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what is considered a "run"?

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rda
  • Member since
    February 2020
  • 7 posts
Posted by rda on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 3:54 PM

hang tight; i'll find an example of what i'm referring to.  thanks

 

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 11:24 AM

Maybe he's referring to something in electricians "speek" as to a "home run" where the wire from a circuit goes directly to the main panel.

Example:  A series of receptacles in a kitchen.  The wire that feeds the receptacles, from the main panel to the first receptacle box, is the home run.

So, in terms of wiring a layout, using a bus with feeders, and dividing the layout into seperate power/control blocks, the bus from each block going back to the main power supply, could be considered a home run.

I dunno, just a quess? 

Mike.

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 11:10 AM

Well, I'm certainly no DCC guy, nor do I use more than two wires from my power source to the entire layout.

However, I'd guess a "run" to be simply a length of bus wire (nothing to do with Greyhound) to a section of one's layout.  A "run" doesn't specify a distance, so it would likely be whatever length is needed for your particular track plan.

It's pretty simple, I think:  when you wire a house, you "run" wires to the various rooms, just as you run wires to the various parts of your layout.  In-turn, the "feeders" run power to the rails.  No need to over-complicate things here.

Wayne

  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: East Central Florida
  • 480 posts
Posted by Onewolf on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 10:40 AM

We need more context to answer your question.  Can you provide more details about what you are asking about?

Modeling an HO gauge freelance version of the Union Pacific Oregon Short Line and the Utah Railway around 1957 in a world where Pirates from the Great Salt Lake founded Ogden, UT.

- Photo album of layout construction -

rda
  • Member since
    February 2020
  • 7 posts
Posted by rda on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 9:56 AM

that's for the reply, but still don't understand what is meant by a "run". Is a run simple the entire track? is it turnout to turnout?

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Monday, February 3, 2020 5:42 PM

Welcome to the forum.  Your post are delayed while you are in moderation.  It keeps Borat and his sister out of the forum.

The more specific you can make your title (and this one is fine) and the more information you can give us, the better answers you will get.

rda
and it refers to putting feeders for each run.

Don't know anyone in the forum named 'IT' nor how they define a the length of a run. 

DCC, if that is what you are building, is more demanding than DC.  Rail joiners, especially after weathering, and painting and wear and tear can be unreliable conductors of electricity.  

I'm not sure where this rule of thumb came from, but a feeder every 6' and every piece of track having a solder connection to the next rail or a feeder.  As one of our gurus said recently, you can't have too many feeders but you can have too few.

Too few can make circuit breakers unreliable, lead to poor running on the layout.

Turnouts are another variable.  Some require insulated joiners.  That means the rail beyond the turnout needs a feeder.  It gets more complicated that that in that power in the turnout may depend on contact of the point to stock rails.  There are some that advocate 6 wires to every turnout.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

rda
  • Member since
    February 2020
  • 7 posts
what is considered a "run"?
Posted by rda on Monday, February 3, 2020 2:19 PM

looking for wiring info and it refers to putting feeders for each run. thanks

 

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