I noticed quite a bit of activity on this thread just this morning, so I think it's time for an update!
I managed to get my control board up and running, thanks to the suggestion made by geysergazer. So my issue originally was that the lights would go off when I put the toggle switch back into the center position to allow my track switches to utilize the anti-derailing feature. Turns out my issue was with the LEDs. I had bought from amazon, a 100pc 3mm Red & Green Bi-Color LED Diodes which had 3 leads coming off them. I spoke to a friend who is an electrician and he explained that I would need a 2 lead LED. So I found a pack of LED - 3 mm Red Green 2 Lead Bipolar lights at Linchfield Station and these did the trick! I wired them up exactly like geysergazer showed in his picture, and she's finally up and running! The walgreens metal sheet all wired up was mounted in a casing a local contractor put together for me, and is mounted to the side of the benchwork.
I had to do a bit of legwork getting the toggles to face the right direction and have them display the correct colors. I wanted them to be green when going straight through the switch, and red when curving off. So according to the board, my PRR A-5 0-4-0 is ready to leave the left engine spur and head out onto the mainline.
A had to do a little butchering of my girder bridge to allow the passenger car steps to pass through without smacking into the girders. Can't say I was too pleased with the results, just looks weird. So I checked around and found on eBay a custom 10" girder bridge made out of wood. I like this because the walls are much lower, and I can sink this into my foam, allowing anything to pass over without encountering a collision with the walls. I think when I get this new bridge all stained and in place, it'll look much nicer than the butchered fastrack bridge. BUT this also means Im going to need to cut more into my phone for the road underpass. It's already extremely low clearance as is, now the new bridge being sunk in will make it impossible to pass through. But that's ok, more fun messy work to do!
I also a bit of rearranging of my rolling stock. The cabooses are now located up front and the Lionel GLa's have been relocated to the back curved spur. I was having issues with having to make couplings with a caboose all the way back there on the curve and it wasn't easy. I figure now, the GLa's which are rarely used are on the back spur, and cabooses which I always need access to are up front for easy access. I am considering selling my 3 pack of Lionel GLa's and replacing them with an MTH MOW train. Maybe a yellow boxcar, flatcar and N6b caboose. I currently have 3 K-Line H22a hoppers and 3 K-Line H31b hoppers, which seems to be more than enough weight and coal for my little 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 to move around.
Like I said, not too much in the realm of major updates to the layout. The electronic switch board was a the biggest, and that was finished a few weeks ago. My next major endeavor is finishing the path under the bridge for the road, and then getting the stone walls installed, and working on getting the road fabricated. A friend of mine used his own little customized putty for a road, i'm considering doing that so it can molded to fit any path, it'll have some 3D looks to it, and it wont warp like if I used paper or cardboard. THEN the next major step is begin ballasting around the track. As seen in the last picture, there is an array of Woodland Scenic Ballast and Turf just waiting to be unleashed! I do have a Woodland Scenics grass mat down, but some 3d ballast and turf will really help!
Thanks again to geysergazer and everyone else who chimed in about the switch board! I couldn't be happier with it, and it definitely makes my life easier with throwing these switches!
Until next time!
Steve Lerro
www.KLtrainz.com
