Colorado
Eastern - Wiring
Now that the framework is completed, the
next step is to bring the power to the layout. I used the tip of a
shovel to wedge a 6" deep trench through the yard, burying
approximately 75' of ground-contact exterior-grade, grounded electrical
wire. I installed a weatherproof outlet behind one of the posts on the
far left side of the layout, visible in the photo to the right. >
Then I cut long strands of lamp wire and stapled them to the inside top
edge of the entire framework: one black and one white. Every 3'-4' I
made a splice and added feeder wires. Ultimately, all of these will be
buried in dirt and I will be pulling just the tips through to connect
the track.
PROJECT DATE: 10/12/03
From the deck looking out at the layout, you see the end of the wire as
it comes out of the ground and rests on the edge of the deck benching. In order
to make this look neat and tidy, I enlisted the help of my father-in-law
(thanks Gary!) and we installed conduit under the deck to connect to
the house wiring. There's a Ground Fault Interrupt (GFI) circuit between
the house and the layout, with a junction box mounted under the deck.
Material cost for this segment: $25 for 75' of double-stranded lamp
cord, $10 for 100' of ground-contact 110V cable. $15 for conduit and
miscellaneous electrical. |
Note the weather-proof outlet box - and the friendly
canine helper.
|
