Great idea

John,

What a great idea; and in the budget, too.  Thanks for the article.

And hello, from an EVL member from the 1970's.  Wow!  Manchester, NH is a long ways from Griffith Park.

simple control panels

Sorry, but it looks like a lot of work.

Go to a home center and get some plastic laminate or hit up a cabinet shop for some scraps.  Cut the pieces to size and sand or file the edges smooth.  Drill holes for the pushbuttons.  Install the pushbuttons and screw or glue the finished panel over an opening in the layout's framework or fascia.

Don't be sorry Charles

What I love about this hobby is all the ideas that come out when people see what someone else has done. That's why I post. Not to have someone do exactly what I did but to provided food for thought. When I first saw Gatorfoam it was being used for HO models and model bases. When I saw the 4 ft x 8 ft sheets, that Dave had, my mind went way outside the box and that's when I came up with my 8 foot long Gatorfoam addition to my layout.

I have scraps of Gatorfoam from other projects I have worked on. The panel I showed took me about 10 minutes to do, with only hand tools. Longer to take the pictures!

Your idea also has merit and I would add that in the kitchen and bath sections of lumber or home stores that you can pick up free laminate samples. These usually have sanded edges and rounded corners. As you said just drill and attach.

I was at a layout today where the modeler had protected his protruding switches by putting a stock cabinet pull over the switch or pushbutton. He used a rounded pull attached with two screws and used a pull shape that does not catch clothing, etc.

Thanks for the idea.

John