Hello Keith:

Please tell us more about being a Broadway Electrician. I've always wondered about the special plugs for all the spots and flood lights. When I was in Ames Iowa I had a tour of C.J.Stevens Auditorium, with one of the first SCR lighting controls.

I have a load of industrial wiring, and they use sleeves to make their stranded wire easy to insert into connectors. I don't have the sleeves or the crimp tool to do this at home.

Thanks, Carl.

To each their own. After years of working as a Broadway electrician, I am not fond of stranded wire. I use a solid wire on my Layout.

On Sun, Feb 10, 2019, 9:44 AM Mark Cartwright via Groups.Io <marcdecapri=yahoo.com@groups.io wrote:

I am with Carl here on stranded wire for layouts. 
(but not always for houses or automotive/trailers/airplanes). 
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The problem with stranded wire is it can corrode from inside. I had a front wiring harness do that on a BMW which I parked on an off near the Pacific Ocean for 5 years. To replace the wiring harness cost me $3100; on a car which had a Blue Book Value of $5k. 
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But I digress....
I too considered Romex 12 Gauge Solid Wire..since I was buying so much of it for my houses.
However....? I also have some experience rewiring a Sailboat.  So I have also become a fan of Marine (tined) wire for better conductivity. After my BMW Corroded Wire Experience I may have run the other way.
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> My initial wiring from the DCC Controller to the track or Buss is Marine Stranded 12 Gauge Color Coded Wire.
From there, I ordered via eBay 200 feet of Blue White 12 Gauge Stranded Wire and 200 feet of White/Blue stranded wire. That is Blue with a White Spiral and White with a Blue Spiral. Yes, I twist it.
For now as drop down leads...I am using a modified Kato System for my N Gauge Layouts to the 12 gauge wiring below.
HO will be something different.
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For my layout buildings and street lights...I use 14 gauge stranded red and 14 gauge stranded black. I do not run this wire through the same holes or even close by 2 inches to my Blue/White Spiral Wiring.
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For some individual projects such as animation, I am for now using Trailer Wire which is 12 gauge stranded in 4 connected parallel wires.
This too will change, as I am planning on using a Rainbow of colors throughout my main layout.
:)) Mark

PS...
There is no Aluminum Wire in my house today. Along with many other issues which have been corrected. 
My WiFi Works. my switches stopped getting hot and catching on fire etc. Even my LokSound Decoders seem happier and do not reset.

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