Almost done ! Got the red and black power wires to the reversing loop strung under my workbench shelf and run under the layout to terminal blocks and then up to solder joints under the Fastrack. I used these black , soft plastic wire clips I got on Amazon. They come in a mixed bag of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wires per clip and also have different wire sizes. I needed 3's and 2's and cut the 4's and 5's down so I would have enough. They have a sticky pad on the reverse side to adhere to the surface of whatever you're working on. In the picture, there is an exposed brown/copper wire. That is the wire that is going to go from the KW on my workbench to the MTH distribution block under the layout to provide 14v accessory power to the layout, but I haven't hooked it up yet, so it's exposed.
Note the TVS suppressors soldered to the terminal blocks on the underside of the layout. The pics also show the basic construction method I used.
I laid all the track work out and the fit it came together nicely. A neat feature I never thought about is that because of the non-derailing feature of the FT switch at the base of the loop, an incoming train will automatically go up one side of the loop and flip the switch the other way coming back so that the next incoming train will automatically go up the other side of the loop and continuously alternate. Of course, I can flip the switch via the Legacy remote if I want to change the sequence.
I also cut, stained and poly'd the edging and am just waiting for the many coats of poly to dry before attaching it.
I was able to run trains and everything runs great across the wye and liftout; through the closets; and around the reversing loop and back onto the main layout but didn't have time to take a video. The only issue is that having so many FT switches (5) stacked on the main layout together is creating a continuity/shorting issue for a couple of trains, so I'll have to work on that.
I should get the edging and detail work completed this week and will post more pics and a video when completed.
