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Bus Wiring and Drop Feeder Wires
Graham plans for N scale and asks:
“What gauge/size of wire is recommended? My layout will be 8′ x 3′ when complete and I will be powering my track from a DigiTrax controller if that helps.”
You can add your own comments and suggestions (or read the the comments posted by others) below.
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
14 G for long runs, 16 G for shorter. 14 G would probably be best overall.
Yes, I would echo what James says and use 14 gauge for the bus. For the droppers, 22 gauge should be sufficient, as long as the droppers are not more than 16 inches long. Ideally, your main power source would be in the middle of the bus, so you get two (or four) shorter bus runs as opposed to one long one. Depending on how you plan to attach the feeder wires to the track, personally I found solid wire easier to solder.
I go along with Geoff’s suggestion. Also do not create a ring of your buss lines. Some would say to twist them as you go along to reduce electrical interference, but your layout is not that big, so your choice here.
I would attempt to put the DCC power decoder in the middle of this bus and leave it open ended.
But again, not critical with your layout. The recommended wire gages are fine.