Layout wiring, including preparing Turnouts (Points) for installation

Since my last post I have been working out the track plan on the finished baseboards, this has taken a lot of thought and experimentation, but happy with it now, more on this in a later post.

So started to think about the wiring.
I am going to use a colour coded bus system to take the following feeds arpound the baseboards:

DCC Main Bus (balanced pair)
Black (outer rail) Red (inner rail)

Capacitor Discharge output to operate turnout (t/o) motors (20v dc +ve/-ve )
Green (t/o motor common) Yellow (t/o operating switch common)

Standard DC to operate signals (12v dc +ve/-ve)
White (signal motor common) Orange (signal operating switch common)

I will then take "drop" wires from the rails (Black/Red), t/o motors (Green), signal motors (White) and switches (Yellow/Orange) and connect them to the relevant "bus" wires using "Quick Splice" connectors, which alleviates the need to cut and solder any wires under the baseboard.

In addition the following coloured wires are also required;
Blue - t/o operating switch to t/o motor left coil
Brown - t/o operating switch to t/o motor right coil
Grey - signal operating switch to signal motor "on"
Violet - signal operating switch to signal motor "off"
These wires will go direct from the relevant switch to the t/o or signal motor.


The main bus wires are 32/0.2 stranded copper and the drop wires are 16/0.2 stranded copper.

Quick plug (get it?), I purchased all the wire and connectors on Ebay from "cm3models" who have provided an excellent service (no connection, just thought they deserved a mention).

In line with avoiding any soldering under the baseboards, I have come up with a way of pre-wiring turnouts and then installing them from above the baseboard.
This involves making a 1/8"cork underlay for the turnout with slots cut for the wires. This is glued to the turnout, the turnout motor is then fixed to the turnout through the cork, and then the wires are soldered on.
The turnout motors also have a single pole, single throw switch glued to them to change the polarity of the turnout frog, through the single wire factory soldered to the turnout frog.
Also, for DCC control, before the turnout is installed a couple of small bridging wires connecting the frog to the moving switch blades of the turnout have to be cut, to isolate the frog so that it can be powered from the switch glued to the motor (this is for PECO "live frog" turnouts).

Here is a photo of a turnout, turnout motor, turnout motor with switch installed and cork base.

And here is a photo of a completed turnout just waiting for the wires from the operating switch to be soldered on and then it will be installed on the baseboard, with the motor going through a pre-cut hole.

 

More details of track laying next time.