Wiring My Roundhouse Tracks
Working my way around the layout.
I have mounted my incomplete roundhouse on a thin metal base plate for several reasons..
One of the primary reasons was so I could extract it at some later dates to finish it out ,...and to add additional details down the road. For that reason it needed its own permanent base with the internal tracks already installed,...so the whole structure including its tracks could be withdrawn and replaced, at will, in one chunk.
Naturally I need to power those tracks within the round house, but I don't want to do it with individual feeders to each of those tracks,..too many connections/disconnections to make each time. So I'm thinking of ways to wire those tracks together such that I only end up with 2 wires actually going thru to the bottom side of the deck. I'm thinking I can run each polarity wire across the expanse of the five tracks, just under the rails and between the ties, then down thru a single hole in the plywood deck. My solid core, 22 gauge wire will fit just fine. That size wire should be just fine for powering those very short roundhouse tracks.
Does anyone see any problems with that 'series' hook up of feeders wires? Or does anyone have an alternative suggestion(s)??
I also believe I will connect one side of the feeder pair to a toggle switch such that I can turn the whole set of tracks off except when I want to move a loco.
(don't need all those locos just sitting their idling when not in use.) I'm thinking of doing the same toggle cutoff for those outdoor storage tracks as well.
Working my way around the layout.
I have mounted my incomplete roundhouse on a thin metal base plate for several reasons..
One of the primary reasons was so I could extract it at some later dates to finish it out ,...and to add additional details down the road. For that reason it needed its own permanent base with the internal tracks already installed,...so the whole structure including its tracks could be withdrawn and replaced, at will, in one chunk.
Naturally I need to power those tracks within the round house, but I don't want to do it with individual feeders to each of those tracks,..too many connections/disconnections to make each time. So I'm thinking of ways to wire those tracks together such that I only end up with 2 wires actually going thru to the bottom side of the deck. I'm thinking I can run each polarity wire across the expanse of the five tracks, just under the rails and between the ties, then down thru a single hole in the plywood deck. My solid core, 22 gauge wire will fit just fine. That size wire should be just fine for powering those very short roundhouse tracks.
Does anyone see any problems with that 'series' hook up of feeders wires? Or does anyone have an alternative suggestion(s)??
I also believe I will connect one side of the feeder pair to a toggle switch such that I can turn the whole set of tracks off except when I want to move a loco.
(don't need all those locos just sitting their idling when not in use.) I'm thinking of doing the same toggle cutoff for those outdoor storage tracks as well.