I know one person who did it that way and seems to be OK. Maybe he will post.
In my case, I followed the star-wiring, as follows . . .
My layout occupies about 80% of a 33-ft x 38-ft room. It has 900-ft of Atlas track, 45 Atlas plus 12 Ross turnouts. I have two DCS TIU’s with five AIU’s, and a Legacy base that is connected (one wire) to just one of the outside rails at one end of the layout. Two Z4000’s supply power to one of the TIU’s, and a ZW-L supplies power to the other TIU.
I have about 20 (haven’t counted after recent additions) ‘wall-warts’ (5vdc, 12vdc, 12vac, 14vac, 18vac) scattered throughout for powering accessories. These are plugged into remote control outlets, as are the three main transformers. I have a TW transformer dedicated to run the Subway train, which is conventional. The ’L’ train, on an independent loop, run with DCS and is programmed to make stops and announcements.
Because of the location of the stairwell, the control center is 120-ft from one set of a TIU with three AIU’s, and 60-ft from the other TIU with two AIU’s. Since the initial wiring, I have rerouted some of the wiring from the control center up the wall in a PVC pipe, across the suspended ceiling, and down another PVC pipe, which is behind a structural support post. This cut the 120-ft run to 70-ft.
From the transformers to the TIU’s I use 12AWG wire. Initially I used 12-2 wire left over from finishing the basement. Later, I switched to stranded 12AWG wire because even though a bit more expensive, it is much easier to route. Four of these pairs of wires are 60-ft and the other four pairs are 70-ft long
From the TIU’s to the distribution blocks I use 14-AVG stranded wire. These eight blocks, each of which supplies power to six track sections, started out as regular terminal strips. I then changed them to relays modules, which allow me to turn any of the track sections on/off with toggle switches on the main control panel. The four 14-AWG pairs from each TIU to the terminal blocks or relay modules range in length from 8-ft to 12-ft long.
From the terminal blocks or relay modules to the track sections I use 16-AWG stranded wire. I make the hot and common connections to each track section. These range in length from 6-ft to 12-ft long.
I have no problems with DCS, other than the familiar “Engine Not On Track” and similar messages when I try to run a locomotive that I have not run in a while, but this is easy to fix. Legacy runs perfectly, but I had to run a ground wire between the upper and lower levels for a stretch of eight feet. Interestingly, there are over 100 feet of two level tracks, including sections where there are six tracks over six tracks, and only the one short section required the ground wire.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me.
Good luck!
Alex
