22 AWG Solid phone line

I use 4 wire RYBG solid 22ga phone wire for wiring accessories, uncouplers, switches, signals and building lighting on my layout. I sometimes double the wire (connect two 22ga wires in parallel) to carry larger amp loads. I have about 2,500 ft of 4 strand wire on my railroad and love it. 

Be sure to set a colour standard, as things may get confusing if you do not.

Wiring controllers for Z1000 switch motors.

Well I guess it was a good freebee!

Yes.  It is good for wiring momentary switch buttons to operate most any accessory.  I use it on my control board for uncoupling tracks, and switch motors.

Dennis

That is called "filled cable" because the silicone goop fills the spaces between the wires, to keep water out when the wire is buried. It is also called "BSW" for Buried Service Wire. It is also affectionately called "icky pic" (the pic stands for Plastic Insulated Conductors) The silicone ick can only be removed effectively with one product and that is called "D-Gel" which is a citrus-based non-toxic liquid. The silicone filling itself is not necessarily bad for you, but it will invade every nook and cranny of your hands, tools, clothes, truck, etc.  Telephone men curse it as the Spawn of the Devil.

You would be advised to offer the wire for sale on Ebay, (local pick-up only, due to the weight) or sell it to a metal scrapper.  You might be able to trade it in at an electrical supply house, if they are friendly that day.

Use thermostat wire, which comes in 2- through 8-conductor varieties, (no goop) in 22, 20 and 18 gauge and you will thank me for saving you from a hellish experience.

Take Arthur's advice, and pass it on.  Take it from first hand experience, the "gel" is an absolute mess, and hard to completely get rid of it from your hands.  I hated it.

I use that stuff for lights, and ONLY lights. I have two of those little MTH "trolly transformers" so as to set the voltage to about 9 to 10 volts for all the lights on the layout. Thus the light bulbs will lats many years. I would NOT use that solid-wire stuff for ANYTHING else!

Mike,

If what you have is the same stuff we used in telco I can tell you it is horrible to work with.  As others have said it is difficult to clean off your hands or equipment. Wearing gloves is usually not an option as that makes it impossible to strip and attach.   I am all for free, especially when it comes to wire but you might want to work with it just to see how it is.

Ed

Mike,  I have to ask, is the outside jacket black, and the wires are 3 white wires, and a blue, orange, and green.  The foil may be ribbed, and copper color.  If that is what it looks like, you are dealing with "Buried Service Wire", as you say it is 500'.  That stuff is a mess, and not worth the aggravation for what you intend to use it for.  I dealt with that stuff  too many times, retired after 41 years from Ma Bell a few years back.

22 gauge is good for some model railroad uses as noted, but the cables with the gel gunk filler are too messy too be worth stripping out.

Hi Everyone, Teledoc, yes it is what you described. After hearing from you all I guess I will just take it to a scraper. Sounds like its something I don't want to mess with! Thank you all again.