Update

It's been a most productive week-end. The benchwork is complete except for the painting. I've drilled the holes for the cables, patched up the gashes and sanded the tables. I'm planning to lay the unitrack on the tables without permanently securing them. I didn't want to have to rig a scheme to connect the tracks at the edge of each module. It will also allow me to quickly store the modules without fear of damaging the track work since they will be packed in storage bins during transport. That is, if I ever decide to take my layout to shows. As a consequence, I had to install track guides. These help to keep the tracks in alignment with each other. The guides are simply rectangular pieces of wood glued strategically on the table surface. I went to many home renovation stores hoping to find some thin strips of wood. None of them carried anything small enough. I went to Michael's, but they only had balsa wood, which is too soft. After driving all over town, I finally came across a hobby shop that sold mixing sticks for stirring epoxy. They're essentially popsicle sticks, but they work. I just wished I didn't have to spend the whole afternoon driving around town.

The unitrack has been put back onto the layout and the cables have been strung through the new openings in the tables. There are a lot of wires! The biggest difficulty will be making sure the cables are connected correctly to their controllers. I'll likely go to a computer store this week and get tags to help easily identify the cables. I also placed an order for more 3-way extension cords so it will be a few weeks before I can test my switches/turnouts. In the meantime, I'll need to figure out how to rig up a switching device to control the power feed to the four main lines. I'll head over to Active Electronics and check out their inventory of rotary switches.