Wire, Wire, Everywhere

Yep...just finishing up my 5000 feet or so on our layout.  It's nuts, isn't it?

But the future is coming.  There will be a day where you won't need that many wires.  Several folks on the forum here are experimenting with different battery techs, radio operations, phone-based apps that require no juice in the rails.  Surely similar tech will follow to get the juice out of the switches and accessories to a large extent.

In a generation, people will think it's crazy that we spent more half our time on a Trian set climbing around under a low table risking back and neck injury.

Less crouching = more fun as far as I'm concerned.

Good luck!

Can you say spaghetti?  😀😉😂😆

Did someone say wire?

I was into about 3000' of wire when I received my first battery powered engine.

I had been laboring for a long time trying to get stuff wired while getting discouraged.  Due to the complexity of scores of turnouts, sidings, blocks, sub panels, etc. it was never a matter of attach two wires and run trains.

In the midst of it all a friend of mine offered some advice, "Just get a battery R/C unit and have some fun while you are doing the wiring".

Wow!  My RR was actually, finally FUN!

Well I wrapped up wiring the primary routes but all my minor branch lines never progressed beyond the initial feeder drops.

I have enough battery powered motive units that I may never run another length of wire.

This is the bottom of a 4' X 13' peninsula with what including the connecting module would normally be 14 blocks and 12 pair of points:

Note the empty wire management holes...

Battery powered Geeps, K4s, John Wilks,  RDCs and Doodle Bugs will service this town.

All hand thrown points:

The initial module is also wireless.

The padded handles were for carrying early on when this was a show display.  I recycled my old display modules into today's RR.

@MartyE posted:

Did someone say wire?

I actually shuddered in my seat just looking at this.

I didn't tally up the wire I used, but I've used a bunch.  OTOH, I'm not willing to give up all the cool features of my modern locomotives so I can go battery power, so I'll keep wiring stuff.

Getting sucked in and eaten alive.

John,  Smoke,  choo choo chug ,  blow down, or diesel prime mover sounds, ditch lights, running lights, marker lights,  etc are all available with wireless.

Wireless systems are open platforms to receive any companies sound and accessory decoders/features.

Folks is not wiring and carpenter skills and scenery skills part of why we love this hobby!!!

@Tom Tee posted:

Getting sucked in and eaten alive.

Forgot about running trains we enjoy that also just think of this great reward when we are finished with the above stuff!!! That is if we ever finish!!!

@Don Merz 070317 posted:

Is it just my layout or do all layouts require this much wire? I have been wiring the rails on my 16x17 layout and looking ahead is an eye-opener. I have 8 electrical blocks going into 3 TIUs.

Don Merz

Why do you have 3 TIUs?  I have one TIU for a 15x33.

Ron

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

OTOH, I'm not willing to give up all the cool features of my modern locomotives so I can go battery power, so I'll keep wiring stuff.

Such as...?

Ron045: I have 3 TIUs because I tend to overdo everything and this is where I landed. It makes NO sense--just like 8 blocks is too many. But it's all up now and I am sticking with what I did. Possibly a wrong-headed direction...

Don

@Tom Tee posted:

John,  Smoke,  choo choo chug ,  blow down, or diesel prime mover sounds, ditch lights, running lights, marker lights,  etc are all available with wireless.

Wireless systems are open platforms to receive any companies sound and accessory decoders/features.

Tom, are you offering to finance the conversion of 100+ locomotives to wireless operation?  They already run fine on powered track with full features.  As far as all those features being available, I have yet to see any of the threads here doing a full conversion that offers features I have on my Vision Line BB or Challenger.

AFAIK, battery power doesn't do anything for switch machines, signals, structure lighting, Miller billboards and yada yada--basically 85% of what needs wired is not addressed by battery power. Wiring the rails is a drop in the bucket.

Don Merz

Who needs batteries when you can have fun with wiring.  This under a friend's layout.  NH Joe

If I had to do that much wiring, I'd more seriously consider batteries!

A Wall Street based suggestion ...

As compensation for buying and installing all that under-platform wiring, buy stock in a copper manufacturing company. The more wire hobbyists use, the greater your quarterly dividends!

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394

Like most of us, the underside of my layout has a huge number of wires. Thank God I kept good wiring diagrams! When I run battery powered locos, it all becomes trivial. I am planning to convert all the turnouts and operating accessories to wireless control. Wish I knew a way to provide power to the  accessories which will be required even with wireless control. Well, maybe a few wires are OK.  It seems inevitable that this is the way serious train modelling will eventually go, so why not start now?

I wired dual cab control like the HO guys used to do. A lot of wires, don't like all the wiring.

And I really didn't follow advice I have read over and over to keep it so you know what's what.