Thanks! Here's an update.
Continued wiring today for a little bit with the help of #2 grandson. Engine passing over crossing in the middle of the reverse-loop zone promptly stopped. I had that block ending one track section past the crossing. What I hadn't taken into account was that there is no power passing through Ross crossing. The center is isolated and stops power flow from either direction. This means I need feeders on both sides of the crossing to feed the tracks that pass over that section. I'll have to add some jumpers and hope that DCS doesn't mind to much.
The other thing I found is more serious. My J1-a doesn't like the "S" curve leading into the yards. I was worried about this, but didn't think it would be this bad. The engine only has flanges on the first and last driver, but they were binding going through this section when I pushed it by hand (it's not yet powered). This problem may also manifest itself with the Q2 and S1, but those are not out of their boxes yet. I went back to the RRTrack drawing board and came up with a realignment. It means some significant surgery of well-glued track.
Here's the culprit.
Here's the curve removed, but it entails some major surgery. By moving the #4 that leads into the yard further around the bend, it eliminates the "S" curve completely. And, best of all, no new parts need to be purchased. I haven't wired these tracks in yet, so if I'm going to make a change, it should be now.
Yard track loss is minimal, and it looks a whole lot better (to me). Too bad I didn't think of this when I designed it the first time. 20/20 hindsight. Removing and re-gluing the track and roadbed will not be easy, but the "S" curve is intolerable.
