It started with 'CTC', built from the MR articles and progressed through 'CTC-16e' and 'RailCommand' to the present day 'Easy DCC.' There are 8 tethered and 4 wireless throttles which are all required for a full operating session but of late I have been running with smaller groups.
Radios are a requirement since portions of the railroad are not in the main train room. Beyond the practical aspects, most operators enjoy radio communications.
One of the most sought after jobs is that of Dispatcher. Almost the entire railroad is signaled and all interlocking turnouts are exclusively controlled by the Dispatcher.
Knowing that signaling is a daunting task, I explored many options including hardwired logic boards and Bruce Chubb's C/MRI but finally settled on the CTI Electronics system.
The CTI system uses the computer to not only monitor and control all of the railroad devices but displays the schematic on the screen for interactive control.
Each controlled turnout has a Normal and Reverse button on the screen. The dispatcher just 'clicks' on the appropriate button to through the turnouts, which are powered with stall motors. The button lights and the schematic also shows the turnout position.
Yard ladders are easily aligned by just picking the track you want. No diode matrix needed here.
The logic captured by the turnout position combined with the status of track occupancy, which is provided by Chubb's DCCOD detectors and the direction of travel, which is set by the Dispatcher, is all processed by the computer to generate the proper signal aspects. These aspects are also mimicked on the computer screen which is a great aid to the Dispatcher as he knows what the train crews are seeing.
CTI provides all of the hardware interface cards which are located out on the railroad near the devices they control and they are connected in a loop with simple telephone type modular wire. Other than connecting the various devices to their respective I/O cards, the only other wiring required to to run the serial telephone line out of the computer, around the railroad and back to the computer.
You do have to do your own software coding but it is rather straightforward since CTI provides a language they call TCL or Train Control Language. which is geared towards railroading terms and is pretty intuitive. My program is rather long but that is primarily due to the fact that almost all of my signals are interlocking with lots of aspects.
The signals on CSX are the old B&O CPL style with both upper and lower lunar heads and were furnished by Intergrated Signal Systems. The WM signals were hand built as they were of a much simpler design.
While signals really brought the railroad to life, perhaps the greatest benefit is that snafus during op sessions have almost been eliminated. With a qualified Dispatcher, even a new Engineer only needs to know NOT TO RUN A RED.