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Okay, one taker's enough in my book. I'll post 'em tomorrow (they're at home and you definitely don't want me doing this from memory...)

Hey all, After a lot of research and experimentation, I've come up with working diagrams for running two tortoises off one toggle, one tortoise from two toggles, and the piece-de-resistance, two tortoises off two toggles. All with panel LED's too (for two panels, in two-toggle scenarios). If...

Well, I've been putting it off and off, and now is the moment of truth.. It's time to put the backdrop up. It'll be hooked directly to the wall (i.e. doesn't need to have much structural strength itself), and go from layout to ceiling. I'm just not sure what to use: Hardboard... Joints tend...

Benchwork in progress - udpate - DONE Benchwork is done! Okay, framework is done. Next comes backdrop and plywood/foam on top of benchwork... New layout plan is at http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c158/kristianj/LAYOUT14.jpg. Viewpoints below are keyed off this image...

Thanks, Andrew. Good viewpoint, and I hadn't considered what I could get for the Lenz system. Anywhere you'd choose to sell it beyond the obvious (meaning Ebay)...??? The Lenz throttles also require too many keystrokes to throw a turnout, so that's a wash.

Okay, I truly can't decide on this... I have a Lenz system, currently. The system works just fine for me. I have stationary decoders and have used it to control turnouts. I have the computer interface and have used this and JMRI to run it from the computer. No significant complaints, it has...

Aha! "The Model Railroader's Guide to Locomotive Servicing Terminals"... we'll give that a shot, i think.

Thanks all. I've since been educated that my calculations are off. When wired in series you don't sum up the amperage as I did. That means my amperage needs are far less than I thought (about 2 amps to run the whole schmear), which decomplicates power notably. I found a nice little adjustable...

Thanks Russ. I got the one on the 50's which is okay as a source for this, but not too much. I'll try to hunt down the other one - I already know the local library ain't got it (I know their model railroad collection pretty much by heart), so maybe I'll check Amazon used books...

Can anyone suggest sites, books, etc. that would give me some insight into loco service facilities, specifically for steam. More specifically for 1945-50 era? Thanks, K

Okay, gang. Here are some pictures of the benchwork under way. If you want to see the plan for which this is built, it's at http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c158/kristianj/LAYOUT12.jpg Having said that, on to the piccies: I tried uploading them here, but had to shrink them so small, or turn...

Hey straight track, What did you use for the lines on your panels? Tape? Mask and paint? Other??? Would love to know... and if it works well for you.

Okay, here's an electronics question from the... let's say I'm more mechanically inclined... If I have a power supply setup as shown here - 2, 12V 2A power supplies in series powering a bus around my layout to feed DC needs... Do I have 2amps or 4amps? While we're at it, can someone tell me...

Heck, a "heads up" never hurt anyone! Thanks. What they do say (and I think it's noted here too) is that while the motor is throwing the turnout, the LED will dim, then when it reaches the end of the throw and stalls, it will come to full brightness.

I've not worked with resin, but I understand it's more prone to warping and woofing than styrene, so resin kits generally require more 'tweaking' than styrene...

Sweet-looking control panel, straight track. For the general good, I'll mention that putting the LEDs in line with the tortoise is, in fact, endorsed by the Circuitron folks, and I've done that in the past without a problem. I just didn't know if the bicolors would work properly.

Thanks Russ. That's probably exactly what I'll do, tho it'll be a bit before I can do so. If we don't get a more expert input here, I'll advise the group on outcome. Kris

Yes, exactly! Those are what I'm looking at. So my "I'm even more of a not-expert than you" question is does simply installing them the same way as single-color LED's result in the color flipping when you change the toggle?

Thanks, Russ. After lots of input from all over, I found some great 6amp/120v mini on/on toggles that should work great, for about $0.65 each.

Okay, I've just visited digikey and fried my brain. I need toggle switches for control panels to run tortoise motors. I believe that means I want on-on SPDT switches... But how many amps and what about all these other features??? And how much should they cost - the ones I found that I...