¡°My first comment is about length. If the feeder wire is 12" or less, #22 will work great. Solid, copper, etc. Longer than that might be OK, per others experience.¡±
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Smaller feeders over slightly longer distances shouldn¡¯t be a problem.? When providing feeders to every section of track, we¡¯ve successfully utilized phone wire sized feeders up to 16¡± when needed without impacting performance on a layout with monthly operations over a period of 12 years.? Solid was great as it allowed us to bend the feeder so it would lay down on the base of the rail.
¡°But what I didn't do and now wish I had. Was to solder the feeders to the bottom of the rails before installation.. I know that makes it harder, but IMHO having a wire soldered to the side of the rail is ugly.¡±
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It takes a certain set of skills to manage the effort to solder to the bottom of rails and get that feeder to drop into the hole one has drilled.? Not all are capable of that.? A skill I wish I had.
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¡°And to solder that feeder on the far side of the near rail makes it in the flangeway. So, if your track is already laid, then you must be very very skilled with soldering to keep those wires as thin and neat as you can. No large blobs of solder allowed.¡±
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A non-issue if one uses small enough feeder size wire and develops their technique.? I have friends who can consistently solder feeders to the inside of the rail without interfering with rail/wheel clearances.
