Thanks Flare & Jerrys HO!  The cutting the wire and splicing was my first choice.  The third wire was the concern. I'm further thinking that if I maintain the wires in the same sequence from end to end, I should be AOK.  I will, of course, follow your advice to NOT solder wires until it has been fully tested.

Again...thanks

I want to control the entire crossover piece with one controller.  Normally, I would connect the 2 "output" wires together and connect to the controller.  However, Bachman wires come with as a 3 wire with connector.  How can I do this?

Why doesn't Bachmann make 1/3 or 1/2 tracks in both curved and straight?
I've hit a snag in trying to make a layout I designed and need a few short pieces (less than 12")

Thanks for the information.  Not sure yet what I will try but perhaps the smaller layout (and number of cars) until I can get some organization under my belt.

Thanks for the lead.  Just bought another car for my set and will keep looking.

I just bought the Pennsylvanian and it comes with 20 pieces of track & a transformer.  I'd like to expand the number but don't know if the transformer will be able to handle the increased size.  Is there a maximum number of tracks I can use with the transformer from the set?  What are other alternatives/transformers available?

I received the subject train set for Christmas and would like to set up a model in the basement.  How can I buy more passenger cars (Pennsylvania RR) that are Tuscan Red to match those in the original set?