i did all the last of my bechwork to day. and cut all the foam cut and in place. just have to glue it down doing that monday. tha layout is 6x12 its call the fox Meadow Railway. now the fun part laying the track.one thing i like doing. i will try to put some photos up. thank you all for the help so far. have a good night.
drill the holes for the wiring to pass through before you fasten the foam down. much easier when done from above.
charlie
Congratulations, soon you will have trains running, but still a long way to go.
Frank
yes i know that i still have a lot to do.
thank you for the tip, i appreciate that thankyou
Yes, Charlie’s suggestion is a good one. I’d go even further, having tried it both ways. Drill the holes, and then run the bus wires. Decide on a color code for your wiring and stick with it. Also, think about wiring for structures and streetlights. I have a track bus, but also a separate bus for structures and another for streetlights. (I use Walthers cornerstone streetlights, which are kind of pricey, and the bulbs are NOT replaceable. So, I have the option of not turning them on.)
Years ago I clipped out an exceptionally interesting article – now I can’t recall if it was in RMC or the NMRA magazine or one of the now-gone magazines – on the subject of wiring and remembering/recording what you did. At the time my layout was still in the dream stage but I clipped the article for future reference.
I am relying on my memory here - I wish I could give the author full credit and if I find the article I will amend this post* – but his basic idea was before starting to wire the layout, to draw a large scale version of your layout track plan showing both rails for each piece of track. He then used a series of symbols and abbreviations he created to identify each kind of wire and where it went and what it was for. I think he may have used color pencils and perhaps with the intent of using similar color wire. He also noted what size of wire was used for every application
He also marked each wire with the same symbolic method.
Thus for DC block control, or DCC power districts, switch motors/switch machines, lighting, signals, control panels, electric magnet uncoupling, whatever, you worked it out beforehand and on paper. He also used his very simple system to create a check list so that as you actually did each piece of wiring, and tested it, you would check it off on the list.
Many guys don’t keep any kind of record of their wiring and thus a short or a busted wire and the like can be a near nightmare. And even the most cautious and precise guys at most often try to create this kind of documentation after the fact. This guy’s theory, and I for one think he is likely correct, is that human nature takes over and the documentation is never enough - the temptation to rely on memory is always there. So his approach is to do the drawing and the thinking before hand – while the soldering iron is
THANK YOU Dave Thats the best advisethat is good to know. im going to try to do this i have the trackplane on paper so why not the wires plane. thankyou for your help ,