An update on the switch machines. Interurban and Duckman (alias Chris and Brian) came over last night to help me wire the Tortoises. After looking things over we all came to the conclusion that for what I wanted to do, it was the wrong way to go. The thing is, I have Peco turnouts, which snap into position, and they are all readily accessible. The main reason I wanted the motors was to power some dwarf signals, but Chris showed me a much cheaper way to do this. So, I'll be returning the Tortoises to the LHS.
The good news is, we had a great visit, some tasty pizza, and a chance to run a couple trains. Chris suggested I lose the duckunder and sketched an alternate plan for the benchwork. He's right that now would be the easiest time to make the changes, so I'll be thinking about that, and working out how that would change my track plan.
Meanwhile, the yard will stay the same, so I can continue working on it, while I mull over the rest of the layout.
Anyway, thanks to Chris and Brian for a fun and informative evening! :thumb:
Val