Taking Control

One goal with this layout was to independently control two trains. This greatly complicated the wiring, but will be worth it in the end.

The control panel uses large LED's to indicate turnout position. Each turnout has a SPDT switch mounted to the underside of the solenoid. This allows the bi-color LED's to indicate position. The smaller LED's are also red/green, but they indicate which power pack is controlling each block of track. If the LED is off, the track is not powered. I used two momentary pushbutton switches per turnout and one Triple pole, double throw, center off toggle switch for each block of track. Two poles control the track wiring, and the other one controls the indicator LED's.

Wiring this beast took several days and a lot of patience. I found some perf boards to mount resistors in so I would not fry the LED's. The wires are bundled and grouped in an effort to reduce clutter, but the compartment turned out like a rat's nest anyway. Next layout: bigger space for wiring!

To make sure that we could remove the control drawer if necessary, I used terminal strips on the back as a connection between the drawer and the layout. Plugs would have allowed faster removal, but they were more expensive. This is the back of the drawer under the layout. The black plastic tubing should protect the wiring from pinches and cats.