Layout Progress Report #13 as of 04/25/2010

Getting ready to start on the upper level backdrop, so I'm trying to knockout a few odds & ends on the lower level.  I plan on adding some control panels to the front fascia at a later time, however I wanted to do was add some kind of visual indicator directly to the yard itself that shows when the train has cleared the switch as well as which turnout route is programmed for which yard track.

Here is what I came up with:

The routing boards are made from aluminum L-stock, some bolts, washers, and attached to a T-nut mounted to the bottom of the plywood.  I purchase the aluminum at a local hardware store.  Cut it down to a 2 inch piece with a hacksaw, and then smoothed out the corners with a tabletop grinder and file to eliminate any sharp edges.  I then drilled a 1/4" hole into the aluminum to mount the 3" bolt.

Here's a close up pic of the completed routing board assembly.  The route shown is what is programmed into the Digitrax DS64, allowing the yard operator to direct the train by throwing one switch address on the controller

The final touch was done on my inkjet with some label paper.  It shows the Cahaba Southern logo for the first time.

Still trying the figure out the best thing to do for lighting the lower level.  Hope to have some progress on that next time.......