Simplify
Dear Richard,
In order of appearance:
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It appears to me that I would bring a pair of wires out from the booster
Yes
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to a terminal block
Or similar "1-IN / 3-OUT" situation, yes
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and then run a set of track bus wires to each of the EB-1s input side
Yes, although it should be clarified that "Track buss wires" is taken to mean wires of same-gauge/current-capacity as the existing "Track buss".
"Track Buss Wires" in this case does Not mean the Actual Existing Track Buss!
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and then from the output side (PK: Of each Sub-district EB-1) to the (PK: relevant) sub-district track (PK: buss).
Please re-read the sentence above INC the edits.
If I understand correctly, what you have at the moment is:
NOTE! Any Frog-juicers / turnout switching / Wye-reversers / turntable reversers etc etc
are and should-be located between the labelled horizontal Red/Blue "Track Buss" wires and the associated trackage.
IE the vertical thin-arrow "feeders" represent both "normal wire feeders"
and "anything traditionally wired between the Track Buss and the actual rails"
Compare the above with where you're aiming-for as shown below,
and you should notice that
- the previous "district track buss" is still in place,
- all of the existing track feeds (and associated turnout / wye / turntable / frog switchgear) is still in place,
It's just that the previously-continuous "District ?" Track buss has been strategically cut so as to be split into 3x shorter "sub districts", each fed by their own EB-1.
The point being, if your wye-system already works,
and whatever circuitry/switchgear you have feeding the wye is located between the existing District track-buss and the rails,
then it should continue working exactly the same way under the proposed "sub-district" configuration.
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Would you recommend that I:
Option 1 - put the EB-1s on a panel close to the booster
and then run the track feeders to the sub-districts.
Or
Option 2 - put the EB-1s closer to the sub-district section it controls
and then run the input wires from the booster to the input side of the EB-1s.
Either way would work from a electrical perspective,
as long as the wire used is the same gauge/size as the existing Booster --> Track Buss.
Leave the "smaller wire" purely for the final short Track Buss --> Rail feeder-connections.
As noted by Lavon, it may make logical sense to group all of the "power breaker" gear in a centralised place.
IE locate the EB-1s close to the boosters,
and run seperate heavy-wire connections from each EB-1 to it's respective "sub-district track buss".
However, the extra cable length between the actual layout and the EB-1s may affect their trip-current levels and behaviour. For reliable EB-1 operation, I would tend to want to locate the EB-1s at/near the centre of each sub-district track-buss run.
In practical terms, whether the EB-1(s) are closer to the booster(s),
or closer to the layout/Track-buss,
we're still talking 3x discrete large-wire direct cable-runs per district.
and that's a $$$ and physical-install cost you have to factor.
Personally, I would:
- Locate the existing District Booster --> District Track-buss heavy-wire feed
- Disconnect it from the existing District Track-buss
- Run a Heavy-wire "Booster-Buss" in parallel with the District Track-buss around the layout
- Connect the old "Booster Feed" to the New "Booster Buss.
- Split the existing "district length" track buss into 3x smaller "sub-district length" track busses
- Physically place the EB-1s so that each EB-1 is approx 1/2 way along it's related "Sub-District Track Buss"
(IE the EB-1s are at/on the layout, not at the centralised"Booster Power Desk")
- then connect the EB-1 between the new "Booster Buss" (EB-1 Input) and the newly-separated "Sub-district Track Buss" (EB-1 output)
I'm working on the basis that a single "District Booster Buss" run at the layout-end is going to be easier and cheaper (less linear wire required) than adding multiple parallel duplicated long-length Booster --> EB-1 direct wire feeds,
and with a "Booster Buss" available most anywhere,
adding new/additional "sub-districts" later becomes a doddle.
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what would be the recommended wire size to connect each new EB-1 to the relevant Booster and Sub-district Track-buss? When I wired the layout originally I put drops on EVERY piece of track no matter how long it was. I used 20 gage wire for the drops and 14 gage for the bus lines.
The EB-1s are above the Track buss in terms of signal path, and thus should be wired with "heavy/thick wire".
Keep the "light/thin wire" solely for Track-buss --> Rail feeders 
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Do I have to do anything special with the "Wye" that would be in a sub-district
No, you should not have to change any of the turnout / frog / wye / turntable "switchgear" wiring located between the current "district length" track buss and the actual rails.
As above, all you are doing is segmenting the existing "district length track buss" into 3x shorter "sub-district track busses".
Of course, you will need to keep things like wyes in mind when making the decision as to where to cut/split the existing district trackbuss. It would be advisable to avoid having a wye or similar straddle a sub-district <> sub-district gap.
I hope this helps...
Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr
