Quality of wiring

[r.cprmier]

I had to go out to Poughkeepsie, NY today to take care of a problem at one of my larger customers' facilities.

When I opened the trough in the ceiling (Wiring enclosure), I was greeted by not only a rats nest, but about eight wirenuts immediately popped off of the connections, leaving a bunch of wires rated at 208/120 volts, flapping around in the breeze.  It took me a while to ring out the conductors and rewire
them to their respective circuit components, but it was accomplished.

On my way back to Connecticut, I reflected upon that incident, and started to think about layout wiring.

Next to trackwork, the most important aaspect of a layout project is proper and adequate wiring.  I had mentioned on another thread the importance of going the extra mile with trackwork, but it is absolutely essential that forethought, adequate knowledge, and a system of standard be employed in this endeavour.  And if you are old(er) like me, your knees will ultimately thank you, as squatting under benchwork can be tough.

RIch 

[Steve Magee]

Also, a little thought about wiring is a good thing too.

Firstly, wire - in the overall scheme of things - is cheap. Normally for the price of a locomotive, you can purchase enough wire to cable the whole layout, even if you only use basic colour coding - say a maximum of six colours.

Secondly, nobody, and least of all me, likes getting under layouts to wire. It is not my definition of fun. Then again, maybe if you have masochistic tendencies ... But I have become a staunch adherent of Front Wiring - where all the cab and power busses,  along woth power for the switch machines, runs behind a removeable fascia at the front of the layout. All trackfeeds, switch machine leads etc etc have long enough leads to reach into the fascia, and plenty of terminal blocks are installed therein where necessary. All connections are made by the layout owner (or worker) standing up, at the front of the layout. Plenty of light, plenty of room, and no hot solder dropping onto your skin while hanging upside down ... Thoroughly recommended.

Steve

[FFJOHNL312]

Rich:
AMEN! Taking the time to wire properly up front allows us to enjoy many years of trouble free layout operation.
John