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Reply to "Methods of wiring"

Dave C, I do not have long runs back & forth.  Power goes from TIU directly to control panel, and then out to blocks.  I agree completely with your choice of wire gauge.  When I built 8x4 layouts with centralized control panels for young grandkids, I used 16 gauge. For anything larger, 14 gauge with a 12 gauge common buss.

When I built my layout about 1992, relays were expensive.  The cheap Chinese relays hadn't arrived.  But when I rebuilt my postwar Lionel gantry crane to move, I used relays and cheap power supplies for those relays, so I have 22 gauge wire running from panel to crane.

Electrically, I can see no difference between running power to the center of a layout and then running feeds from there to blocks, or running it to a control panel and running feeds from there to blocks.

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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