I've been wanting you to explain all this on your layout for awhile now :) thank you watching your videos made me get my old lima set down for my 6 year old and now have mountains and town scenery thanks to you. Keep up the good work.
Another well presented & informative video from yours truly. Cheers mate, on DC at the moment but hopefully will swap over as the layout develops. keep the videos coming, really helpful as always. Cheers Ian
Great informational video. Your lighted coaches look fantastic. That is quite the monster power supply. I don't think your signals will be choking for power anytime soon.
Thanks for taking the time to go through this. It has really consolidated my knowledge. I am about to start constructing my baseboards but also considering wiring details etc. as well.
Excellent video mate very well explained,I've not got round to wiring up my dcc system Ecos esu yet but will do in the autumn and just refer back to your videos for help. Cheers Kev
AHH an A level in electronics,wish I had one of those!! did city and guilds in electrics,but the best thing to do is just try stuff out.Great vid and the layout looks amazing, the lighting in the coaches is very good not to bright or to dim.
My grandpa had a DC layout about the size of yours so I get what you mean when you say DCC makes it simpler when it gets big! It'll take for ever to take apart!
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out or ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside. It's fine for a small layout, but you might want to use something smaller.
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out or ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside.
fantastic video Richard, I'm just about to wire mine up now, done the droppers but not added the buzz wire, but loads of help and advice from this, don't suppose you could explain how you program your locos, I know you can set them for acceleration and braking etc etc etc, but any advice would be appreciated cheers andy
I can a bit found out using Rong volt iron. If use insulfrog point i would wire each track of it to the bus. Is the bus better out or wire or copper tape what size wire do u use(the thick wire) is that needed or is the thick Peco/gaugemaster ok to use. Dose the splice some within instructions or are they oblivious how to use.
I am using n gauge and want to use copper tape as cant solder but see ur slice and the bus is huge wire wood it be needed in n . If wire all 3 set of the point to a separate bus would i need seep motor. In n if using elite and pos railmaster with about 5 loco at once wood can i use dcc points
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out of ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside.
I've recently begun to get back into model trains after many years. 40-plus to be more accurate. I used to have a small, well landscaped DC setup when I was young. Wiring and operation were very simple. Approaching retirement, I now have the time (and resources) to go hog-wild. Being new to DCC, and not having begun construction of my layout yet (it's still in the conceptual and planning stages), I've spent many hours reading and studying the changes in the hobby to make sure I avoid as many catastrophes and costly errors as possible. I've watched hundreds of "how-to" videos on TH-cam but I have to say, yours are far and above the most informative and helpful I've found. Please keep making them! I have one question though; have you given thought to wiring your signals into your point motors for automatic signalling? I'll be running a moderate sized passenger station as well as a couple of large freight yards and signalling is a significant part of my planned layout. I was wondering the what the best ways to might be to accomplish automatic signalling. Great work. Thanks again!
hercdriver08 Thanks for the comment. I'll be looking into wiring some signals to points but only the ones with directional indicators. The few signals I do have are currently wired to work automatically on a time basis and use the trains to trigger them. I have another howto in the making about how they work which I'll try to get finished before christmas.
Great to see the old layout and uninsulated loft. On the subject of the DCC bus wiring you were careful to point out that it wasn't a ring circuit, but wouldn't a ring give potentially lower impedance for trains further away from the controller wiring?
Im not to sure who makes the flying scotsman and i brought it of an exhibition stall around a year and a half ago. And also it was second hand when i got it and not sure how old it was before i got it. It is the front wheel of the engine carrage , i dont know what its called ( it is the part that has the coal bit on it and has the engine in it and its at the back of the 2 parts it comes with ie. the front which is the long part which has the pick ups and the back part with the engine in it) ??
Hi,I picked up on your video that you do not 'loop' your bus wire back but leave the ends capped off, is there any reason for that? I am just about to re-wire my 8x4 and was advised by CM3 Models where I got the wire from to loop it back to the DCC control power system. Andy
The 3 way way point is more complex, you have to treat it as two sets of points on the same piece of track. It's been over 3 years since I wired mine up and to be honest I can't remember how I did it.
Was there any particular reason that you went with Lenz over Digitrax at the time? I'm looking into the Digitrax systems, and I really like the Loconet setup, but not so much on the throttle design.
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out of ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside. I think the dropper wire is 1.2mm.
Are you not a fan of the DCC sound things. I noticed when you turned the light off your Intercity rake seems to have the same coloured roof the First Open one i bought yesterday has a black roof and my intercity 125's have a grey one was this normal to have different variations or colours
Can you tell me where you get those connectors & how to use them? I've just bought nce powercab & they look perfect for a clumsy person like me to keep it simple
Another really useful episode, but I have one question....what are the wire sizes of your BUS and Dropper wires? Most of the information around seems to refer to the American AWG system. Can you shed some light on this please?
The Lenz system is fantastic for what it is. I do however like the Digitrax system too. Having used both I actually cant say either is better because they are both very high end DCC systems I did start off with a Hornby select just when DCC was first introduced to the market but quickly moved on to the Prodigy Advance unit. A quick note for anyone wanting to get into DCC but wondering how complicated it is well I would say DCC is so much easier than DC due to the fact that you make all the tracks live rather than any insulated sections.
hello, What is the best way to test that your bus cable and feeds to the rail are working correctly. Today I took out my insulfrog points and going to replace them with electrofrog points in the next day or two. I noticed that the rest of the layout was dead, even where the controller is connected to the bus wire. Is there anything to worry about? Thank You
It is a DCC layout, The feeds running to the track have not been tested as I always had a continuous track circuit. I use slightly different crimp splicers where you have two places for your cables. One is a continuous hole where the bus cables goes in. The other has a dead end for your track feed to go in place. Then squeeze the metal plate into both cables and fold the plastic over the top. I was using a Hornby Select controller when I sent you the first message, I know the hornby select isn't the best. Just got a used Lenz LH100 and Lenz system in excellent condition on eBay last night for £137.00, and picked up a transformer today. I will test the track today at some point. TY
Generally people who build N gauge layouts wire them up the same as OO scale layouts as the N scale locos still require 12V to run. Wiring points up to dcc really improves the running of the trains. However if you can't solder then I would just go with insulfrog points. I would also suggest you learn how to solder as it's required in many aspects of building a model railway.
Hi. Great video. I have a few questions for, if possible, to answer. How much money do you usually spend on trains and carraiges etc? I have a problem, i have a flying scotsman and all the time the front wheel of the back engine keeps lifting up and wobbling which means all the time it derails. Please help me with this. Is there any way to solve this. Ie. tightening something etc. as im quite new to model trains. Thanks
i was just wondering, you said that your BUS wire isn't a continuous loop, why is this? and would it affect the performance if it was a continuous loop? i'm thinking of building a DCC layout myself.
I am currently sorting my loft, and once some flooring is down I will be looking to build a layout. Most of my stuff at the moment is DC (apart from one DCC loco I was given). I want to go DCC. Forgetting points for now, can I wire up the layout for DCC, but still run DC on it until I get some DCC kit?
***** If you wire a layout for dcc but use a dc controller you will have issues with all your locos running at once. All the track with dcc is wired up to the controller and there are no isolating sections. So running with dc will be problematic.
have you got the code number for the buss wires you use please ? .. you give the connector codes, but not the code for the wires, whenever I shop for wire its hard to find single core wire .. thanks
droppers yes, not bus itself in my opinion, I decided to ditch it all unless you can find the ampage for the speaker wire you have as didn't want to risk it
I really like your videos and find them easy to follow. I'm new to the hobby and so I have some basic doubts, like.... does only one pair on wheels on the loco sense the current from the tracks? Reason being, if more than one set of wheels are used to pick up the current, then there could be a conflict when changing blocks, or when in a reverse loop situation when polarities are switched. In the second case, the two sets of wheels could sense opposite polarities at the same time! I'm sure that will never happen, but I need to clarify the doubt. Thanks, Ganny.
Hi Richard. I assume you solder dropper-wires to your track (rather than, say, use pre-soldered rail joiners) so as to maintain a reliable connection. So, I wondered why you chose the splice and spade connectors; I have seen other users prefer not to use these connectors because they believe the connections are not so reliable as soldered joints. Have you experienced any problems with splice and spade connectors?
Very helpful video, noted that the buzz wires are 2.5 dia, from your reply , would 1.5 dia do? and do you use the same for the droppers? And what size of wire for points? I am at long last be able to make my layout in the basement and have looked at your how to videos very instructive Thanks Keith
I still cant get over how beautifully you have weathered your locos. They look amazing!
I've been wanting you to explain all this on your layout for awhile now :) thank you watching your videos made me get my old lima set down for my 6 year old and now have mountains and town scenery thanks to you. Keep up the good work.
I don't have a system at all, but you have a very nice system, kudos to you for all the work you've put into making your system and this video.
Very interesting video...I found the wiring on my layout a real challenge..But videos like this really help.
a very good and well explained video on the electrical workings of the layout and will be very useful for those who are unsure.
terry
The nostalgia of sat watching this on my nexus seven in 2012. Man I feel lucky to of had this content to watch.
Another well presented & informative video from yours truly. Cheers mate, on DC at the moment but hopefully will swap over as the layout develops. keep the videos coming, really helpful as always.
Cheers
Ian
Well explained Richard , should help a lot of Modellers
Excellent video, every time I watch one I learned something new.
Keep them coming best wishes Steve
Great informational video. Your lighted coaches look fantastic. That is quite the monster power supply. I don't think your signals will be choking for power anytime soon.
Thanks for taking the time to go through this. It has really consolidated my knowledge. I am about to start constructing my baseboards but also considering wiring details etc. as well.
Another great video, it is really helpful as I am at the stage of powering my layout and soldering the track to the bus.
Thanx for the informative video. I found it very useful, especially the bus wires and the droppers to power the track.
Excellent video mate very well explained,I've not got round to wiring up my dcc system Ecos esu yet but will do in the autumn and just refer back to your videos for help.
Cheers Kev
You make it all sound so simple, Great Work, Well Done!
Excellent video, great details, and the layout is looking rear good, keep the video coming Thanks. Gerry from the USA
First thought...that double header in the intro looks magnificent!!! Great vid!
You and daveclass have the best model railroads I've ever seen
Great videos. I'm quite liking having them playing in the background while I work on other stuff.
Thnx for posting m8.....well explained as usual....better than many manuals.....lol....looking forward to more vids.....
Another really great vid. Thanks for taking the time. Your layout is looking fab BTW. cheers.
Great introduction. Well narated and illustrated.
AHH an A level in electronics,wish I had one of those!! did city and guilds in electrics,but the best thing to do is just try stuff out.Great vid and the layout looks amazing, the lighting in the coaches is very good not to bright or to dim.
My grandpa had a DC layout about the size of yours so I get what you mean when you say DCC makes it simpler when it gets big! It'll take for ever to take apart!
I love the opening scene with the Network Southeast Doubleheader!
okay. Just want to say your videos are amazing and you have done a fab job
Great video Richard the layout looks great cheers Ian
Cool vid, i use four transformers, one for the track ,one for the point decoders -motors ,one for the lighting & one for the dcc cranes,
Good video once again they have all been very helpful to me and have given me some ideas on my layout thanks
great vid electrics can be complicated, but u make it work well done would like to see a layout update soon
Depending on what lights you want to use will determine if you need resistors. Some lights already have resistors built in.
Didn't ask for this, but a great surprise :D Thank you for all the details!
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out or ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside. It's fine for a small layout, but you might want to use something smaller.
I have a single slip on the junction. I've not yet got around to wiring it with point motors.
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out or ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside.
fantastic video Richard, I'm just about to wire mine up now, done the droppers but not added the buzz wire, but loads of help and advice from this, don't suppose you could explain how you program your locos, I know you can set them for acceleration and braking etc etc etc, but any advice would be appreciated cheers andy
I haven’t really looked into as it's for dc layouts.
Great video very very helpful... Cheers I have learnt so much from this.........
How old is your flying scotsman and who makes it? Are you refering to the small wheel under the cab of one of the front wheels?
Sound at the video start was amazing!
can u wire up a bus wire for standard lighting off the accessory contacts on the Hornby R965 controller?
I can a bit found out using Rong volt iron. If use insulfrog point i would wire each track of it to the bus. Is the bus better out or wire or copper tape what size wire do u use(the thick wire) is that needed or is the thick Peco/gaugemaster ok to use. Dose the splice some within instructions or are they oblivious how to use.
Really beautiful layout.
I twisted the long lengths of cable for the point motors just to try and keep things tidy.
Very nice layout. Thanks for sharing
I am using n gauge and want to use copper tape as cant solder but see ur slice and the bus is huge wire wood it be needed in n . If wire all 3 set of the point to a separate bus would i need seep motor. In n if using elite and pos railmaster with about 5 loco at once wood can i use dcc points
Surely the track 1/2 outputs on the model "D" can give 5v and -5v or anything 12v to -12v ?
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out of ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside.
What thickness in mm are the dropper wires and the bus wires?
have you ever looked into brake on dc. i have found so much about it but not sure how to instigate it or if it works.
i like ur layout style, colour and texture. gj
What's it like building in a actic? The reason is I'm hoping to start an model oo gauge irish railway.
I've recently begun to get back into model trains after many years. 40-plus to be more accurate. I used to have a small, well landscaped DC setup when I was young. Wiring and operation were very simple. Approaching retirement, I now have the time (and resources) to go hog-wild. Being new to DCC, and not having begun construction of my layout yet (it's still in the conceptual and planning stages), I've spent many hours reading and studying the changes in the hobby to make sure I avoid as many catastrophes and costly errors as possible. I've watched hundreds of "how-to" videos on TH-cam but I have to say, yours are far and above the most informative and helpful I've found. Please keep making them!
I have one question though; have you given thought to wiring your signals into your point motors for automatic signalling? I'll be running a moderate sized passenger station as well as a couple of large freight yards and signalling is a significant part of my planned layout. I was wondering the what the best ways to might be to accomplish automatic signalling.
Great work. Thanks again!
hercdriver08
Thanks for the comment. I'll be looking into wiring some signals to points but only the ones with directional indicators. The few signals I do have are currently wired to work automatically on a time basis
and use the trains to trigger them. I have another howto in the making about how they work which I'll try to get finished before christmas.
What size is the bus wire and were do u get it from
did you paint the cars black inside to prevent light bleed?
Great to see the old layout and uninsulated loft. On the subject of the DCC bus wiring you were careful to point out that it wasn't a ring circuit, but wouldn't a ring give potentially lower impedance for trains further away from the controller wiring?
Im not to sure who makes the flying scotsman and i brought it of an exhibition stall around a year and a half ago. And also it was second hand when i got it and not sure how old it was before i got it. It is the front wheel of the engine carrage , i dont know what its called ( it is the part that has the coal bit on it and has the engine in it and its at the back of the 2 parts it comes with ie. the front which is the long part which has the pick ups and the back part with the engine in it) ??
Hi,I picked up on your video that you do not 'loop' your bus wire back but leave the ends capped off, is there any reason for that?
I am just about to re-wire my 8x4 and was advised by CM3 Models where I got the wire from to loop it back to the DCC control power system. Andy
The 3 way way point is more complex, you have to treat it as two sets of points on the same piece of track. It's been over 3 years since I wired mine up and to be honest I can't remember how I did it.
After seeing the crimson and cream coaches, do you still have the BR green deltic?
Thank you for your very helpful information.What DCC Controllers would you recommend because I can't chose between Gaugemaster or Hornby.
Thank you so much for this video just a quick question. How thick is the bus wire that goes around the layout?
Thanks for your help
Thanks Kev, just try to keep the wires neat and you'll be fine. Some of mine has become very tangled and confusing.
Was there any particular reason that you went with Lenz over Digitrax at the time? I'm looking into the Digitrax systems, and I really like the Loconet setup, but not so much on the throttle design.
Thanks, I haven't done much recently. I might be able to an update at the end of the month.
The bus wire is the 2.5mm solid core wire you get out of ordinary grey building wire. I bought a reel from a diy shop and stripped the two wires out from inside. I think the dropper wire is 1.2mm.
would i need resistors?
Are you not a fan of the DCC sound things. I noticed when you turned the light off your Intercity rake seems to have the same coloured roof the First Open one i bought yesterday has a black roof and my intercity 125's have a grey one was this normal to have different variations or colours
Can you tell me where you get those connectors & how to use them? I've just bought nce powercab & they look perfect for a clumsy person like me to keep it simple
Is the 1amp from the outputs of the model d controller enough for lights and points?
Thanks, I've done a few other intros which will appear in the next few vids.
Another really useful episode, but I have one question....what are the wire sizes of your BUS and Dropper wires? Most of the information around seems to refer to the American AWG system. Can you shed some light on this please?
The Lenz system is fantastic for what it is. I do however like the Digitrax system too. Having used both I actually cant say either is better because they are both very high end DCC systems I did start off with a Hornby select just when DCC was first introduced to the market but quickly moved on to the Prodigy Advance unit. A quick note for anyone wanting to get into DCC but wondering how complicated it is well I would say DCC is so much easier than DC due to the fact that you make all the tracks live rather than any insulated sections.
hello, What is the best way to test that your bus cable and feeds to the rail are working correctly. Today I took out my insulfrog points and going to replace them with electrofrog points in the next day or two. I noticed that the rest of the layout was dead, even where the controller is connected to the bus wire. Is there anything to worry about? Thank You
Gary Shardlow The best thing to use is a multimeter to check them. Is it a DCC layout? Are the feeds running to the tracks you tested?
It is a DCC layout, The feeds running to the track have not been tested as I always had a continuous track circuit. I use slightly different crimp splicers where you have two places for your cables. One is a continuous hole where the bus cables goes in. The other has a dead end for your track feed to go in place. Then squeeze the metal plate into both cables and fold the plastic over the top. I was using a Hornby Select controller when I sent you the first message, I know the hornby select isn't the best. Just got a used Lenz LH100 and Lenz system in excellent condition on eBay last night for £137.00, and picked up a transformer today. I will test the track today at some point. TY
Generally people who build N gauge layouts wire them up the same as OO scale layouts as the N scale locos still require 12V to run.
Wiring points up to dcc really improves the running of the trains. However if you can't solder then I would just go with insulfrog points. I would also suggest you learn how to solder as it's required in many aspects of building a model railway.
How did you wire up your 3 way point?? Same way as your normal ones??
I'll have to do separate video for that. I have one planned, just need the time to do it.
When i turn the power on it keeps tripping out what have i done to cause this
Great video and very informative
I will be doing a howto video for the signal control board later this year.
Hi. Great video. I have a few questions for, if possible, to answer. How much money do you usually spend on trains and carraiges etc? I have a problem, i have a flying scotsman and all the time the front wheel of the back engine keeps lifting up and wobbling which means all the time it derails. Please help me with this. Is there any way to solve this. Ie. tightening something etc. as im quite new to model trains. Thanks
Yes I did have to on the lower parts on some of them.
Hi Richard, very informative. What gauge bus wire do you use and is the same gauge wire ok for a smaller layout?
Andy
can i ask for a part number for the switches you use please?
Hello, what is the actual wire you are using as your bus wire? and where can you get it from? Many Thanks
Thanks this helped a lot on my layout, subscribed
i was just wondering, you said that your BUS wire isn't a continuous loop, why is this? and would it affect the performance if it was a continuous loop? i'm thinking of building a DCC layout myself.
Where did you get the vegetable foliage from looks really detailed??
Thank you had to re watch as my layout aint working due to shorting. I will have to re-do the wiring. Its the points im having trouble with
I am currently sorting my loft, and once some flooring is down I will be looking to build a layout. Most of my stuff at the moment is DC (apart from one DCC loco I was given). I want to go DCC. Forgetting points for now, can I wire up the layout for DCC, but still run DC on it until I get some DCC kit?
***** If you wire a layout for dcc but use a dc controller you will have issues with all your locos running at once. All the track with dcc is wired up to the controller and there are no isolating sections. So running with dc will be problematic.
Thanks I will be putting lights on my layout asap thanks for the help
have you got the code number for the buss wires you use please ? .. you give the connector codes, but not the code for the wires, whenever I shop for wire its hard to find single core wire .. thanks
fees sq SQL
JDPuss1 search for heavy duty household wire
hi mate ive got a 100m roll of speaker cable from maplin and would like to know if you think it would be sutable for the droppers for my bus
droppers yes, not bus itself in my opinion, I decided to ditch it all unless you can find the ampage for the speaker wire you have as didn't want to risk it
What about the Double Slip?
I really like your videos and find them easy to follow. I'm new to the hobby and so I have some basic doubts, like.... does only one pair on wheels on the loco sense the current from the tracks? Reason being, if more than one set of wheels are used to pick up the current, then there could be a conflict when changing blocks, or when in a reverse loop situation when polarities are switched. In the second case, the two sets of wheels could sense opposite polarities at the same time! I'm sure that will never happen, but I need to clarify the doubt. Thanks, Ganny.
The veg is made by noch. You can buy it from gaugemaster, think their shop is called the engine shed or something similar.
What wire gauge do you use for your bus wire and dropper wires? Thanks
TotalMinecrafter38 I would like to know aswell please
Hi Richard. I assume you solder dropper-wires to your track (rather than, say, use pre-soldered rail joiners) so as to maintain a reliable connection. So, I wondered why you chose the splice and spade connectors; I have seen other users prefer not to use these connectors because they believe the connections are not so reliable as soldered joints. Have you experienced any problems with splice and spade connectors?
Very helpful video, noted that the buzz wires are 2.5 dia, from your reply , would 1.5 dia do? and do you use the same for the droppers? And what size of wire for points? I am at long last be able to make my layout in the basement and have looked at your how to videos very instructive
Thanks Keith
You can use any wire you want really. The voltages and current involved is very low so most wire will do the job.
Intercity Mk1s, Mk2s and Mk3s had black roofs. However this would get dirty and more of a grey colour with age.