Mike G, Layout is really coming along. I got your message and responded.
Yes, I have been away for awhile. Eliot, nice job with the static grass applicator, I also purchased the Noch Grassmaster 2 , from a fellow forum member last year. I get, decent but sometimes mixed results with the really long 12 mm grasses. I use a small shop vac, with a piece of cloth covering the nozzle to vacuum up the excess and get it stand up better, plus with the thin cotton cover over the vacuum tube I can recycle and re-use what doesn't stick.
Been doing a ton of wiring since Friday, and I am slow. It was inevitable that this sub control panel would end up controlling track and switches on 3 separate modules, so I decided to take the time to figure that out now and install plugs and connectors that could be easily taken apart and plugged back together.
Wish I had done at least one of my other two panels, like this one.... This time I decided to build a small shelf on the back of the control panel at the bottom at a 90 degree angle and mount all my terminal strips there. All my panels are mounted on hinges, so the neat thing about this final improvement is the terminal strips are easy to access as they fold out with the panel face. Made up some terminal strip labels on the PC and printed them, coated them both sides with heavy duty packing tape so I can read the labels.
Also decided some time back to label most, if not all, of my wires underneath the layout, with the same method.
I thought I'd remember what all those color coded wires were for, but I was under a section I built 2 years ago the other day and couldn't remember as much as I thought I would. Between signals, insulated rail leads, switches, track power, building lights, street lights, crossing signals, 12 volt relay supplies etc, etc, etc...... Much better for me to have the labels that clearly spell out what most of the wires are .....
Anyway, here's a few photos, fortunately everything checked out so no "troubleshooting required.
