Need electrical suggestions help ASAP for new train room

Certainly will be more than enough outlets for this room.  Consider making some outlets switched,  so you can insure all transformers and other acessories are off when you leave after running trains, and also acts as an emergency off switch in unlikely chance some electrical catches fire.

Flouescent lamps give of UV rays which can fade paints on layout and trains unless lamps have UV filters over them.  Incandescents generate heat which is bad in summer, good in winter.  Also consider lamp locations for ease of bulb changes so not tramping on layout.  Consider the lamp beam spread in deciding where to place lamps and how many.  Track lights are best as you can slide lamps and aim them, but insure wiring is heavy enough to carry all lamps on a track.

Best of luck.

You should have the electrician use the same phase of the 220V feed for all your wall outlets so that you will not have phasing/polarity problems with your transformers.  Use the other leg of the 220V for your lights.

I love this forum! A wealth of outstanding advice within minutes. These are great suggestions that i will discuss with the electrician. 

Thank you for taking the time to offer your feedback and suggestions!

DenverO

Wow, what a great space for trains. Regardless of what the space is used for (you may decide in the future to use it for something else) you need to follow the NEC rules, in this case, section 210.52(A)(1)  "Spacing of Receptacles."

"Receptacles shall be installed such that no point measured horizontally along
the floor line in any wall space is more than 6 ft. from a receptacle outlet."

Every wall 2ft wide or wider needs a receptacle, too.

These rules assume normal residential use. So, if you want to future-proof the space, I would have the electrician do what Dale suggests, and have a few extra outlets put in, all on the same phase, and controlled by a switch.

As an electrician who specializes in low-voltage wiring systems, I would also recommend that you put in a few telephone/data/TV combination outlets, at least one on every wall. The Cat5e wires and RG6 coax cables get installed as "home runs" back to a central closet or cabinet. The cost to install them now will far outweigh the cost in the future when the only way to retrofit the room is by "breaking and snaking."

From another electrician and from the South Denver Metro area, this website article may be helpful.

Toy Train Layout Wiring - 120V Run Room

Note "splitting the receptacle circuits on each side of your control panel area".  I use 75 watt incandescent floods in my cans. Since I located cans in relation to my track layout and display shelving, I didn't need any tilt sockets.  I started with dimmers and took them out since I never dimmed the lighting.  Then again, "I don't do scenery, I just run trains".

Note the smoke detector information also.

Your welcome to contact me off line (email in profile) and I can give you my phone number for emergency queries.

Suggest one simple enhancement.  For switched outlets, install a switch with "pilot light.  When the red indicator light is on then there is power going to the outlet and possibly the layout.  When you leave the room and turned off all the lights, just check to ensure that the pilot light is off.  

IMHO, all cans (recessed ceiling lights) are not created equal.

For one remodel, I went against my better judgement, and used the inexpensive cans my contractor recommended.  I have never been too happy with the quality of light they provide.

For the last job, I went back to the better ones I had used long and with much better results.

I can look up the model if anybody is interested.

One nice feature on the preferred cans is that they are designed to work with a variety of bulbs. I like to use R30 30 watt bulbs.

If you have moisture in the basement area ask about a GFI outlet.

This might be a little more expensive($4.00 extra a switch, electrician may charge more to install) but worth it in the long run, if you have lightning storms in the area install a double pole switch for your layout electric outlets.

I pull the plugs on my transformer set-up because of power surges here in south Florida.

Having enuff electric outlets can be a hassle, see what it will cost to add extra outlets or have a quad set-up, two duplex receptacle side by side, and an extra 15 amp circuit.

Lee F.

Oh now thats too easy an idea.  Better to just let those expensive transformers, DCS and TMCC sysstems run all night, right?  :-P

You have great input above. Some additional comments from my experience. If you add a GCFI you only need one per circuit, since all the remaining outlets are fed from the first. You should make it clear to the contractor that all work must meet code and be able to pass local code inspection. I also recommend you use MR16 LED bulbs in a pivot and rotating flush fixture. I replaced all my 75W can fixtures with LED's and it is a great improvement. You will need to place the LED fixtures about 25% closer than incandescent fixtures. 

Tom

The GIF will only feed the other outlets if all are on the same circuit breaker.  However, it's probably not desirable to have all the outlets in the room from one circuit breaker.

Truthfully, I favor the GFI breakers anyway, they're easy to install in the panel, and you can wire the room conventionally.  They're no more expensive than the outlet GFI, but a lot easier to live with IMO.

If you have to give those instructions to the electrical contractor, you should be looking for a new electrical contractor!!!

Good point on the GCFI breaker. I have used them when the breaker panel is in the same area as the outlets. If it is remote it can be inconvenient to reset when it trips. 

Generally if both switched and unswitched outlets are desired the top outlet in the duplex outlet is switched and the bottom is unswitched. Also note there are other code sections that limit how many outlets or fixtures can be connected to a circuit.

If one actually pulls a permit be aware that inspectors in some local jurisdictions are now requiring circuit cards. If so make sure the contractor completes them because the licensed contractor must sign them or they are not valid. 

Tom

Well, you're not supposed to be tripping the GFI breaker all the time!   If it's tripping a lot, you have a serious issue.  Also, ground current will doubtless play havoc with the Legacy or DCS systems!

pennsyk4- what is the brightness rating of the MR16 LED?

I find most LED's are in 2700 range me I prefer the 4500 and up.

denverO- all good advice for the interim I would get a can light that can swivel if possible a full 360 also get a few LED bulbs and rig them up to experiment with what you like dislike easier for electrician to mount once and all are happy with final result.

$oo

I am using dimmable  MR16 LED's rated 3000 degrees and 92% color rendition index. The CRI is important, if it is in the low to mid 80% the lighting will not look right. I do not recall seeing these above 4000 degrees as of yet. Another alternative is a screw in LED direct replacement for a PAR38 size flood light. These are available in higher color temps and up to 120W equivalent rating, but are not dimmable. There are now a number of LED retrofit kits available for the standard ceiling can fixtures that replace the entire trim kit and use a dimmable GU10 bulb, they are a 75W equivalent rating. I have eight of these, they work well but are about 2700 degrees color temp. 

Tom

I like the idea of LED lighting, but I have yet to find one that puts out a descent amount of lumens. I would be using these in my track lights which I enjoy being able to rotate and tilt.  It gives a nice effect and also allows me to aim the lighting toward an area that I'm working on. Of course, I would be looking for floods.

I think that there are a lot of good ideas above.  Something to think about is if you're going to have a work bench is to install outlets at table top height.

My train room outlets and lights are on two separate circuit breakers to allow more wattage. 

Alan

I have 2 rows of light switches. The upper row is for lights and power above the top of the layout and the bottom row is for power below the layout. 

I have lights under the layout to help with wiring and for finding things in storage.

Another must-have, permanent lighting under the layout!

On the LED lights, the screw in PAR38 replacements are available up to 120W equivalent. The standard indoor flood is 65/75W. 

If MR16 fixtures are used one can always start with 40W halogens and replace them with LED's when you find a bulb you like. I did that in a new townhouse. New ones are hitting the market continually at lower prices. The recent improvements have seen much wider beam angles, the older ones look like spotlights. I put the fixtures in at one half the spacing distance one would use with incandescents to get even light coverage then dim them to get the illumination level I want. Great light quality with almost no heat. 

Good luck finding anyone at a big box store that is knowledgable of LED lighting. They do have some great lights but the sales people are not trained. 

Tom

Charlie,

Approximately how far apart are your LED can lights center to center? I wanted to compare that to what the contractor recommends and see where it stands.

This is a killer thread with invaluable information, especially all of the details about meeting code, etc. I am working with a general contractor who has used the same subs for many years and he has completed over 240 basements in our housing development. I will be sure to double check all of these codes are followed when it goes to inspection.

So, if I have read everything well enough LED is the way to go, right? I can have then instal the standard can next week then shop for a LED fit kit since that would be installed in a couple of weeks from now.

Best Regards,

Denver0