First, a bit more scenery stuff. Part of the main line curve hangs over the edge of the front fascia, so I decided to make it look like a rocky outcropping. The removable front panel on the right slips right under this area.



Once a layout gets more established I like to install a programming track right on the layout. That way I can drive an engine on to it, flip a switch, program the engine's decoder, flip the switch back, and drive off. It was time to install a programming track on the BC&E. First, I needed to find a suitable location. To program the decoder in the longest steam engine I have, I need about 9.5 inches (24cm) of isolated track. The team track in the new Bear Creek industrial area had two pieces of rail of which the shortest rail is 11 inches (28cm). Perfect! Since I don't use rail joiners effectively all my track pieces are isolated, so I didn't need to do anything to my track. Of course, I verified this with my trusty volt meter.



Rather than placing this switch in the front fascia, I came up with the idea of hiding it on the layout. Namely, under the team track freight depot. Using a Forstner bit, I drilled a 1/2 inch (1.27cm) hole part way into the layout surface, to about a depth that matches the length of the switch' handle. I then drilled a hole in the center for the switch' shaft.



After soldering all the wires to the DPDT switch, I installed it into the hole I drilled. Because of the type of switch handle, I had to file down the edges of the hole a bit so that I can get my fingernails in between the edge of the hole and the switch handle. I marked the positions of the switch on the layout surface with a "T" (track power) and a "P" (programming). On the switch itself, one set of wires goes to the bus wires under the layout, and the other set of wires goes to the programming track connections on the Digitrax DCS100 Command Booster. The middle set of wires are then connected to the track pieces.



The switch is a simple case of a "now you see it...



... and now you don't".