A couple more weeks have passed, and the power supply bus wiring is done! I've now got the main track bus and three other bus-pairs wired to each of 7 barrier-strip panels scattered around the layout. I've been running trains forwards and backwards along the existing track, checking for problems, but haven't found any yet. And, w/the wiring done for the moment, I'm back to laying track: the hidden staging tracks for McPhee are completed, and I'm working on laying out the turnouts and other track at the southern end of Dolores.

After fighting the flu most of Christmas break, I was able to do some more wiring. I've now gotten the main track bus (#10 wire) plus other power supply busses (another 3 pairs of #12 and #14 wire) all the way around the layout. These will provide track and aux power to each of (now) 7 local panels. I've gotten three of those built and installed - Rico, Ridgway and Durango. Each of the panels is a 18" x 24" hunk of 1/2" plywood covered with terminal (or barrier) strips. The panels are hanging below the benchwork, but are hinged so they can fold up under the layout when I'm not working on them. Of course, all the runs to these panels are using stranded wire, so the panel movement won't break the wiring.

I also wired the existing track from Durango to Mancos, so trains can now run between the laundry-room hidden track all the way thru to Durango! There's nothing visible to see after all this work, but it's critical infrastructure and it's good to have gotten the main bus runs completed. Although it feels a little like I'm using too much wire, I've decided to run the main track bus to each local panel, then individual wiring to each block. Although I'm running command-control, I want to wire each block individually so that I can add block detection later if I want, and also so I can run of sections (say, staging tracks or enginehouse spurs) if they're just storing trains. I've got a good deal of hidden track, so all that will need detection, at least.

From each local panel, I'm running #14 or #12 to each block. The track is being laid with every other length of flex track soldered, so I'm running short #20 jumpers to every other section of track - thus feeders approx every 6' and every rail is either soldered to a jumper or to another piece of track. I'm using mostly electro-frog Peco turnouts, and with these newer ones you can easily wiring the frogs directly, which is what I'm doing. This does mean that each turnout will need it's frog powered, and I'm still trying to decide how to best accomplish that. At the moment, I'm leaning toward manual push-pull knobs connected to slide switches for local turnouts, and Tortise moters for turnouts further away.

The first wiring panel

A few sore muscles and scrapes later, the first wiring panel is installed, under Ridgway. I spent a good portion of this weekend planning and working on wiring, mostly trying to figure out how to organize things. I finally decided on 6 sub-busses, Ridgway, Durango, Ophir loop, Telluride, Dolores and Rico. Wiring for all those areas will terminate at panels in those 6 locations. All 6 panels will initially be powered from power supplies under Rico, but I could add booster supplies for any of the 6 panels at some later date.

Even though I'm using an older form of command-control, I'm still dividing each area into blocks, and wiring each block individually from the area's panel. This way, if I want to add detection or control-panel signalling later, it (should) be easier. I've decided to protect groups of blocks with 1156 automotive lamps, as several have suggested, so the panels and blocks let me lay that wiring out as well.

The panels themselves are sheets of plywood hanging under the benchwork, but hinged so that when I'm not working on wiring they can fold up under the layout. I really need the storage area under the layout, and this will keep the area under the panels more open, so I can get at stuff stored there w/o having to reach around behind the panels.

No work at all during October (busy month), but yesterday I got a bit more done and reached a major milestone - the first locomotive operated over a section of track! Here's one of my kids w/ the first train



It was just on the short section of track running between Dolores, thru the laundry room, and into the bathroom. Because that wiring had to be done as the track / bridge was created, it's wiring is done and I was able to hook up a power pack and test-run a locomotive.


My kids were so thrilled they immediately put a Lego guy or two atop the locomotive and shuttled him back and forth between the laundry room and bathroom for nearly an hour! The immediate focus for now is to start building the sub-bus networks of wiring, and tying in the rest of the existing trackwork...

Ophir loop proper was finished. Here's a photo - note that it was quickly taken over by more kid trains, this time my old O27 Lionel stuff, which is now laid from Vance Jct, around Ophir, and all the way to bridge 46-E. So after Thomas trains, we now have Lionel trains running on the layout. Eventually some HO trains might even run! It's great to have the kids involved, though, whatever scale they're using.

Wow, guess it's been a while since I've posted an updated here... track laying is progressing well; there's about 200' of track laid, clear thru on the lower line from Dolores thru the laundry room & bathroom, under Ridgway, thru Mancos and Hesperus, around under Ophir, and back up to the Durango cutoff.

There's also track laid from the other end of Dolores, under Rico, and into the curving grade into Rico proper. My focus is getting all the hidden track laid and operational, make sure it's solid trackwork, then continue w/the trackwork above. There's just a little wiring done so far, so nothing actually runs yet, but my kids have been 'test running' old Tyco cars around the track for some time now.

Here's a (very messy) picture of the Hesperus / Wildcat canyon area (on the lower level; that's the switching lead and run to staging for Durango above).

And here's the lower main running thru the bathroom, w/ the closet on the right and the toilet on the left. There will eventually be another level about 4" above this line, with the yard lead, main, and 3 staging tracks.

Here's a closeup of the lower line thru the bathroom closet (the tunnel leads to the line under the Ridgway yard). You can see the wall opening cut for the 5 tracks from the Ridgway yard above.



Probably the most difficult hidden track has been sneaking the mainline behind the furnace, in the laundry room. Here's the completed lower main, with the furnace on the left in this picture.



And here's Eli and Brendan, who were very helpful in squeezing behind the furnace to help feed the wiring from the new mainline here out to me for connections.