Well, after all these years, finally getting to wiring my layout (which is roughly 9x14, U shaped with a bridge over the open end (that hopefully someday I'll have set up as removable).
Either I have gotten old or it really was as tedious as it can be, even on a modest layout. I am wiring it for block control, but plan on adding dcs and legacy to it later when finances allows it. I have roughly 18 track blocks and 13 remote switches on it, to give an idea (and yeah, it is a lot of blocks, that are relatively short, but with 1 feeder per block I can make sure that track power won't have losses and allow for the dcs signal to be alone).
I of course promised myself to do it right this time, so I have a wiring diagram with the appropriate labels, I am labelling the full run of the power and switch cables to the panel every foot or 18" or so, trying to neatly hold it under the layout....and doing it right seems to take forever, it is like to run the wire from the track to the panel and the toggle switch, soldering the connection to the track, soldering the 2 ground wires in each block to the outside rails (after realizing soldering a block wire to the inside of the outer rails isn't smart.....), then connecting the ground wires to the ground bus via 2 3 way wago connectors, takes a lot of time, along with soldering to the toggle the wires from the A/D hot from my ZW via jones blocks for each. I figured it is taking me about an hour for each block or switch to be fully wired and labelled.
The wiring still looks like a a collection of yarn jumbled together in a drawer though, though still better than the old days.
One of the things that is annoying is when I run out of wire (which of course I never order enough!), it isn't easy to get what I need (I am running 16 gauge for the power to the blocks and the common negative buss and the 14v fixed for the switch machines, and 18 for the track feeders) is how hard it is to get it locally. What HD and Lowes have is limited, and hardware stores that used to carry wire don't. Auto parts stores at one time had decent wire for people patching harnesses, but that is a lost art...so basically you have to order from Amazon and hope it shows up quickly.
With Soldering, I am re-acquiring soldering skills I never had before. Gun Runner John saved me agony by pointing out it is smart to tin the wire, tin the rail and then connect them, and yes, it works well, even for me. Of course, using a weller gun ,another GRJ suggestion (which is a fantastic tool), I managed to destroy a couple of micro toggles I use on the panel by melting them, until I realized a)it was not a good idea to wire to the toggles when on the panel, to bench wire feeds to the three connectors and then do a wire to wire connection in the panel (that cost me 3 toggle switches to learn) and b)that with a weller gun, it heats up the things being soldered really quickly, it just takes a touch (see another several toggles,melted insulation, etc).
Then of course there is feeding the track feeders or the switch wires through my 4" of foam (another experiment) and the plywood, that is like trying to do the limbo when you have 'middle aged spread' like I do (hint, I have never and will never try the limbo.....).
By the end of wiring one run I swear I felt like I used to putting down mulch in the spring. Fortunately, working under the table is not as hard as it used to be, it is high enough I don't have to lie on a creeper to work under there, I can sit and work comfortably and don't have to reach much either (though I do have to be careful where I sit, the vicious psychopathic predator aka our supposed loving cat who leaves me chipmunk heads when displeased, might have shown his dismay at my wiring techniques under the table) . But I am shocked to find out when I finish the run that time when working accelerates, that what I thought was an hour suddenly is 3 (yet mysteriously time slows down, as in wanting the layout to be done).
Makes you wish Tesla had perfected over the air power.......
Seriously, it is good to make progress and the fault lies not in the stars but with the fact (to my father's consternation) that I am genetically predisposed from being an engineer or even an electronics tech. I also give due credit to the folks on here whose wiring is a work of art (and not the kind of art where a jumble of poorly done, color mismatched wiring can fetch you a lot of money at auction; maybe I should try and auction off my control panel or sell it to the Museum of Modern Art). Also grateful over the years to the people who have given very valuable suggestions that I promptly forgot when starting this project. In gratitude I promise not to publish pictures of my wiring, I don't want to contribute to people laughing themselves to death........
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In all seriousness, despite the above, I am grateful to people on this forum who despite my lack of skills, have made it where this project likely will work. Wago connectors have made my life easier, as have the many suggestions to label the wiring, advice on soldering and so forth that I desperately needed. Have like 11 switches to wire, and then I can test it all and see if it goes up in a blaze of glory or actually works
It's still 100 watts, so you want to be somewhat careful of things getting overheated. The Weller is really for brute soldering as it has no temperature control, so it's more like a blowtorch than a fine soldering instrument.
