Simple wiring question

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hello all.

Right now I’m reading up on how to properly wire a model layout and I have run into a quesition. It is a simple question, but the articles that I’m reading isn’t fully explaining it. What exactly are “terminal strips” for? They explain that they can simiplify wiring, but I still don’t fully understand.

Thanks for your time,

LilBeckett88

2

Terminal strips allow you to connect say one power connection to many others. It is basically a strip of screws that are connected to the exact opposite screw by a metal plate. If you connect 4 of them on the left side with metal “jumper” you then get one “in” and 4 outs with the same polarity as the “in”. I hope this helps…

Brian

3

Terminal strip:

4

Hard to expain without looking at one. Go to your nearest Radio Shack or log onto their site and look of “barrier strips.” Lots of electronics stores sell them, too.

They are great for keeping your layout wiring neat and orderly, for revising wiring without having to break splices or undo any soldering and for detecting short circuits.

I use them at every feed point along the layout, running larger gauge wire to one side and smaller feeders off the other side up through the trackbed to the rails. I also put them at the end of each module with jumpers to the next. That way, if I ever move the layout or want to expand it or whatever, I can disconnect and reconnect the wiring in a matter of a few minutes.

John Timm

5

Okay. Thanks to everyone that has replied to my question. I think I have some understanding of it now. What I was “confused” about, I guess, was how you powered the terminal strip.

So please humor me alittle more if you will. Say that I’m wiring my layout that has 5 feeders. So I would need two terminal strips (One for + and one for - ) to wire up to my power supply.

Again, thanks for helping / explaining this to me. This is really the only thing that I’m confused about. I guess the best way to fully understand is just to try and see what happens? (Preceeding with caution)

Thanks,

Lilbeckett88

6

You could use a 10 terminal strip… 5 to positive, 5 to negative… just make sure you label them or use the correct colored wire :slight_smile:

Brian