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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
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
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 RU-vid 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.
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.
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?
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
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.
I have to be honest and say I used your experience and vids when I was looking for a system... I got the lenz also!... I also got the wifi and point add ons for computer control... Eventually. Lol. Btw, am I right in saying you can't run trains on the prog track? Cheers, Lee
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
Hello. Really enjoying these videos so thanks for doing them. I'm returning to model railways after many years and am intrigued by the technology. In this you showed a 3rd power supply from Rapid to power your signals. Could you have used this power supply to power both your signals and your accessory bus simultaneously? I'm looking to minimise the cost of starting again. Thanks again.
Hi, I'm new to DCC and this was a really helpful video. Thanks a lot - appreciate it. One thing I'm still not sure about, though. Do I still need to worry about + and - rails when wiring the track, or is it simply being consistent about which rail I wire to which bus wire? Hope that's not a really daft question and look forward to hearing from you, cheers, Stu.
Stewart Fraser Make sure you are consistent when wiring the track. I use a wagon with some black and red wire taped to either side. Then make sure you keep the wagon to same way round and use it as a guide for wiring the rest of the layout.
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
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.
Both are good. The gaugemaster prodigy advance is more high tech, but the hornby elite simpler and easier for the beginner. Just comes down to what you prefer.
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.
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) ??
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
Ok, from what you said it sounds like you have a tender drive hornby flying scotsman. The square truck with the coal in it is called the tender. Steam trains with the motor in the tender are very unreliable. They don't actually make them like that anymore. I would suggest you take the train to your local model shop and get them to have a look at it. Most most shops will service and repair model trains for you.
An attic is quite good place to build, but has its problems. Advantages.. Plenty of space Good security Doesn't matter if you make a mess Quiet Disadvantages Cold in winter, hot in summer If you're tall headroom can be a problem Lots of lighting or a window is required
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.
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
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
