Then I hit the spin cycle button. My intent all along was to have classic control boards for switches and uncoupling even though train control would be accomplished with wireless remotes using Lionel's TMCC system. I started building the control boards using toggle switches. These gave the look that I wanted. However, they also required soldering of wire leads to the contacts on the switches. Soldering is not something I do well. After getting all of the Winter Park Yard, all of one of the lower divisions and most of the other lower division, it became clear that my soldering ability was degrading and that I might be causing a future visit from the Winter Park Fire Department.

I was using stranded wire. This seemed to be a large part of my problem. A discussion that I was involved in on the O Gauge Railroad Forum pointed me towards solid wire, specifically some carried by Scott's Odds 'N Ends. I got some and found that I could solder it much better than the stranded wire. So I made the decision to go to this wire.

One of the things I had wanted to accomplish with my control boards was have switch position indication lights on the board. I hoped to be able to do this using the new Atlas signal system which would tie into their switches. However, by December, 2002, this signal system was already over a year late and I realized that my entire schedule was at risk. Another suggestion from the OGR Forum led me to try the switch remotes from z-stuff. They apparently worked with switch motors other than z-stuff's. I got one. It didn't work.

I did like the remote, however, and soon hit the next spin cycle. I decided to replace all the Atlas switch motors with z-stuff switch motors and remotes. This meant I had to remove all the motors from the switches that were already wired into the layout and removed all the toggle switches already in place on the control boards. This I did. Ouch.

The z-stuff switch motors have notches for the electrical connections. The connection is secured with screw posts. The screw posts themselves are metal, but they are mounted in the plastic housing for the motor. This means you have to be very careful not to overtighten the screw or you might strip the threads in the housing. I discovered that solid wire does not work well in these devices. Stranded wire compresses and makes a more reliable connection. I was having so much trouble getting the connections to be stable that I (yes, here it comes) made the decision to go back to stranded wire. So, I had to rewire everything.

Since I was still using toggle switches for uncoupling sections and for power control to engine park sidings, I continued to use the solid wire for these.

This took me into January, 2003. Happy New Year!