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New To Model Trains, Disabled, And Keen For Someone To Help Him Get Started In The Hobby

Mark is new to model railroading and is asking for help from anyone in the hobby who is prepared to give his some guidance. Mark asks:

“I am new to model trains, my track runs dcc I think it is called. What is the best way to connect the wire to the track, also what type of wire should I be using. I am disabled so putting the wire underneath the track would be extremely difficult. I thought of soldering the wire, as I have a small soldering iron, and I could do that. I just dont know how far apart the feeder wires should be and the types of wire for all the track. Thank you to anyone who can help me.”

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2 Responses to New To Model Trains, Disabled, And Keen For Someone To Help Him Get Started In The Hobby

  • Tony P says:

    Hi Mark, I hope you looked at the earlier blogs still on this front page. The guy that put his layout on hinges so he could lift it up to work on the wireing. Pretty good idea. The best way to connect wire to any thing is to solder it. Depending on the total length of the section of track you are energizing you may need 1, 2, 3, or more main feeder wires to the track. Im sure DCC is the same as DC, on DC I use a little thicker wire than recomended on my feeder lines, this way they do not overheat. For more details you may want to purchase Roberts e book, or a model RR magazine that explains this. Of course the best place to have your wire is under the layout out of the way and it looks more realistic, especially if you are going to leave it up and running, or thinking about it you could make trenchs along the tracks and bury the wire with fake ground cover or ballast or what ever so if you need to get to the wire later you can just remove the ground cover, or you could place the wire under small mounds or just use your imagination. I dont know what your situation is but I actually use an auto mechanics creeper to lay on and sit up on to get under my layout, they also have seats on rollers that are close to the ground that might help you. As a retired mechanic I use both, which ever is most comfortable for the job I am doing. They have nice padded ones for a few extra bucks and creepers where the back rest actually lifts up so you will be more comfortable. Keep us posted as to how you handle your new adventure. Tony P

  • Herb Sr says:

    Mark, Dealing with DCC you need to solder your bus wires to the track, for sure, or to the track joiners before you install them, I have a large layout, I used the telephone gauge wire, about 24 gauge, ran jumpers about every five to six feet…Pleanty of power, no heat problems with the wires..This is a Digitrax system, works great…The bus is 12 gauge wire. Herb Sr

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