What gauge of braided wire and insulation type do you recommend for use when connecting center-rail pick-up rollers with passenger car lighting? Also, what is a good place to purchase such wire?
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You want this super flexible wire: WIREPLEX SW24B-100 Superflex Single Conductor Lionel Flyer American 24AWG
The "why" is that this wire has 41 strands of copper wire.
"Normal" PVC-insulated wire sold to the hobby industry is more commonly 20 AWG (this for Atlas- "Layout Wire"), is thicker), and - not as flexible.
Even (standard) 24 AWG wire is usually just 11 strands!! (found on Amazon). That is fine for layout hookup or even internal wiring in the engine- just not for the collectors/ rollers.
More strands means more resistance to breakage (one strand at a time) under flexing conditions.
BUT - even more importantly- you need flexibility when hooking up collectors/ rollers- they need to move easily to contact better with the center rail. You would be amazed to look at a slo-mo of the movement of the rollers over track.
Randy....just go to any hardware store that sells outdoor low voltage wire. It is not only relatively inexpensive but is stranded and is available in a large enough gauge for layout needs.
I would never use outdoor low voltage wire on center rail pickups. Stick with WirePlex.
@Brad_Marples posted:I would never use outdoor low voltage wire on center rail pickups. Stick with WirePlex.
Correct, standard stranded wire is really not suitable for pickups, so called super-flex wire is what you need.
