"Below is what you get if you try to connect Atlas code 83 with Peco code 83 turnouts, notice the railhead alignment issue"

  If the tracks are gauged properly the mis-match will be on the outside where it doesn't matter? I  fix any mis-matched joints by holding the two ends in alignment then soldering them, this works for vertical(rail height) or horizontal ( rail head width) issues......DaveB

I have been gathering supplies (NCE DDC power Cab, flex track, turnouts, etc. and I am now ready to build something. I  am still going with my 4X8 table just to start. From Joe F.'s book, I believe I should be fine with 14 gauge for my power bus and it seems that the stranded is easier to use due to its flexibility. Then, I could attach 18 gauge track feeders. My question is: Because this is not a shelf style layout that has the power bus run down the middle, which way is best to run my power bus. I have drawn out a couple ideas and would appreciate feedback from some vets. I am planning ti use the terminal connectors in a few areas along my power bus. I am attaching a photo that has a few choices of what I think might work. Ideas?

Thanks,

Gene

  I prefer to keep the feeder wires as short as possible so run the power bus approximately under the tracks along the route. In the case of a 4 by 8 layout I'd pick the spot for my command station then run the bus as a loop roughly  under the tracks( one can cut across the corners a bit to save bus wire) . When the bus gets all the way around to the starting point don't connect the two ends, just stop it a bit short. Also gap the rails somewhere  above the bus ends so the loop rails don't create a connection for the two ends of the bus.Bus wires up to 30 feet or so are fine, if the loop circumference was bigger than that you could wire a bus both directions from the command station and terminate each half opposite the command station ....DaveB

Thanks. I wasn't sure how much loss would occur if my feeder lines are longer by going down the middle with my power bus.

 For the distances you are looking at the power loss would be negligible with the bus down the center. The main reason I'd run the bus around under the loop is for wiring neatness and consistency. The shorter feeders would be easier to keep track of when trouble shooting or making changes to the layout.....DaveB

Gluing sounds "final" to me. As I am just getting back into this, I am not looking for final as I know I will want to make changes or even go a different direction but also want to practice the "right" (if there is such a thing) way. So, what is recommended for glue? Do I put it just on the back of the track as it could be visible if I put it on the cork? 40 years ago I "nailed " it with the small rail tacks I guess this is no longer common from what I read and watch.

Gene

The are 2 common types of Elmer's "white" glue - School Glue & Glue All.  Both clean up with water while wet but with School Glue you can rehydrate it with water.  You can sort of with Glue All too but if the intent is simple redos use School Glue.   It's great if you want to make changes or correct mistakes.  Simply misting it with a little water woke make it come up and a little rubbing alcohol will make it come up faster.    Walmart sells it for about $15 for the big jug.  You can get a little squirt bottle for about a buck.  Get one of those and a piece of track and give it a try....

" 40 years ago I "nailed " it with the small rail tacks I guess this is no longer common from what I read and watch."

  Nails still work the same as they did then, the internet has not changed physics. :>) Small brads in drilled holes don't show up too much once track is ballasted ( but then the ballast glues it down so make sure it's the way you want it) ....DaveB 

Time to run my bus line. I fell in love with Joe Fugate's idea of terminal strips (Ch 10 of "Make it Run Like a Dream"). Soldering in an awkward position at 61 years old does not sound like fun, even though I would get use to it. Spade clips on a terminal connector seem much nicer.

My question: Is a terminal connector all one "polarity" (ie all black)? Or, is each side different on the same connector (connect black down one side and red down the other)?

I was thinking the second option until I opened the packaging. It appears that there are metal strips connecting the sides leading me to believe my first idea is WRONG and probably very dangerous! I just need verification.

Gene

If it's the screw terminal blocks I'm thinking of, such as below, the connections are across the strip.  So there are only two connections per "polarity".  If you're doing distribution(i.e. connecting more than two wires per "polarity"), you have to do what's called bussing on the screw terminals.  When I did this on my last layout, with a ten-screw-pair terminal strip, I wound a stripped conductor down one side of the block to bus five of the screw pairs, then did the same with the other five.  Then I fed the side with the strips with my two DCC wires (A and B), and ran five wires from the other side of each to my five zones.

https://www.newark.com/cinch-connectivity-solutions/10-140/terminal-block-barrier-10-position/dp/28F708?st=barrier

When I have to do this now, I instead use Wago lever-style connectors. 

https://www.newark.com/wago/222-415/terminal-block-pluggable-5-position/dp/28K2062

Much more easily connected in most locations, and super-easy to disconnect when looking for a short.

As usual, YMMV.

Blair