I got out some track & a switch & of course the Railbus. I'm going to see what I come up with, but right now I have to leave it be for a few days (back surgery-removing temporary wires) so I'll get back to it in a few days & hope the basement is WARMER! Thanks so far for all your suggestions. I'll return in several days with an update as to how this is going to work.
An update is posted at the top.
D.