Over the last few months I have been building a layout with my boys (6 and 4). To keep things simple and reliable we have been using Kato Unitrack and the plug&play wiring system. The track is great, the biggest downside so far was the need to buy large quantities of extension cords to complete the wiring and drilling giant holes in the table top to pass the plug ends through so we could keep the wiring plug&play. A couple of weeks ago, I found this post and headed down to our local RC store. The plan was to purchase plug ends in bulk so I could build my own extension cables. http://modeltrains.about.com/od/electronicsdcc/qt/kato_wiring.htm Now for not needing monster holes. My original plan was to cut the ends off the leads, feed the wires though a small hole and then crimp a new plug to the cable. Not the cheapest or simplest approach but it would work. As I explained this to a very helpful LHS guy (http://www.modelland.com/ - these guys were super, unfortuantely they don't sell trains), he suggested I buy a Tamiya plug remover. I had tried a screwdriver (takes forever and often wrecks the plugs) and a brass tube (doesn't fit) to push back the barbs and release the pin but this tool beats them hands-down popping out pins in seconds. And the price is reasonable too. So if you are a Unitrack user I strongly recommend grabbing one of these: E-flite EFLA215 Tamiya Pin Extractor Tool. Fred.
I bought one of the plug removers at a electronics store. It is great, and no giant holes to pass the ends through.I ended up making my own extension wireing rather than spend a fortune buying KATO extensions. Everything is still quick connect and disconnect. I did use the KATO boxes that convert one chord into three to spread power around the layout.
