Layout wiring help and advice

Use 14 or 16 gauge stranded copper wire to make your connections. If you can get paired wire that differentiates (usually color or striping) between pos and negative, it will be easier. Strip each end of the first paired wire which has been cut to length for your first connection from the distribution board to the track. Crimp a spade connector to each wire end and connect them to the #1 posts of your distribution board using a Phillips screwdriver, and note which colored or striped wire is connected to the pos and neg posts on your distribution board.

Run the wire to the first place you want to connect to the track. Since you are using Fastrack, purchase these .110 female connectors off Amazon. Strip the wire ends of your paired wire that will connect to the track and crimp one of the female .110 connectors to each wire end. Now flip a piece of standard Fastrack over (not a switch or fitter piece) and there should be two metal tabs in the middle - one for pos to the center rail and one for common to the outside rails. Slide the respective female connectors over the tabs being sure to observe correct polarity and you're done. Now repeat the same procedure for 11 more connections from the distribution board to your loops (6 connections each loop), spacing the connections out on the trackage as equally as you can.

Now connect your transformer to the input terminals of the distribution board, again observing correct polarity.

For a neater look, you can drill holes in your layout table top under each piece of track you intend to use for a connection and run the wires from the distribution board up through the table top and then to each track connection.

Hope this helps.

I think I’ll stick with the black and red, just to keep thing simple, red for positive or hot and black for common. Keeps things simple. Another question, can the transformer connections be 14 or 16 gauge wire? They say that electricity flows like waters, the bigger the tube or pipe, the more water flows through. Kind of the same thing for electricity and wires.

@TheRoyalHudson988 posted:

Hello, I have been dealing with a voltage drop issue for a few months now and I finally got some time to work on it. My layout consists of two loops of fastrack. The bigger loop has O-48 curves and the smaller loop has O-36. The loops are connected with command switches both left and right hand. (These are also in O-36) My layout is powered by a single connection to the track via a CW-80 transformer. I also have the original command base to run command equipped locomotives. I have been doing research on this issue I’ve been having on the forums and in articles.I tried tightening pins, that didn’t work. Soldering jumpers had a temporary fix but didn’t last overtime. So I finally got a MTH 12 port distribution board and need help with connections. My question is, can I run bigger wires on the distribution board to supply more power? How would I make the connections? Sorry for the long paragraph, this is my very first layout. Although I’ve been running trains on the floor for years, this is new to me.

What you are really asking is about is resistance. The amount of amount of voltage drop over a given wire versus distance and load. Here is a simple way to find out:https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/voltage-drop.

@ThatGuy posted:

What you are really asking is about is resistance. The amount of amount of voltage drop over a given wire versus distance and load. Here is a simple way to find out:https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/voltage-drop.

I’ll use this after the wiring, but my layout 100 percent needs to be wired. If the fastrack doesn’t work after that, I’ll have to switch brands unfortunately. But let’s hope I don’t have to do that.

@TheRoyalHudson988 posted:

I’ll use this after the wiring, but my layout 100 percent needs to be wired. If the fastrack doesn’t work after that, I’ll have to switch brands unfortunately. But let’s hope I don’t have to do that.

Also for the main feeder I use 14g speaker wire. Two colors copper and can be purchased on Amazon at a good price.

@TheRoyalHudson988 posted:

I think I’ll stick with the black and red, just to keep thing simple, red for positive or hot and black for common. Keeps things simple. Another question, can the transformer connections be 14 or 16 gauge wire? They say that electricity flows like waters, the bigger the tube or pipe, the more water flows through. Kind of the same thing for electricity and wires.

My personal preference is 14 gauge from transformer to distribution board and 16 gauge from distribution board to the underside of the Fastrack.

Attached is a picture of how the connections to the underside of the Fastrack pieces should look.

Good advice to date. Apparently you are wiring your layout with Lionel technology.  So the paths of the power wires that connect to the FastTack pieces doesn't matter much; just install wires along the shortest distance(s).

You may know that MTH recommends using a "star" wiring pattern with all wiring of feeder paths cut to the same length. In your case, you can ignore that point.

Carry on ...

Mike Mottler     LCCA 12394

@Mike H Mottler posted:

Good advice to date. Apparently you are wiring your layout with Lionel technology.  So the paths of the power wires that connect to the FastTack pieces doesn't matter much; just install wires along the shortest distance(s).

You may know that MTH recommends using a "star" wiring pattern with all wiring of feeder paths cut to the same length. In your case, you can ignore that point.

Carry on ...

Mike Mottler     LCCA 12394

Although I’m using Lionel Technology, can I still use the star wiring method? I’ve seen a video on that about a week ago. It looks a lot simpler than the bus. Plus it’s fastrack so I pretty much don’t have to solder due to the connectors you can use.

@Richie C. posted:

My personal preference is 14 gauge from transformer to distribution board and 16 gauge from distribution board to the underside of the Fastrack.

Attached is a picture of how the connections to the underside of the Fastrack pieces should look.

Send like a lot of wires, how much wire would I have to buy in order to complete this? Maybe 100 feet or more, I’m not sure. I’ll try to keep you guys updated as I begin this process.

@TheRoyalHudson988 posted:

Send like a lot of wires, how much wire would I have to buy in order to complete this? Maybe 100 feet or more, I’m not sure. I’ll try to keep you guys updated as I begin this process.

I meant to say “sounds”, there not send.