I finally designed and installed the fascia with hinges so each panel can be swung down, out of the way when working on the wiring on the back side of the board. My previous installation only allowed the fascia to lower to horizontal, which got in the way when reaching under the layout.
I still haven’t found a way that makes me happy to install the mini switches that control the turnouts. The two ways I have looked at so far, see picture, have both advantages and drawbacks. The recessed switch housing takes up a lot of room on the fascia and the extended switch cover sticks out too far. Still looking.
I’m working on designing a 10″ fascia around the layout, with room for turnout control switches with LED lights, and that can be hinged to lay flat for working on the wiring. I’m also wiring in Tortoise switch machines on the main line.
Older turnouts built for DC power are not friendly with Digital Command Control and can cause power shorts. By reworking them to power the switch points to be consistent with the stock rails it makes them friendly with DCC power. The upper switch has been converted and the lower switch is still stock.
PCRy engines
A few of the engines I have been converting to Digital Command Control (DCC). I am now starting to add more track to the layout to get the main line finished.