Hello and hope you are warm in your end of the world. It is -17 C outside, feels like -24C

Anyways.

Question:
I have a FREE supply of computer network cable, more specific ethernet cabling, cat 5e cable. That is 8 conductor wire.

I inherited a train layout that needs a total re-wire. I was thinking of using the network cable wire to run power from either transformer on both DC and AC sides.
Do you think the cable could handle it? I'm not saying running both ac and dc on the same wire, I'm saying is that there are 8 wires and I was going to run what I need down each wire.

I have a limited supply of speaker wiring which seems to be much bigger gauge than ethernet cable, but could the lower voltage on DC and speaker wire cause some resistance?

What do you recommend then for GOOD train track wiring?????

Big thank you!

I have a 4ft by 8ft layout. I'd say at most 50 FT of wire.

Is the 24 or 26 AWG wire what is recommended for HO model railroading wire?

What is a good wire gauge to use?

Thanks

Thank you.

You may find this thread from last year to be helpful....

https://www.marklin-user...post-on-wire-gauges.aspx

I'm with others on this, personally I would not use Cat5 cable, partly because the gauge is too light, but in saying that, if you 'paired' then you would increase the effective gauge and that would give you 4 pairs per cable but even the combined gauge is still not all that high. I guess if it's the only cable available to you then it's better than nothing.

Edit: To put it another way, if I were going out to buy or obtain wire for my model railway, Ethernet/Cat5 would not be my preferred choice, but I can see there might be some advantages. Bear in mind also that Märklin and many other manufacturers have designed their connectors, plugs, etc primarily for stranded wire.

Personally, I would go for stranded wherever possible and I would try to stick with the Marklin colour coding wherever possible - makes initial hookup and subsequent trouble-shooting a lot easier.

But in the spirit of good modeling, you make do with what you have and if you happen to have a good source of free cable Cat5 or whatever at your disposal, and you accept the trade-off, then of course go with what is most comfortable.

Some years ago, I was decommissioning a Travel Agent who were replacing all their old terminals. They all used a serial connection, and I grabbed the cables instead of heaving them into the bin. Once I stripped one down I was delighted to find 4 inner wires, all stranded, about the same gauge as the wires used on Marklin accessories, and the biggest bonus, the colours are Yellow, Red, Green and Blue.

One other suggestion I made a while back on another topic if you are not bothered about colour coding, is to use old christmas tree light wiring. Again, very similar stranded gauge to Marklin, and apart from the fiddly job of unraveling it, very good long lengths of cable. Usually all the same dark green of course and on a complex layout this can make trouble-shooting some time later quite time-consuming.

Cheers

Steve
Wellington

Edited by user 23 January 2013 03:36:05(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Which is what I'll be using cat 5 for - S88 wiring between my upper and lower modules.

Personally I think the worry about too small wire gauge is highly exaggerated. Anyway, the CAT 5 cable is rated for 0.36 A max current per pair. But this rating is based on that you bundle 100 wires together and run them 100 m away, with all pairs in all the cables carrying 0.36 A of current each. With short distances and non-bundled cables the voltage drop and heat-up due to the cable resistance would be quite marginal, even with the somewhat higher currents that you may get in the track feeds.

It's what is also called a vampire tap. When you push the metal piece down it punctures through both of the cables insulation you are trying to splice together and electrically connects them (it has pointed teeth you can't see in the photos). No need to strip anything. Not the most robust, but a lot quicker than doing proper splices.

More commonly known as a 'Scotchlock'