partially inserted plug). I assume the OP is not suggesting a similar set of standards.
What would be useful is having recommendations for wire gauges for various usages. As dstarr mentioned, wire size is typically determined by the amount of voltage loss across the wire due to the current and wire length.
On a layout, the current would depend on the number of devices being supplied. But consider how small the wires are on a decoder. Small short wires are fine on the decoder, but shouldn't be used on the bus.
It would be nice to have a recommendation for wire of such a gauge over such a length. But there would be little harm or loss in performance if those recommendations were not followed.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Which would you rather wear, a kilt or plaster slacks?
WHY would I (the cat who runs around in my socks - no shoes in a Japanese house, thank you) want to use the same colors you like for certain functions, when I don't even use those functions? OTOH, what color do you think I should use for clear on my two-aspect semaphores - and should it be the same for clear (aka high green) on my five-color color light heads? The lamp in the semaphore head is clear, the five LEDs in the signal head aren't. Also, am I supposed to stop work just because I used up the last of my #22 baby blue or shocking pink wire?
I have a BIG box of old telephone cable and reels of wire, all scrounged from remodels in various industrial venues. Some of it is color coded, some isn't. I identify wires with an alphanumeric code that tells me (and anyone who looks at my electrical documentation) EXACTLY what each specific wire does. Color? Frankly, my dear, I don't give a (Apologies to the writers of Casablanca.)
Wire size/capacity? That's why they publish those nice current capacity tables.
The wiring requirements for a model railroad running a Spectrum 0-6-0 and a handful of ore cars are very different from those of the Lion, or any individual or club running full-length PRB coal units behind three six-axle diesel monsters - and vastly different from those of a layout that could have as many as ten open frame amp hog motors, plus a plethora of power-eating accessory systems, in simultaneous operation. That last is mine - and approximates the needs of a typical O scale system. In wire size, especially, one size does NOT fit all.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with bulletproof electricals)
I yanked out all my DC cab control wiring back in 2003 or so when I went DCC. I had used red, yellow, blue, green for the four cabs.
When I ran all my DCC feeders in #12 THHN I stuck to green for rail A and White for B. Those colors were easy for me to get since the electricians where I work seemed to toss out a lot of neutral and ground wire.
For everything else it is pretty much a dogs breakfast although I stick to black- and red+ for tortoise power supply.
What I suggest is certainly the log book as stated above but instead of using colors I use Brady wire marker tape. There's others out there. OR you could use your printer and come up with wire names and print out Avery return address labels or such other small labels. I think they get 80 to a page. For a couple dollars you can make custom wire markers for any color of wire. I also log and number each tortoise with a sticker on the side of it, noting any unusual wiring to that particular switch motor.
Most of us don't have a lot of choice when it comes to scrounging for bits of wire especially when a 500' roll of #14 is going for around $50!
Have fun! ED
I use 12 Gauge Speaker wire [a.k.a., zip wire] for the main buss and 14 gauge zip wire for feeders every 3 feet and to each siding, spur, etc. Accessories are on a separate 12 gauge buss with it's own power.
I use colored shrink tube or tape to indicate the type of connection using the NMRA specs. Works well for me as the zip wire is relatively inexpensive in bulk and more workable than house wire. I solder all connections and prepare long runs and their feeders on the workbench and then install under the layout.
Over the past 5 years I've modeled in O scale and N scale using the same methodology with great results.
Happy railroading!
Dan
cedarwoodronI can solder electronics connections with some skill, but don't ask me to design a complex circuit.,etc.
sounds like you may be considering soldering feeder wires to bus wires. I'm proficient at soldering but wouldn't want to be soldering wires underneath the bench.
Have you considered using suitcase connectors? they come in different sizes and the ones i've seen are for connecting a smaller to a larger gauge wire. You would choose the connectors based on the bus wire size, and the connector would determine the appropriate feeder wire size. There is an article in July 2011 MR on connectors
I number every wire. For blocks/districts/buss, they get a letter and a number; A-1+, A-1-, A-2+, B-1, B-2 etc.c Switches are numbered S-1N, S-1R, S-2N, S-2R, etc. I used 12 and 14 ga for the busses, telephone wire for the switches and 22 ga grey and white doorbell wire from Radio Shack for the feeders/drops. For accesories I used more telephone wire and labeled them 12v + and 12v -..I just use a folded over piece of masking tape and a Sharpie to make my labels. Everything is logged into a spreadsheet on my computer and I keep a print out in a handy note book. This makes it easy to make changes and print a fresh copy for the note book.
By numbering/labeling every wire you can forget about color coding.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
LION uses CABLES, mostly 25 pair cat-3
Cable 1
Cable 2
Cable 3, wire 26 = Tortoise Track A1 at Union Square
Cable 4, wire 17 = Block Occupancy indication Track A2 at Smith 9th Street
all written in the book.