Building and operating the Atlantic Inland

 If you didn’t already know I am absolutely terrified of technology. I have GRUDGINGLY accepted DCC, and I had , I think three tortoise switch machines on my old layout, out of some 350 turnouts*1. I do not like all these layers of technology, one on top of another, or in the case of model layouts, one beneath another. I do not want anything on the layout I cannot fix right away, like during a session. So complex switch panels are out of the question. On AIR2 I am contemplating adding some form of detection to control entry into my two helixes. I’m not worried about a head on collision, but rather a rear end collision.  I asked some friends who are knowledgeable in these things, and as usual… got nowhere.  What precipitated this was I saw a “plug and play”  system on a podcast on YouTube, “Larry Pucket, the DCC Guy” . This system, as demonstrated by Larry, SEEMS to be exactly what I want. But when I asked other modelers, OMG*2 was this a divisive can of worms. This i...

 What I’ve settled on is an engine change at Little Rock Yard. Eastbound trains out of lower (West) staging will arrive at Little Rock with one (or two) powered units. These weaker power sets will be exchanged for three powered locomotives which should be enough power to move my trains over the layout, surmounting both helix’s. My Helix’s are coming in at four turn 1.37% grades. Not terrible. Coal trains out of Pettigrew will be steam powered. Eastward coal trains will have two 2-8-8-2’s and westward one 2-8-8-2. Westward trains, Passenger, Freight, and Coal will all get weaker power since they are downgrade over their entire length. Westward MTY coal trains will only need one engine, while eastward MTY’s will need two 2-8-8-2’s. I doubt I will balance power during session, instead I’ll re-stage it between sessions. Now, if the process of assigning a third power unit to the consist out of staging is workable I might do this.  We’ll have to see how the new Command Control Syste...

 On my previous layout I used CVP’s “Easy DCC” system. It was, in fact VERY easy to install. It’s been over twenty years since I installed it, but pretty sure it took me less than one hour to unbox it and get it installed.  Initially this system had a number of problems. CVP assured me that if I only spent an additional $250 dollars for the upgrade everything would be fine. I was pretty upset that CVP expected me to pay them an additional $250 just to make my DCC system work like it was supposed to. I met with CVP at the 2005 NMRA convention, and wrote them a check for $250.  While I felt black mailed, I think I had paid $3000 for my entire command control system up to that point, once the $250 upgrade was installed my system performed flawlessly. It REALLY did. The only problems I had with it were “Operator Error”, and this was narrowed down to two operators who continuously made errors. So now, after roughly 25 years with Easy DCC and using countless other command contr...

 I priced T-Bar ceiling for the layout room. We’re painting everything above the scenery flat black instead.

 Filling MTY car requests is a complex procedure. Establishing this procedure is a lot more difficult than I initially thought. A car is spotted at an industry during the January op session. During the February session the car is pulled from that industry and returned to the yard. The car is MTY and wants to go to its home road where it can be reloaded. Simple. Hardly. I don’t even know where to begin this cycle, so let’s assume TWO things happen at the same time.  1a) An MTY car is ready to pick up. 1b) Another industry has a load it needs a car for. Along with this whole MTY car request thing is the desire to TRY to follow car service rules SOMEWHAT. To over simplify, Car Service Rules direct that railroads must TRY to match a load going to Ft. Worth with a car belonging to a railroad based in or near Ft. Worth ( You can insert any city in North America). The gross oversimplification of these rules is “Send it home and keep it home”, that’s the car we’re talking about. ...