hi to all and I hope that someone can help me, i am starting up my n scale layout and i am worried that no that is wrong, I know that my elect knowledge is subpar. That being said can anyone direct me to a book that is in “laymen” terms and easy to follow and without frying my brain. Thanks for any help that you may prvide.
I don’t have any particular book in mind, but any of the “Layout wiring for beginners” type books that Kalmbach sells should fit your need.
Another thing that helps is drawing good diagrams before you start wiring, and then follow them. You probably understand what has to be done. One wire to the right hand rail, and the other wire to the left hand rail. And just make sure they never get tied to each other. In MRR terms, they call one rail the NORTH rail and the other rail the SOUTH rail. Usually the South rail is the one closest to you, and the North rail is the one away from you.
________________________North rail
________________________South rail
So as you can see, if the track went around in a circle, the north and south rails would be reversed on the other side of the circle. You just need to keep it straight.
As for wiring switches and accessories, these wires should not be connected to the track wires because they are considered separate systems. You could even make a separate wiring diagram of them.
Always start simple. Then you can add to it. It also helps to test things as you go along. If something does happen while you are wiring things up and your train no longer runs, you will have a better idea of when it happened so you can gp back and un-do it.
It depends if you are planning to use DC or DCC control.
If it’s DC then Basic Wiring for Model Railroaders should do the trick to start.
If it’s DCC then The DCC Guide may be the better way to go.