Wall outlets

No outlets above the table, code requirements should be sufficient but I would make sure you have at least 2 duplex outlets controlled by a wall switch, near the location that the transformers will be. 

Don't forget 2 circuit  track lighting with dimmers.

New outlets  rated at 20 amp circuit breaker works  Outlets should be 12" high from the floor and every  4' along the walls.

Remember someday  you may want sell your House down the road.

Good luck,John 

Under no circumstances would I put hard wired outlets on the train table itself. That's just asking for issues down the road, when its time to modify or remove the table.

AUBV, What do you mean 2 circuit  track lighting with dimmers?

1. Track lighting is available with 2 separate circuits, separately dimmed. The beauty of this, the determining factor is how you install the  actual light fixture. This means you can have 3 fixtures in a row controlled by circuit A, the next fixture controlled by circuit B, the next two fixtures controlled by circuit A, the next ten on circuit B, then one controlled by circuit A. Or any combination. This allows for great lighting options as certain areas can be dimmed while others are not.

In addition, the bulbs come in a variety of beam widths (7°- 60° )

I have a light circuit on my layout controlled with a PowerMaser.  I am using it as a "dimmer" for my 12 lights.

I haven't even thought about lights for my layout beyond buildings, so this is a great tip.

Does anyone have a diagram of how this would be wired?

Building codes may vary a bit form place to place so you may want to have a look for anything that is different for you.  That said;

As a minium you will want outlets placed such that a six foot cord can reach one from anywhere along the wall, ex no more that 12 feet apart.  I like going 8-10 feet  between them.  height can be anywhere from 12" - 24" with about 18" to the top of the outlet box being fairly normal.  For mid-wall height outlets and light switches, they are typically installed 48" from the floor to the bottom of the box.  

Standard, 15 amp circuits should use at least 14 gauge solid coper wire, and 20 Amp need at least 12 gauge.  Please note when buying your actual outlet receptacles that you have to specifically look for the 20 amp ones for such a circuit,  most are only rated for 15 amps.  I would look into having at least 3 circuits in the train room, one for room lighting, one for your layout power, and a third for the rest of the rooms outlets for whatever household items you will inevitably end up having in the room.  As has been suggested, you might want to have the layout power on a 20 amp circuit and install a master switch (also 20 amp rating) you can use to easily turn everything off.  

As another note, the wiring should NOT use the outlet it's self as part of the circuit. this was done in many older homes, but current codes call for using twist caps to connect the wires and short pig-tails to supply the outlet.  

If you are worried at all about resale of the house, and the room would be counted as a bedroom you probably don't want to have mid-wall outlets.  I'd recommend installing a high-quality power-strip on the wall in your work area, and at your transformer location.  For the work area the sort that are about 3-4 feet long with outlets spaced about 6 inches apart work really well  to make things easy to plug and unplug.   Power strips that can be unplugged from the wall are also a good choice for any outlets you end up needing attached on the layout.  It's not usually a good idea to have line voltage wiring going through your benchwork,  it can be done safely, but there really is no reason to do so.  

JGL

Hi Everyone, thank you for all the information. I'm not worried about resale as this will be our last home. What I have is a 24'X24' garage that this spring i am going to build a 12'x24' addition off the back. It will only be used for a train layout.

Due to health issues Im trying to get it built for my kids and grandkids who call me grandpa Choo Choo.

Hi Everyone, thank you for all the information. I'm not worried about resale as this will be our last home.

You may be around a lot longer than you think.
And sometime down the road, the home will need to be sold.
I'd go with JGL's suggestion: standard outlet placement, use heavy duty power strips for convenience.

As another note, the wiring should NOT use the outlet it's self as part of the circuit. this was done in many older homes, but current codes call for using twist caps to connect the wires and short pig-tails to supply the outlet.

Has this requirement been adopted nationally? There are some differences from place to place.

As the world of liability ramps up.  Consider the following as part of your installation.  

(1.) Tamper proof receptacles, required a lot of places.

(2.) Arc fault circuit protections.

(3.) Ground fault personnel protection.

It hasn't here yet. I just finished my garage last year and was inspected with no problems.

Hi Mike, Yep all that is required here from what I understand. I had to do that in my garage. But didn't have to do an arc Fault protector.

Big thing is to separate your circuits.  I put 5 feeds off the fuse box with 15 amp breakers.

2 for the ceiling lighting- so your not in the dark if you blow one, and 2 for the wall plugs. 20 amp would be nice but, how many amps you draw is up to you... I figure the vacuum cleaner is the worse offender and I try not to run multiple items in at the same time when the  vacuum is on.

Here is a question then. I have an unused 40 amp 220 feed that was put in for a range. We never put it in so I plan on running that into a sub panel to power my addition. any input on this guys?

mike g. posted:

Hi Mike, Yep all that is required here from what I understand. I had to do that in my garage. But didn't have to do an arc Fault protector.

It appears at this point most inspectors don't require the Arc fault breakers on a remodel project, but they are available. Initial marketing/coding they were only required certain areas of a residence, that has been expanded, some inspectors require them everywhere on new construction/new homes.    Surprisingly there are Arc fault/ground fault circuit breakers and Double pole Arc fault breakers.    A little tougher to find these items at your local big box store. These are not a relatively cheap item.   

Another point of interest, that seems to get a lot of attention on remodels is addition of,  AC powered, inter-connected Smoke Detectors.  

Best wishes with your project.  

Mike CT.

J Daddy posted:

Big thing is to separate your circuits.  I put 5 feeds off the fuse box with 15 amp breakers.

2 for the ceiling lighting- so your not in the dark if you blow one, and 2 for the wall plugs. 20 amp would be nice but, how many amps you draw is up to you... I figure the vacuum cleaner is the worse offender and I try not to run multiple items in at the same time when the  vacuum is on.

5 circuits for a train room is a bit of overkill, but certainly not a problem. Two 15a circuits will power about 9 Z-4000's!... datsa lotta juice!

One of the problems you may encounter if you use 5 circuits in your panel is that the phasing may be opposite at different outlets in the room.  Anyone doing this should have their electrician be sure to put all the layout-feeding outlets on the same 120V leg of the panel.

Ed

mike g. posted:

Here is a question then. I have an unused 40 amp 220 feed that was put in for a range. We never put it in so I plan on running that into a sub panel to power my addition. any input on this guys?

The sub panel should be fed with a (4) wire cable, with an isolate insulated neutral/ to the neutral bar, and separate, bonded to the metal box, ground wire/ to the ground bar.  Usually additional ground bars have to be purchased separately.  Your room addition wiring will have the neutral wires terminated to the insulated neutral bar and the ground wires to the ground bar, different from a normal residential panel, where neutral and ground are usually grouped on the same terminal bar.  

Best wishes with your project.

C W Burfle posted:

As another note, the wiring should NOT use the outlet it's self as part of the circuit. this was done in many older homes, but current codes call for using twist caps to connect the wires and short pig-tails to supply the outlet.

Has this requirement been adopted nationally? There are some differences from place to place.

I have no way to know that, but it is good practice in any case.  It was the code here in Macomb county, Michigan back in the 90's when we built an 850 Sq. foot, 5 room, second story addition on my folks house.  We did all the electrical our selves  and after years of aggravation with having only one outlet on each of 3 out of the four sides in each room on the main floor we placed outlets every six feet along the walls,  This has been more than enough and there is always an outlet in reach.  We did have to go back after the first inspection and add the pigtails to every one of the (about) 50 outlet junction boxes and switch boxes.  Life hack tip, the commercial style twist caps have hex shaped tops, these are awesome because you can use a nut driver on them to save your fingers a lot of work.  

As for the 240 line, There shouldn't be any trouble running it to a service panel and using it to provide several 120v lines.  If you do so, however, make sure you use one side of the panel for lighting and the other for outlets in a train room.  Why? to prevent phasing problems if you have transformers plugged into outlets on different circuits.  

JGL

"As another note, the wiring should NOT use the outlet it's self as part of the circuit. this was done in many older homes, but current codes call for using twist caps to connect the wires and short pig-tails to supply the outlet".

Most receptacle outlet will have (5) screws for wire attachment.  In general:

(1.)  One Green screw to connect one ground wire.  All ground wires need to be spiced in the box, one tail to this screw.

(2.) Two Brass or Black colored screws for power wires. In most cases, with the wires connected in the box as mentioned only one Black wire attaches here.

(3.) Two Silver or white colored screws for neutral wires. Again with the wires connected in the box as mentioned only one White wire attaches here.

(4.)  Never double a wire termination under a screw.   One screw/one wire.  Preferred solid wire, wrapped clockwise around the screw. 

Note that a huge problem with any wiring, not just residential wiring is  Open Neutrals.  Not only do circuits not work properly, there is additional possibility of shock hazard, via unexpected higher voltages in outlet boxes. Shared neutrals between two circuit, have a lot to do with this, though there have been recent attempts to limit shared neutrals.   Wiring with good quality splices, in the outlet boxes, for the most part, eliminates open neutral problems, that's why it's required. IMO.  

Best wishes, Mike CT. 

Thanks Mike, That's how I wired my garage. main panel is out side and sub inside, with its own coming and ground bar.

eddiem posted:

J Daddy posted:

Big thing is to separate your circuits.  I put 5 feeds off the fuse box with 15 amp breakers.

2 for the ceiling lighting- so your not in the dark if you blow one, and 2 for the wall plugs. 20 amp would be nice but, how many amps you draw is up to you... I figure the vacuum cleaner is the worse offender and I try not to run multiple items in at the same time when the  vacuum is on.

 Anyone doing this should have their electrician be sure to put all the layout-feeding outlets on the same 120V leg of the panel.

Ed

I did just that when I was building my train room.  All of my "layout power" originates from one location that has two dedicated 20 amp duplex receptacles on the same 120V leg of my panel.  Room lighting is all handled separately.

I have a U shaped layout with access all around. I am wishing I put a couple of outlets in the floor so I don't have a cord to walk over.

C W Burfle posted:

Under no circumstances would I put hard wired outlets on the train table itself. That's just asking for issues down the road, when its time to modify or remove the table.

Actually C.W., I sort of went against your advice and installed a series of convenience outlets around the edge of the layout, but I did it in a way that does not make it a part of the house. The wall receptacles are there for code, but are not used because they are almost impossible to reach, and there are far too few of them given that the room is 38 x 46. That's almost 20' to the middle.

There is no confusion between low and high voltage, because all high voltage is run in metal conduit and metal boxes. The end of the outlet string is then plugged into a dedicated 20 Amp outlet. Voila, all of the convenience and none of the hassle. It is just like a giant extension cord. Frankly, I don't think I could have built my layout without having done this.

Those are four 20 Amp circuits with the proper 20 Amp outlets, 20 Amp cord and the funny prongs of a 20 Amp plug.

MichRR714 posted:

eddiem posted:

J Daddy posted:

Big thing is to separate your circuits.  I put 5 feeds off the fuse box with 15 amp breakers.

2 for the ceiling lighting- so your not in the dark if you blow one, and 2 for the wall plugs. 20 amp would be nice but, how many amps you draw is up to you... I figure the vacuum cleaner is the worse offender and I try not to run multiple items in at the same time when the  vacuum is on.

 Anyone doing this should have their electrician be sure to put all the layout-feeding outlets on the same 120V leg of the panel.

Ed

I did just that when I was building my train room.  All of my "layout power" originates from one location that has two dedicated 20 amp duplex receptacles on the same 120V leg of my panel.  Room lighting is all handled separately.

Yeah Charlie, we may have over thought it, but being an Electrical Engineer it just made sense. 

Not worrying about the phase thing. One ZWL runs the whole 40' x 40' layout!