Constructing layout as modules to provide better/easier access?

This is why I am designing (and will soon see if it works) and will be buidling the Pennsylvania & Allegheny layout in modules/sections, using shelf-mounting brackets.  On the workbench there will be a matching set of wall mounts so I can literally take each module an place it on the workbench at any height that is needed to do the wiring.  I am HOPING (though this may not work out at all :-\ ) this will mean no longer the need to climb underneath or over the layout to wire it.  Though there are some "permament" sections for the interim P&A so I will have to crawl and climb, but the majority of the layout will be in modules-sections. 

But I do agree with you, I HATE WIRING too! ESPECIALLY SOLDERING! I still can't seem to get the hang of it! :-<

Ken L.

Mystery Shorts

Several months ago, I reworked a portion on my layout, added some new power feeders and guess what? A mystery short - aargh! What had  worked reliably now didn't.   After disconnecting about twenty insulation displacement connectors (suitcase connectors if you prefer), I discovered that that one length of track was connected to the wrong block - hence the short.

Two lessons offered

 1.Test your track for power after every electrical connection made.  This does not stop me from making mistakes, it just allows me to catch and correct them sooner.

2. Use insulation displacement connectors to join your track feeds to your power buses and you'll never have to deal with dripping hot solder from overhead.

This is why

I keep building switching layouts - less wire.  Add to that my NCE Powercab requires minimal wiring to begin with, and I've come as close to nirvana on this as I can.

I'm building a switching layout, but don't expect less wire.

I guess it is my experience with participating in a modular club, but I don't consider the wiring complete unless every single piece of rail that is expected to be live has a power drop soldered to the rail and the buss.  I don't trust crimp connectors or suitcase connectors since my experience at work repairing transport refrigeration equipment before retirement resulted in fixing way too many electrical problems due to corrosion in the connections anywhere there was dissimiler metal joining together.

I think the biggest problem with soldering is the failure to have the right amount of heat, flux, and cleanliness of the solder joint.  I use a small soldering iron for installng decoders in locomotives if necessary, but I use a small soldering gun for soldering rail.  I cut the plastic connectors between the ties on flex track, slide the ties back 3-4 inches on each side of a solder joint, use wet paper towels across the rails to protect the ties, and tin both the rail and the drop wire.  I then heat the rail until the solder on the rail and drop wire melts together. 

If I'm going to put the rail in a curve, I will do the same thing, but follow up with a small file to clean any solder off of the bottom and web of the rail, so that the cast on spike detail of the flex track will slide past the solder joint without problems.   When I lay the track, I can drill a small hole in the roadbed just to the inside of the rail where the drop is located, and feed the wire to the buss.

Years ago, I bought a small can of Min-Wax dark teak stain, and a package of Campbell wood ties.  I stained all of the ties full strength and let the Min-Wax dry completely, and dumped the pre-stained wood ties in an empty Athearn blue box.  If any of the plastic ties melt, I remove them and install the track and then slide the wood ties under the rail to replace the damaged plastic ones.  After ballasting, and weathering the track, the wooden ties blend right in with the plastic ties.

It's a valid point, well

It's a valid point, well taken, and commonly expressed...

But I don't see how this article is very contrarian to conventional wisdom...now if you want to discuss using quick connector technology or other trace layout techniques tp put the underside togehter, I'm all ears...though there is nothing more perfect or inexpensive than simply soldering it all together!

Wiring

We've spent the last couple years upgrading, redoing and adding additional wiring on our club layout. We've put a ton of work into it, and the improvement in reliability is noticeable, but it looks like we've done nothing at all to the layout in a few years.

A couple weeks ago I spent 8 hours on a Saturday soldering feeders to bottoms of rails in one yard. I had previously drilled all the holes for the new feeders, and they still have yet to be connected under the layout yet.

This weekend, I spent another several hours soldering feeders in the engine facility tracks and attaching the feeders to the bus below the table, so at least that area is now 100% functional. There were a couple tracks that were completely dead thanks to disconnected wires and some rails not having feeders directly attached.

Another guy has spent a lot of hours upgrading the wiring in our biggest set of helixes. On the plus side, once it's done, reliability will be better, the layout will be better sectioned off and a couple of new boosters have been installed to spread out the power distribution a bit better. Each booster handles a separate power district, and each power district is subdivided into sections that have further circuit protectors and pieces can be turned on and off with toggle switches for maintenance and/or trouble shooting while not affecting any other part of the layout. (As opposed to previous situations where a short anywhere shut everything down).

The main tracks have also been blocked out properly for the signal system which should now go in fairly easily to the completed sections once the physical signals are actually built.

Every rail should have a feeder, and wiring the feeder busses below the layout with IDCs does greatly simplify and speed up the process, making wiring easier and with less burning.

Wiring Lessons Learned

1.  Don't use liquid flux (I used some from hardware store) when soldering wires to Tortoise switch machines - it can wick up inside and cause a short.  (Disassembled over 40 to clean after that mistake).

2.  Check each switch as installed instead of assuming all will be well.  I've learned from bad experience to even check each PC tie when assembling my own switches - often there can be a burr on the side when the tie was made that does not come off when filing insulating gaps.

3.  Wood ties will conduct enough current if they have had any kind of moisture (flux, water) and give a short reading on a multimeter.  Clean rail prior to putting on wooden ties.

4.  SuperSafe Gel Flux from H&N Electronics allows you to solder feeders to weathered Micro-Engineering rail without having to clean off weathering.

5.  A resistence soldering unit is invaluable in soldering feeds to larger buss (which I had trouble getting hot enought with soldering gun).  Using large carbon electrodes, it heats instantly.  Space in #12 buss is made using a Radio Shack lever-type wire stripper that moves insulation aside in the middle of the wire.

5.  I build the layout at 51 inches.  I'm able to use an office chair with a reclining back and wheels to easily move about under the layout while soldering.

I HATE WIRING TOO!  It takes longer than laying track (feeder to each length of rail, switch machines).  I've installed 380 feeders (I actually kept count) in one large yard with 46 switches.  Just finshed trackwork in the other end with another 16 switches to be wired (and 5 more towns).  Mistakes one and two caused over a month delay as feeders were cut, calls to Circuitron, and friends with electronics backgrounds came over and continued to be mystified by the readings we were getting.  I hope the suggestion of checking every step of the way helps others from making the mistakes I made.  Learning can be painful.

Gary Ray

Modeling SP Gerber Sub in 1926

Find short circuits as you go!

The easiest way to find these types of short is to get them to expose themselves as you go!

If you wire up a loud buzzer directly to a battery (assuming layout power is off) and connect via clips to a section of track out of your immediate way. Test by shorting the rails out somewhere nearby.

Now when you put a wire (or screwdriver etc.) in the wrong place, you will get an immediate warning. It will probably be the last thing you did!

Just don't be tempted to use the continuity tester of a multimeter. This will give you a false sense of security. Why? Because most shut themselves off after 5 - 10 minutes and so won't detect your short. Been there done that.

Not a 100% solution depending on gap locations, but better than waiting until the end of a long soldering session.

Make sure you disconnect before reapplying power.

Kevin