bus wire

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hello, When running a bus wire, do you follow the track plan or just run the two wires down the center and connect from both sides, (when the track plan is a glorified dog bone) Thanks

2

Of course, if your feeder wires from the bus to the rails are small (in AWG), you might need to worry about voltage drop if they’re very long.

3

Hello “pacificnorthern,”

There’s no need for bus wires to follow a track plan exactly, and you can run the busses “down the center” as you described. Just make sure that you connect the appropriate rail to the appropriate bus in each instance.

Good luck,

Andy

Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

4

Thanks Andy

5

andy is correct,but it will be easier for you to keep your polarity correct if you follow the track plan. i have found it much easier to wire if the wires are close to the track. good luck!

6

You could use light gauge, easily-hidden wires to go down through the benchwork and attach them to a 2-terminal solder lug terminal strip right where they come through the benchwork then run heavier gauge wires from the terminal strip to the bus wires.
…Bob

7

Keep the small diameter wires short. Think about using a Sharpie to mark the underside where the wires appear. It helps you if you have to modify or tyroub;le shoot later. If you use terminals, think about adding an identity at the poles. It will remove the future mystery you are creating.
Lindsay