TC Controlling Analog and Digital Trains Together

29 J anuary 2013 Rev 2.
0
2

Die Preiten Bahn a PC controlled Model Railway
By Chris Fletcher
Abstract
Just after Christmas we completed system testing of our model railway and this event
represents the successful conclusion to a project that started 4 years ago. This paper
is intended to describe technical details in the design and implementation of the
Preiten Bahn.

Even though the Preiten system is specifically designed to permit Conventional
(Analog) and Digital (DCC) Model Trains to operate on the same layout, the report
covers many theoretical and practical aspects applicable to any PC controlled Model
Railway. Such subjects are

Electronic Design
Planning
Power distribution
Cabling
Data Preparation (for Freiwalds TrainController
TM
)
System Testing

The Analog hardware is marketed by Oaktree Systems LLC under the name of
Railroad Control Interface (RCI) This hardware is described in some detail.

The DCC Command Station is manufactured by Digitrax and Mobile decoders come
from a variety of sources including MTH, ESU, Lenz etc.

Other peripheral Hardware such as Mini-Boosters, DC/DCC Switches and Occupancy
Detectors are home built for reasons explained in the paper.

In the past, when one talks of mixing DCC and DC together the warnings from all
quarters sounded: Dont Do It, you will destroy your equipment! Of course I took
this seriously and researched the failure circumstances to design protection systems
against accidental bridging of DC and DCC. These problems can be enumerated as
follows

1. Voltage Doubling across DCC decoder input
2. Overload Currents in One Rail Only
3. Different DC and DCC Supply voltages may cause Feedback through intrinsic
Protection Diodes in H-Bridges.
4. Some DCC sound decoders include large capacitors on their input circuitry
which falsely trigger overload protection circuits.

Disclaimer

The Equipment described here works well
on my System. I take NO Responsibility for
its correct functioning anywhere else!

Chris Fletcher
3

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 6
1.1 HISTORY ........................................................................................................................................ 6
1.2 I WENT DOWN MANY WRONG PATHS! ................................................................................................ 6
1.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... 7
1.4 IS IT ECONOMICAL? ........................................................................................................................ 7
1.5 COPY RIGHT ................................................................................................................................... 8
1.6 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 8
2 GENERAL PRINCIPLES ..................................................................................... 9
2.1 WHY PC CONTROL ? ...................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.1 Manual Control .................................................................................................................9
2.1.2 Automatic Control .......................................................................................................... 10
2.1.3 Analog and Digital Traffic together ................................................................................ 10
3 TC OPERATION ................................................................................................ 10
3.1 ALLOCATION OF BLOCKS .............................................................................................................. 10
3.2 BLOCKS, SECTIONS AND ROUTES ................................................................................................. 11
3.3 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ANALOG SYSTEMS ....................................................................... 13
3.4 LOGICAL BLOCK POLARITY IN ANALOG SYSTEMS .......................................................................... 15
3.5 SCHEDULES ................................................................................................................................. 16
3.6 SIGNALING ................................................................................................................................... 17
3.7 ENGINES (SEE FIG. 12) ................................................................................................................. 19
3.7.1 Analog Engines ............................................................................................................. 19
3.7.2 Digital Engines ............................................................................................................... 19
3.8 SIMULTANEOUS ANALOG/DIGITAL OPERATION .............................................................................. 20
3.9 RUNNING ENGINES SMOOTHLY ACROSS BLOCK BOUNDARIES. ....................................................... 21
3.10 TRAFFIC CAPACITY AND BUS ARRANGEMENTS (SEE FIG. 14) ......................................................... 22
3.10.1 COM Ports ..................................................................................................................... 22
3.10.2 Traffic Capacity of the RCI Equipment .......................................................................... 23
4 PROBLEMS WITH MULTIPLE POWER SUPPLIES ......................................... 27
4.1 ACCIDENTAL BRIDGING OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL BLOCKS (SEE FIG. 17) ....................................... 27
4.2 VOLTAGE DOUBLING (SEE FIGS. 18, 19) ........................................................................................ 27
4.3 OVERLOAD CURRENT ON ONE SIDE ONLY ...................................................................................... 29
4.4 UNDETECTED O/L CURRENTS THROUGH PROTECTION DIODES IN H-BRIDGE CIRCUITS ..................... 30
4.5 IN-RUSH CURRENTS WITH SOME SOUND DECODERS ...................................................................... 31
4.6 LIMITATIONS APPLIED TO ANALOG ENGINES RUNNING UNDER TRAINCONTROLLER
TM
...................... 32
5 HARDWARE ...................................................................................................... 33
5.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................... 33
5.2 PRODUCTION OF PCB CARDS AND THE EAGLE CAD SYSTEM ........................................................ 33
6 COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE HARDWARE ................................................... 34
6.1 THE RAILROAD CONTROL INTERFACE, RCI .................................................................................... 34
6.2 MICRO PROCESSOR CONTROLLED THROTTLE CARD CBC-8R ........................................................ 35
6.2.1 CBC8 Features .............................................................................................................. 35
6.2.2 Card Addressing ............................................................................................................ 37
6.2.3 Commands and Responses for the CBC-8R Card ....................................................... 37
6.3 THE MINI-INPUT-OUTPUT CARD IO-24 ........................................................................................... 40
6.3.1 Features ........................................................................................................................ 40
6.3.2 Card Addressing ............................................................................................................ 41
6.3.3 Commands and Responses for IO-24 ........................................................................... 41
6.4 THE INPUT OUTPUT CARD IO-48 ................................................................................................... 44
6.4.1 Features ........................................................................................................................ 44
6.4.2 Card Addressing ............................................................................................................ 45
6.4.3 Commands and Responses for IO-48 ........................................................................... 45
6.5 THE RCI BUS SYSTEM .................................................................................................................. 48
4

6.5.1 Bus Wiring ..................................................................................................................... 48
6.5.2 Poling ............................................................................................................................. 49
6.6 DIGITRAX HARDWARE ................................................................................................................... 50
6.6.1 The Command Station/Booster DCS 100 ..................................................................... 50
6.7 USB LOCONET INTERFACE PR3 ................................................................................................... 51
7 HOME-BUILT HARDWARE ............................................................................... 52
7.1 A HOME-BUILT OCCUPANCY DETECTOR ........................................................................................ 52
7.1.1 Principles ....................................................................................................................... 52
7.1.2 The DC-DCC Switch (4) card ........................................................................................ 52
7.2 THE DCC MINI-BOOSTER ............................................................................................................. 54
7.2.1 Features ........................................................................................................................ 55
7.3 THE TORTOISE UNIT ..................................................................................................................... 58
8 IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................................... 60
8.1 PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTION ............................................................................................................ 60
8.2 PLANNING .................................................................................................................................... 64
9 MOUNTING AND CABLING THE WHOLE SYSTEM ........................................ 65
9.1 THE BOARD PANELS .................................................................................................................... 65
9.2 BOARD INTERCONNECTIONS ......................................................................................................... 67
9.2.1 Solution Specific for New RCI IO-48 Board................................................................... 67
9.2.2 Solutions for other Equipment Cases ............................................................................ 68
9.2.3 Existing Main Boosters .................................................................................................. 68
9.3 CABLING ...................................................................................................................................... 68
9.4 POWER SUPPLY AND DISTRIBUTION .............................................................................................. 69
10 DATA CONFIGURATIONS ............................................................................ 73
10.1 BLOCK DATA (FIG. 63, 64, 65)...................................................................................................... 74
10.2 ROUTE DATA (SEE FIG. 66) ........................................................................................................... 79
10.3 TURNOUTS (SEE FIG. 67) .............................................................................................................. 81
10.3.1 Turnout .......................................................................................................................... 82
10.3.2 Double Slips .................................................................................................................. 82
11 TEST TOOLS ................................................................................................. 84
11.1 CABLE TEST TOOL ....................................................................................................................... 84
11.2 RCITEST PROGRAM ...................................................................................................................... 84
11.3 THE PRICOM DCC POCKET TESTER .............................................................................................. 87
11.4 VERSA-TAP DEVICE ...................................................................................................................... 87
11.5 TEST AND MONITOR FACILITIES BUILT INTO TC .............................................................................. 89
11.5.1 Dr. Railroad ................................................................................................................... 89
11.5.2 Inspector ........................................................................................................................ 90
11.5.3 The TC Explorer Window .............................................................................................. 90
11.5.4 Detailed Messages ........................................................................................................ 92
11.5.5 The Simulator ................................................................................................................ 93
12 SYSTEM TESTING ........................................................................................ 94
12.1 INSTALLING THE DRIVERS ............................................................................................................. 94
12.2 CHECK BUS COMMUNICATIONS AND BASIC CARD FUNCTIONS ........................................................ 97
12.3 RUN TRAINCONTROLLER .............................................................................................................. 98
12.4 FINAL CONFIGURATION OF TURNOUTS AND DOUBLE SLIPS ........................................................... 100
12.4.1 Electro Frog wiring ....................................................................................................... 100
12.4.2 Output Configuration ................................................................................................... 101
12.5 RAIL POLARITY........................................................................................................................... 102
12.5.1 Analog Wiring .............................................................................................................. 102
12.5.2 Check Occupancy indicators ....................................................................................... 102
12.5.3 DCC Polarity ................................................................................................................ 103
12.6 SYSTEM TESTING COMPLETE ...................................................................................................... 103
13 ALL ABOUT SCHEDULES ......................................................................... 104
13.1 TYPES OF SCHEDULES ................................................................................................................ 104
5

13.1.1 Single Schedule ONE Start to ONE Destination ...................................................... 104
13.1.2 Multi Schedule SEVERAL Starts to SEVERAL Destination ..................................... 104
13.1.3 Shunting Schedules NO Starts or Destinations ....................................................... 104
13.2 CREATION OF SCHEDULES .......................................................................................................... 104
13.2.1 By picking from the Block Diagram ............................................................................. 104
13.2.2 Use of AutoTrain .......................................................................................................... 108
13.3 INTERLINKING OF SCHEDULES ..................................................................................................... 110
13.3.1 Schedule Successors .................................................................................................. 110
13.3.2 Calling Schedules via Operations Lists ....................................................................... 110
13.4 SETTING UP A MULTI-SCHEDULE ................................................................................................. 111
14 TRAIN DATA AND SPEED PROFILING ...................................................... 114
14.1 TEST TRACK .............................................................................................................................. 114
14.2 ANALOG ENGINES ...................................................................................................................... 115
14.3 DIGITAL ENGINES ....................................................................................................................... 116
14.4 SPEED PROFILING ...................................................................................................................... 118
14.4.1 Adjusting Creep speed .............................................................................................. 118
14.4.2 Determining Speed Profile .......................................................................................... 118

Appendix A Conversion Tables.120

6

1 Introduction
1.1 History
I have been interested in 0 Gauge Model Railways since Childhood in Germany. At
the ripe age of 6 I inherited from my older brother a Mrklin 3 rail AC trainset E
44 engine and some coaches and trucks. This passion has stayed with me until
today and also infected my son from an early age. We started seriously in 1976
and Preiten Bahn is our 7
th
layout. Layout No. 5 was electronically controlled, but
was of the hard wired logic type ie. not computer controlled. Work commitments
since 1985 prevented any further work in the hobby until my retirement in 2005. In
1999 I became aware of RR&Co TrainController
TM

(TC) and RCI, CTI hardware.
Since I had a fairly large collection of analog engines conversion to DCC was
costly and problematical. Any serious work, however, had to wait until my full
retirement and the construction of layout No. 6 in 2006. For economic reasons I
finally chose the RCI system of hardware. Layout No. 6 was TC controlled (V 5.8)
and ran small numbers of DC controlled trains. Change of personal circumstances
(shifting to a new home) in 2009 motivated construction of layout No. 7, also
known as the Preiten Bahn (derived from our address), where my work with TC
and RCI continued. Until May 2012 Preiten Bahn was functioning in analog mode
only and the wiring had become a complete Birds-nest For the last 7 months I
introduced mounting of all boards on 8 panels, which necessitated a complete
rewiring. During construction of layouts No. 6 and 7, I went down many blind alleys
and took many wrong turns, mostly because of insufficient understanding of the
system principles behind the facilities offered. Today those problems are mostly
solved (with help from see acknowledgements) and therefore I thought other Model
Railroaders could benefit from some of my experiences.

1.2 I went down many wrong paths!
On the way I ran into the following difficulties

1. The Back EMF of Motors confuses the single occupancy indicator per block
on the CBC8 card, i.e. intermittently it indicates unoccupied. In this case TC
loses control and trains come to rest two blocks further on as unknown
locos.
2. Initially I thought I could provide a CBC8 outlet per Section in a block and
combine several in one super block. This was a false assumption and you
cannot start a brake ramp in one block and have a stop marker in another. All
markers apply to the one block only and therefore 2 or 3 occupancy detectors
are required in One Block.
3. With analog trains the current sensing occupancy indicators do not indicate
when the engines are stationary. Therefore the inbuilt indicator on the CBC8
is still required to detect stationary trains.
4. The comments in the TC manual about special DCC connection on RCI cards
apply to the TD4 card which has not been available for some years and was
replaced by the CBC8 (but without DCC connection).
5. For satisfactory operation DCC supply voltage must be 4 to 5 Volts higher
than Analog supply voltage, which brings its own problems when bridging
occurs between the two.
6. Command and Feedback Buses must be separated; otherwise traffic capacity
is limited to about two trains simultaneously running.
7. A special Mini-Booster had to be developed to handle general short circuit
conditions (even ignoring filter capacitor charging currents) as well as short
circuits to CBC8 outputs.
8. DCC type Occupancy Indicators such as BDL168 DO NOT work for Analog
Running and therefore I had to develop my own.
7

1.3 Acknowledgements
This is the conclusion of a 4-year Project and I am very happy with the outcome. A
few thank-you notes are appropriate.

My first Thank-You must go to my friend Vladimir Grbac who virtually did all the
physical work associated with the construction of the Preiten Bahn. He did everything
from erecting the room (after excavation), building the bench work, laying roadbed
and track, up to much of the wiring.

My very artistic architect son David however infused Preiten Bahn with its character:
He created the mountains, backdrops, tunnel entrances and ballast along the track.
My heartfelt thanks go particularly to him. Susanne Heim in Germany built most of
the houses on the layout and these buildings are an absolute delight. My good friend
J oseph Schweikl in Germany has built some of my best engines and my thanks go
to him also.

On the technical side I am indebted to Mr. Charles L Davis, President of Oaktree
Systems, LLC for his good advice and assistance. During my research into problems
with bridging DC and DCC together, I received much help from Mark Gurries.

Much help was also received from members of the TrainController
TM

Forum
particularly from Otto Berg von Linde, Jrgen Freiwald, Bob Wright, Jeremy Brandon
and many others.

I am indebted also to Lubos Domalip, Jan Marvan and the PragOclub who produced
some 40 odd German Light signals which look phantastic.

1.4 Is it Economical?
Here is a comparison of number and types of boards required for the Preiten Bahn
(64 Blocks) now and if I was to implement it with pure DCC equipment

Combined Analog/Digital Installation
CBC8 Boards Qty 8
DC/DCC Switches Qty 16
Mini-Boosters Qty 16
IO-24 Boards (Turnouts) Qty 8
IO-48 Boards (DC/DCC Switch Operation & Signals) Qty 8
PSX-AR (Auto Reverse) Qty 2
DCS 100 (5 Amp) Command Station Qty 1
PR3 Computer Interface Qty 1
RS 485 Interfaces (RCI and SmartHand) Qty 5

Pure DCC Installation
BDL 168 Boards and Mounting Boards Qty 9
PM-42 Boards Qty 9
DS 64 Boards (Turnouts) Qty 11
SE8C Boards and Mounting Boards (Signals) Qty 4
PSX-AR (Auto Reverse) Qty 2
DCS 200 (8 Amp) Command Station Qty 1
PR3 Computer Interface Qty 1
8

RS 485 Interface (SmartHand) Qty 1
Additional Loco Decoders (3 Amp) Qty 20 approx.

Depending on the number of additional loco decoders you need the Pure DCC
Installation is probably more economical than the combined Analog/Digital system.
Analog Operation also suffers from several limitations as outlined in 4.6.

On the other hand not every loco is convertible to digital for a number of reasons

I have a number of Tank engines (some Brass) which do not have enough
space for the decoders.
A friend of mine has a number of collector items which he would not want to
touch in any case.
Some of the smaller scales such as N and Z scale do not readily lend
themselves to conversion.

The choice is then to run the analog vehicles on your layout alongside digital locos
(albeit with limitations) or relegating them to the shelf to be looked at only.

I have heard of a number of club set-ups that have some weekends set aside for pure
analog running, while other users with digital equipment do their running on different
weekends. A change-over switch must accomplish the different connections. The
system described here would allow all users to run all trains All the Time!

I did some trial PCB layouts (to the limit of my EAGLE license - 160 x 100 mm Max)
and could establish that DC-DCC switch, cut-down IO-48 and Mini-Booster could be
combined into one board. Perhaps this would enhance the economic situation of
the combined system. Since this involves knowledge of proprietary firmware this is
clearly a question for RCI (or anyone else) to develop such a thing.

1.5 Copy Right
The information contained herein, insofar as it is not also contained in any of the
references in 1.6, is my copy right. However I dont mind if any of this information is
being used by anyone, except that I would like to be quoted in such a case.

1.6 References

Document Website

1. TrainController V7.0 G Users Guide www.freiwald.com/pages/download.htm

2. +SmartHand V7.0 Manual www.freiwald.com/pages/download.htm

3. CBC-8R Users Manual www.oaktreesystems.com

4. IO-24 Users Manual www.oaktreesystems.com

5. IO-48 Users Manual www.oaktreesystems.com

6. Digitrax Super Chief Manual www.digitrax.com/ftp/superchief.pdf

7 Open DCC website www.opendcc.org/index_e.html

9

2 General Principles
2.1 Why PC Control ?

Fig. 1 PC control of a Model Railway
At the beginning one should ask the following question: Why have a PC controlled
Model Railway? For my part I wanted the following three basic functions (See Error!
Reference source not found.) fulfilled.

1. Driving, where the system should be able to control the speed and direction
of the motor within a model engine. The traverse of a layout should be carried
out safely i.e. different engines should not collide with each other! Therefore
the whole system is divided into blocks where normally only one train (engine)
is permitted to be in one block at the one time. The exception are consists
where several engines pull the one train.

2. Feedback of position. In order to steer an engine adequately from one block
to another on a layout, the control program must be continually updated as to
the actual position of the train on the layout, ie. in which block the train is
currently located. A Feedback Mechanism must thus be provided.

3. Switching. For an engine to reach its destination, it is implied that the path
through the station yards etc. must also be set up correctly. For this reason
switching functions are provided which can set turnouts to the correct position
as well as move (show) signals in the correct aspect.

2.1.1 Manual Control
Traditionally model trains were driven from Power CABs which were switched to
different parts of a layout via sometimes quite complex CAB switching arrangements.
RR&Co
Command
Station
& Booster
Mobile
Decoder
Block b
Mobile
Decoder
Block b
Occupancy
Detector
Digital Engine
Block a Block a
Analog Engine
Stationary
Locomotive
Decoder
Accessory
Decoder
Automatic
Control
Manual
Control
Switching PC Interface (DCC)
RS 485 Interface
10

It is clear that generally a single operator can control only up to 2 trains
simultaneously. Thus, without PC control, a layout has to be set up for a particular
path and then 2 trains (half the main line apart) are driven from the same power pack.
As long as both trains move at approximately the same speed they will stay apart and
continue running. Such running lacks life and to me is boring! Many clubs operate
layouts with several operators, who hand trains over from one operator to another by
CAB switching. This is fun but is not very suitable for a single operator like myself.

Thus, I hoped to benefit from a PC controlled system, particularly when several trains
are running automatically, I can drive a particular engine with a hand held controller
and have a signaling system available to do this safely. Equally when friends are
visiting they can have a handheld controller each and drive their individual train (of
course obeying the signals displayed on their handhelds).

2.1.2 Automatic Control
From the above it is clear that the PC system should run as many trains as possible
(in my case this seems to be 7 with 14 blocks in the main line). This certainly puts life
into the system my son commented the other day: there are little maggots crawling
out of all sorts of holes! In the end, watching an automatic layout is also boring and
that is why I would like to run some trains manually within the automatic background
traffic.

2.1.3 Analog and Digital Traffic together
Often I can hear the question: Can I run my conventional engine on a digital layout?
The short answer is: Yes, but only one engine at a time (stretched 0 facility), but
other traffic is severely restricted. Add to this that many of us Modelers are on in
years and lack the inclination or the necessary electronics skills to convert their
prized models to digital operation. With 0 Gauge I am ok, but the smaller the scale,
the more difficult the job becomes (Z-scale is very, very difficult!).

In my case I was confronted with converting some 80 engines to digital working or
running only the digital vehicles and leaving the others in their boxes or on the shelf!
TC offered a solution to run both so I went this way! In the long run I will probably
convert all my good locomotives to DCC and leave the rest DC controlled (see also
section 1.4 Is it Economical?)

3 TC Operation
3.1 Allocation of Blocks
To enable TC to steer locos across the system, it is necessary to define the whole
track layout in terms Blocks, such that positions of all trains may be known to TC at
all times. Blocks are generally required to hold one train to the exclusion of all
others. A block is usually a piece of track insulated at both ends (if current sensing
occupancy detectors are used). It should be long enough to hold the longest train
you have operating on your system and NOT include any Turnouts or Crossings. It
can be rather disastrous when turnouts are being switched under a moving train! The
Turnout Ladder in Fig. 2 (shown in Grey) is made up of Routes Only and in a Pure
Digital system is undetected.

11

3.2 Blocks, Sections and Routes

Fig. 2 Blocks, Sections and Routes
Any Block can be subdivided into several Sections which may be set up for
purposes such as Start Braking (Brake Marker) or Stop Here etc. They are merely
pieces of isolated track which are being supplied through different Occupancy
Detectors. Sections are pieces of track situated in the ONE Block (adjacent to each
other).

Blocks are interconnected by Routes which may be only 1 2 mm long or include a
whole undetected section of track as shown in Fig. 2. Routes may include Turnouts
or Double Slips but Trains Never Stop there.

In Summary we note

The whole layout is divided into blocks where each block is a length of track
partitioned off the general system by incorporating at least one occupancy
indicator which indicates to TC whether this block is occupied or not.
Trains may only stop in Blocks
Blocks may NOT contain Turnouts, Slips or Crossings
Blocks should normally be long enough to accommodate the longest train.
However this rule can be broken with TC V7.0 Gold and later, where train
length can protect the end of a long train by not releasing the previous block.
Blocks are interconnected with routes where routes are seen to contain all the
switches or crossings.
12

Fig. 3 Block Allocation for DCC
Fig. 3 shows the block allocation for the Demo layout delivered with the TC software.
The layout is organized for a digital control system and obeys the above rules exactly.
Each block (light blue, green and red) is a piece of track separated at both ends from
the rest of the system. Switches are shown in dark grey and are not part of any block.
They can be connected to the Track Bus with or without occupancy detection. Thus
the switches are part of routes which interconnect the blocks.

Fig. 4 shows how this layout is drawn manually in TC as a Switchboard Diagram.
Each block is represented by a rectangle with signal lamps at each end. The signal
lamp can be displayed as a 2, 3 or 4 aspect light signal (set in the block editor). This
signaling scheme merely regulates the traffic between the blocks and does NOT
represent any particular prototypical signaling scheme. The signaling scheme works
irrespective whether actual signals are Installed on the layout or NOT. I made a bad
error a couple of years ago where I defined physical addresses in TC V5.8 without
any cards connected. This rendered the whole system inoperable.

Fig. 4 Representation in a Switchboard Diagram in TC
At any time while the Switchboard Diagram is being drawn TC automatically
calculates a Dispatcher (Block-) Diagram as shown in Fig. 5 showing all blocks and
13

routes but no other parts of the switchboard diagram. The user has NO Control over
this process and this enforces the Block Allocation Rules mentioned above i.e.
turnouts are not part of blocks. All routes are traced and the block diagram is
continually kept in synchronism with the switchboard diagram.

Fig. 5 Automatically calculated Dispatcher Diagram
3.3 Special Considerations for Analog Systems
For Analog Operation, however, a problem presents itself: Every piece of track
derives its power from the decoder allocated to the particular block. This includes
all turnouts, double slips and crossings, which must therefore be part of a block. If
you want to force the block diagram to accept a new block for that reason you have to
turn off automatic diagram calculation first and then edit the block diagram with the
new routes. If you do this, tracing of all routes is turned off and you must trace ALL
routes manually. This is definitely NOT Recommended.

Fig. 6 Block Allocation for Analog System

14

For an analog systems the rules can be bent a little i.e. switches can be included
in a block by connecting them at the ENDS. Fig. 6 indicates how the Demo layout can
be adapted for analog operation. In such a case the switchboard diagram and
dispatcher diagram remain the same as shown in Fig. 4 and 5. In most cases this
arrangement would suffice.

In some situations special arrangements have to be made, as shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 Creation of Switch Islands
Such ladders of double slips occur in two places in the main yard of the Preiten Bahn
and these Islands cannot be handled by the method outlined in Fig. 6. Jrgen
Freiwald suggested relays that make temporary connections between the island and
one or other succeeding block. These relays (labeled xx Entry) are operated when
particular routes are seized (in either direction).
For example, assume a train on a schedule is to proceed from block 72 to block 45.
The process continues as follows

1. The train has entered block 72 from the left and would stop there if the path
ahead is not clear.
2. A condition for seizure of any route in this complex is that all 5 relays must be
released.
3. Assuming the condition 2. is true and block 45 is unoccupied the route 72 > 45
is seized and relay 45 Entry is operated. This connects power from block 45 to
the island and 45 is marked occupied as soon as the train enters the island.
4. Under this condition any other train waiting to enter the island from blocks 75 >
77 must continue to wait because relay 45 Entry is operated.
5. The relays would be released once the route is released. Sometimes this
could occur when the train is still situated on the island. Therefore I have
added a delay of 5 seconds to the release time of all relays which ensures that
the island is cleared under all normal circumstances.
6. Once the train is safely running in block 45 relay 45 Entry is released after 5
seconds and the island is available for the next train.

With such an arrangement no additional blocks are required and the standard block
diagram calculations can stand.

There can be other solutions to such problems which do not involve relays. Jeremy
Brandon suggested a solution whereby the double slips can be divided into their
constituent Right Hand Turnouts and a switchboard diagram with an additional block
in the middle of the island can be produced. This solution would not require the
15

connecting relays but the resultant switchboard diagram would not look like the real
situation.

If simultaneous analog and digital operation is required block allocations according to
the above methods are still required.

3.4 Logical Block Polarity in Analog Systems
With digital systems such as DCC the power is supplied as AC i.e. there are
continuous polarity reversals on the track. This AC power, apart from being decoded,
is rectified in the decoder and then applied to the motor with a polarity depending on
the Content of the Command. The phase of the DCC signal does not affect the
direction of the train.

With analog systems the polarity on the track is directly applied to the motor and the
standard is that +ve to the right hand rail (and ve to the left hand rail) will move the
engine in that direction i.e. in the direction where the positive rail is on the right hand
side. If you now turn the engine around and apply the same polarity the engine still
runs in the same direction even if the tender is leading i.e. the engine runs
backwards.

We can say that the block has a Logical Forward Direction if +ve is applied to the
right hand rail). That is in an Analog System the Block has a logical forward direction
and not the engine.

Fig. 8 Logical Polarity of Blocks
Fig. 8 gives an example of a Double Track main line with a station consisting of
blocks 1 3. Every block is allocated a logical forward direction as shown by the
arrows. How you allocate the logical forward direction probably depends on what
prototypical railway you are modeling. In the USA or Continental Europe trains run
normally on the right hand track and Forwards is implied by the direction of the black
arrows in Fig. 8 as shown. If you are modeling trains in British countries and Sweden,
16

trains run on the left and Logical Forward would be in the opposite direction. Of
course this is up to the owner of the layout (I have a friend who runs British and
American trains side by side on the left track).

The main thing is that you decide the Logical Forward direction for each
block. If you have a bi-directional track you must decide which direction is logically
Forward and an engine moving the other way is then considered to be running
backwards irrespective how it is facing!

To describe these Attributes to blocks in TC a check box Reversed Polarity is
provided in the Connection window of the Block Data. TC is designed at present so
that an Unchecked Reversal box indicates that the Logical Forward direction is
from West to East, or North to South. If the Logical Forward direction is East to West
or South to North the box should be Checked.

From the above it follows that in Stationary Decoder Systems Polarities should be
adjusted as follows

1. On a printout of the Dispatcher diagram mark in arrows indicating the logical
forward direction of each block.
2. Set the Reversed Polarity check boxes to suit.
3. Wire the whole layout in a consistent way ie. connect the +ve terminal of the
decoder to the right hand rail of the block track looking in the forward direction.
It would be wise that you determine the +ve terminal first by wiring and testing
electrically (running an engine) on one block.
4. Put a train on the track inside of the block.
5. Assign an engine to a block (where you start testing the whole layout).
6. Make sure the engine image in the block symbol is heading in the Logical
Forward direction.
7. Select the engine in the train window.
8. Drag the speed slider in the train window to the right (forward).
9. If the actual train on the layout is now moving in the Logical Forward
direction the polarity of the block is Correctly adjusted.
10. If the engine moves in the opposite direction you must Reverse the Physical
wire connection between the decoder and the track.

Please note that an incorrectly wired block may be corrected for running, using the
Reversal check boxes but Brake or Stop Markers in these blocks will be ignored. It
is therefore imperative that the reversal checkboxes are checked as per the above
and then the physical wiring is arranged to suit.

3.5 Schedules
It is clear from the preceding sections that many and varied commands are necessary
to run a train from one Block to another
The path ahead must be checked to be available
Signal Aspects must be set
Turnouts and Slips must be set to the correct position
Trains must be started up in the correct way ie. Momentum etc. must be
applied.
Under way Speed must be controlled according to Break and Stop Markers
etc.

TC provides two Flexible and Easy Methods of specifying this multitude of commands

By using AutoTrain
17

In this case you need to specify the Start and End Blocks for your schedule
and otherwise delete any blocks from the schedule if you dont want to include
them in the search. This process can be iterative ie. you can order a path
search, abandon it if unsuitable, change the conditions and order another
search. When satisfied you can edit the schedule data and save it.
By picking items from the block diagram. This process is more laborious as
you have to pick every block and route you want in the schedule from the
dispatcher diagram.

Fig. 9 Operation Of A Schedule
Fig. 9 explains the operation of a Schedule in a much abbreviated way. The Schedule
has been recorded to move the engine (BR 64), currently located in the Start Block
04, backwards through either Blocks 38 or 37 to the Destination Block 47. The
operations on Blocks (Status enquiry etc.), would be carried out in TC memory rather
than the hardware, but for simplicity the latter has been presented.

More detailed information on how a particular schedule is operating can be found in
the Detailed Message display available in TC.

Schedules may be called from
The schedule list in the Dispatcher Diagram
Push Buttons on the switchboard
From Time Table using the Fast Clock
From Other Schedules either as successors or via Start/End Operations

3.6 Signaling
Every model railway system needs prototypical working signals to give it realism. I
was fortunate that Lubos Domalip and the boys of the PragOclub produced for me
some 40 German signals (1969 variety). To drive them I had to develop a series of
daughter boards to be plugged into the IO-48 boards.

18

Fig. 10 German Hp Signal Interface
The daughter board contains 2 x 4 Aspect Signal circuits and each is connected to the
actual light signal via an 8-wire flat telephone cable. Each of the 8 wires is connected

Fig. 11 The German Hp Signaling System (1969)

19

to a separate LED in the signal. At the foot of each signal I have installed another little
board where the 8 wires coming in on a RJ45 jack are connected to screw terminals.
The actual LED wires coming from the Hauptsignal on top of the base board
terminate there.

The various Signal interfaces (including a 3 aspect American circuit developed by
RCI) and their connections are shown in Fig. 11.

TC provides an internal signaling system at the exit of each block which emulates
some parts of the Hp system and can be used to drive light or semaphore devices via
suitable interfaces.

TC also provides definable independent signal interfaces which can use the internal
signals as triggers in combination with other conditions (like occupancy) to modify the
Signal Aspects. In Fig. 11 I have shown how I intend to derive the operation of the
Advance Signals (Vorsignal) using the internal signals of the next block and other
conditions in a defined signal block. At this stage this is all theory as I have yet to
install the actual signals and try all this.

There is also a discrepancy between the internal signaling system and its prototype in
that in the real system the signal goes to red as soon as a train has gone past. In TC
this does not happen until later. I will probably define independent signal blocks for all
signals when I am more up to speed with this.

3.7 Engines (see Fig. 12)
3.7.1 Analog Engines
Analog Engines are Conventional locomotives that have no decoders mounted in
them. The Motor Outputs of Stationary Decoders are now connected to the track
section through the Occupancy Detectors. Otherwise there is no Real Difference in
principle to Mobile Decoders. In this case every section of track must belong to a
block and therefore is supervised as to occupancy through the individual block. The
Stationary locomotive decoders are mounted beneath the track boards and are fixed.
They are connected to the command station (the PC running TC) via a Command
bus, which we will call the Analog Command Bus. The TC Program running in a PC
is the Command Station and no separate CS or Booster is required.

3.7.2 Digital Engines
Digital locos each contain a digital receiver (Mobile decoder) connected between
the motor and the track contactors. In this case a special Command Station (in this
case Digitrax DCS100 (or DCS200) is required. The command station is connected
to the PC via a Digital Command Bus (in this case LocoNet wires 1, 6). In the
digital configuration the PC does Not Act as a Command Station but as a CAB,
such as DT402.

20

3.8 Simultaneous Analog/Digital Operation

Fig. 12 Combined DC/DCC Operation
The Analog Command Bus in the case of RCI is the Balanced 4-wire RS 485 Bus
where different pairs are used for transmission and reception of signals i.e. the Bus is
Bi-Directional and can be used for both Commands and Feedback. In my system
RCI bus A is only used for Loco Driving (ie. connects to CBC8 cards), RCI bus B is
the Feedback Bus for occupancy detectors (connects to IO-48 cards), while RCI bus
C only connects to RCI Accessory Cards IO-24 for Turnout control.

The Digital Command Bus is in my case implemented in Digitraxs LocoNet
Technology wires 1 & 6 only and these are used for Forward Loco Driving
Commands (Standard NMRA DCC packets). Of course TC communicates with the
DCS100 command station via wires 3 & 4 as for all other LocoNet devices.

Each Block is allocated a change over relay on the DC/DCC switch card. In its
released position the relay connects the particular stationary decoder to the track of
the block. An analog engine is marked in its Train Data as No Connection and if the
block is reserved for such an engine the relay is left released and the engine is
controlled via the stationary decoder. A DCC equipped engine on the other hand is
marked with Address Data in its train data. When a block is reserved for this type of
engine the block data specifies a particular On-Off switch in the Digital Power
field. This On-Off switch operates the DCC Enable relay for the block and the track is
connected to the Digital Command Bus.

Because of the voltage drop experienced in mobile decoders the DCC track power
has to be run at about 5V more than the analog power here called CBC power. If the
stationary decoders were powered from the same supply as the DCC boosters the
motors would probably be damaged. On the Preiten Bahn we are running CBC power
at 19V and DCC power at 24V.

21

DC engines can only be reached within the block where they are marked as being
situated, while DCC engines can be reached anywhere on the layout provided the
DCC Enable relay is operated.

Engines are tracked in TC which means that TC knows at all times which loco is
situated in what block.

In the scenario shown in Fig. 10 a digital Engine A moves from Block X to Block Y,
thus enabling analog Engine B to enter Block X. Then Engine A is moved out of
Block Y thus enabling Engine B to move from Block X to Block Y.

The Stationary Decoders are connected permanently to their particular blocks and
this arrangement is called Static Assignment of blocks.. The RCI System of
hardware is more suited for this mode of operations.

To save on numbers of stationary decoders it is possible to connect blocks through
relay contacts with particular decoders. This application of Stationary Decoders is
called Dynamic Assignment to blocks. In this case, when the block is reserved for a
particular analog engine, TC selects the decoder already connected to that engine
in the previous block in preference to another free device with access to this block.
The CTI hardware is more suited for Dynamic Assignment.

TC supports both Static and Dynamic Assignment and the choice is probably an
economic one: Static Assignment means more decoders while Dynamic
Assignment means more relay switches (and accessory decoders to drive them!).
I have employed Static decoder allocation in my system, but I know that one of my
friends uses Dynamic Allocation with CTI hardware and is certainly happy with this.

3.9 Running engines Smoothly across Block Boundaries.

Fig. 13 Running Analog Engines smoothly across Block Boundaries
Digital engines can be addressed from the Command Station while situated
anywhere on the layout. However from the above discussion it is clear that Analog
engines can only be addressed through the specific block where the engine is
located. This means that when an Analog engine reaches the end of a block the
stationary decoder of the next block must be Powered Up before the engine can
continue. Thus if you try and run an Analog engine from one block to the next
22

without a Schedule the engine would stop momentarily until TC (via train tracking)
decides which the next block actually is. The engine would Hick across each block
boundary which is quite unsatisfactory. Thus the block ahead must always be
Prepared before the Analog engine reaches the boundary. This implies that for
Analog Running a path needs to be defined in TC which is done via setting up a
Schedule. Fig. 13 shows how all engine commands are also repeated towards the
next block ahead, thus ensuring that the analog engine runs smoothly across Block
Boundaries.

Within Shunting Schedules a whole area of blocks is reserved for the one engine
ie. no other engine can be situated on any block in the defined area. If the engine is
analog, then the driving commands are repeated to ALL blocks within the area.

3.10 Traffic Capacity and Bus Arrangements (see Fig. 14)
3.10.1 COM Ports
The following 7 USB connected ports are used on the Preiten Bahn

1. COM 10 connects LocoNet via a PR3 interface to the Command Station and
all 16 Mini-Boosters ie. 16 Power Districts of 4 Blocks each. TC simulates
DT402 driving commands towards CS. DCS100 formats all NMRA packets
and transmits these on LocoNet wires 1 & 6 towards the Mini-Boosters.

A UP5 panel has been included in LocoNet to allow plugging in of a DT402 for
DCC only testing.

2. COM 4 (RCI-A) handles all Analog Driving Commands on the Main System.
TC puts out approx. 100 Speed Commands per second which compares well
with the capacity of the DCC system (120 packets per second). The only
Feedback TC receives on this bus is CBC Overload and Occupancy of
stationary engines. It is inconsequential if this information is delayed
somewhat (due to driving commands)

3. COM 7 (RCI-B) carries all Feedback replies on the main system (2 occupancy
indicators per block). This traffic is handled via 8 IO-48 cards which equates to
a poling cycle duration of 80 mS, ie. any engine entering a block anywhere
would be noticed within 40 mS on the average. A 0-Gauge engine travelling at
scale speed of 120 Kph moves 2.8 cm in 40mS. In terms of accuracy this can
be safely ignored. The occasional output command for setting signals and
DCC enable relays will also not make much difference.

4. COM 9 (RCI-C) handle all 8 IO-24 cards which in turn set the 42 tortoise
switch machines. This load is not likely to exceed 1 2 turnout settings per
second.

5. COM 3 (RCI-D) connects one CBC8 card only. This card is connected to a
Tram system, where 2 tram vehicles run back and forth between the ends of
an 8 block tram system. This system only uses the in-built occupancy
detectors in the CBC8 card and therefore could not be connected to RCI-A.

6. COM 6 is the SmartHand Control Bus as recommended by RR&Co.

7. COM 8 connects a Versa-Tap monitoring device (Stratus Engineering) which
can be plugged into any of the RS485 buses to record the traffic there.

23

Fig. 14 Peripheral Buses on the Preiten Bahn System

3.10.2 Traffic Capacity of the RCI Equipment
With analog systems TC (running in a PC) is the command station itself and TC
provides its own timing structure which ensures 100 commands are sent per second
on any RCI bus (see Fig. 12). The RCI cards at 38,400 Baud, actually can handle
up to 300 commands per second but 100 commands per second per bus is not much
slower than the total DCC command station capacity and is more than adequate.

With a poling type master-slave system in contrast to an Event driven bus, there will
be a period of uncertainty regarding the actual point of recognition with respect to the
point of physical contact by the engine with the particular track section. I have
assumed that the requirement for recognition of an engine entering a block be one
engine length (35 cm for 0 Gauge). If we further assume that an engine entering a
block at full scale speed, must be recognized within less than half the average
length of an engine then a maximum polling cycle time can be calculated as follows

120 kph = 33 m per Sec.
33 m per Sec / 45 = 73 cm per Sec approx. ( for 0 Gauge)
Length of Engine = 35 cm approx
Maximum allowable period of uncertainty = 230 mS

From this we can calculate the maximum number of IO-24,48 cards that may be
scanned on one RCI bus. It is assumed that no Output commands are sent on these
(Polling) buses.

230 mS / Polling Command Time (10 mS) = 23 commands per polling cycle

This would limit the number of cards on one polling bus to about 23 maximum (see
Fig. 12). On the Preiten Bahn I have used the following maximum bus load

For Output Command Handling 10 Max CBC8 cards (8 actually used)
24

For Feedback via Polling Replies 15 Max IO Cards (8 actually used)

On the Preiten Bahn with 8 x IO-48 cards on RCI Bus B, TC can recognise arrival of
an engine (35cm long) in 4% of 73 cm i.e. 3 cm (average between 0 and 6).

A Poling Cycle Start every 230 mS (with 23 cards) would guarantee recognition of an
engine traveling at full scale speed, within quarter of the length (on the average) of
one engine (period of uncertainty is 0 to 0.5 the length of an engine).

Fig. 15 Ultimate Analog/Digital System 320 Blocks

The example shown in Fig. 15 illustrates how 320 blocks (2.1 occupancy indicators
per block) can be accommodated on 9 RCI buses using 40 CBC8 cards and 75 IO-
48,24 cards. The poling cycles in the above cases would be 15 x 10 mS long i.e.
much less than the 230 mS required.

320 blocks seems a very large system and can be regarded as the upper limit of an
Analog/Digital System. Such a system would probably also require a very fast PC. On
LocoNet there is a limitation of 20 devices such as Mini-Boosters on one bus.
Therefore the arrangement in Fig. 15 would require 80 Mini-Boosters (1 per 4 blocks).
In such a case 4 o 5 LocoNet Repeaters, LNRP, would also be required.

Calculating it out 320 blocks would require the following cards

CBC8 40
IO-48 40
IO-24 35 ??
Mini-Boosters 80
DC/DCC switches 80
25

Of course, I have NOT made measurements on a Maximum System. On the
Preiten Bahn (64 blocks) I have operated up to 7 trains simultaneously (Main Line =
14 Blocks). Clearly the limitation is the number of blocks in the Main Line.

Fig. 16 shows a sample of the bus exchanges between TC and CBC8 cards as an
analog engine moves through blocks 16 and 18 on the Preiten Bahn. The sequences
were recorded on a Versa-Tap device but the comments are typed in by me.

MM/DD/YY hh:mm:ss.ms.us DTE(hex) DCE(hex) Comment
05/27/10 18:03:03.731.372 013000ffce

05/27/10 18:03:03.748.962

4030000070

05/27/10 18:03:03.750.299 4030000070

05/27/10 18:03:03.768.991

41500ecad5
Set Speed in Block 18 =
Forward 74
05/27/10 18:03:03.770.359 41

05/27/10 18:03:03.778.747

41500acad1
Forward 74
05/27/10 18:03:03.780.087 41

05/27/10 18:03:03.788.539

4130000071

05/27/10 18:03:03.789.877 4130a000d1

05/27/10 18:03:03.798.359

41500ecad5
Forward 74
05/27/10 18:03:03.799.702 41

05/27/10 18:03:03.809.975

41500acad1
Forward 74
05/27/10 18:03:03.811.315 41

05/27/10 18:03:03.819.964

4330000073

05/27/10 18:03:03.821.304 43300f007c

05/27/10 18:03:03.838.993

4430000074

05/27/10 18:03:03.840.333 4430300044

05/27/10 18:03:03.849.945

4530000075

05/27/10 18:03:03.851.282 4530000075

05/27/10 18:03:03.868.912

81300000b1

05/27/10 18:03:03.870.242 81300000b1

05/27/10 18:03:03.878.940

41500ec9d6
Forward 73
05/27/10 18:03:03.880.281 41

05/27/10 18:03:03.889.928

41500ac9d2
Forward 73

Fig. 16 RCI Bus Communication Sequence
26

DTE is sent by the Data Terminal Equipment ie. the CBC8 while DCE is sent be the
Data Circuit Terminating Equipment ie. the RS485 bus interface attached to the
PC. Note the 5 Byte replies for the poling commands and the 1 Byte reply for the
Output commands.

27

4 Problems with multiple Power Supplies
4.1 Accidental Bridging of Analog and Digital Blocks (See Fig. 17)
If you ask people whether you can connect analog DC and DCC together you get
the Common Wisdom reply: Dont Do It !! Around the model railway circles
stories about Blown-Up Decoders and Boosters etc. abound. I therefore
researched the reasons for these claims in order to find ways to prevent Harm.

Fig. 17 Accidental DC to DCC Bridging

4.2 Voltage Doubling (see Figs. 18, 19)
Fig, 18 shows one scenario of how Two Supplies can be connected In Series by
bridging the gap on one side of the track. It is assumed that the outputs from the two
H-Bridges are Out of Phase at that instant. This would cause doubling of the
voltage on the track in certain places as shown (Wayne Roderick has explained this
on http://www.tslrr.com/common.htm). If a mobile decoder happened to be sitting
across a part with 30 - 40 V connected to the input, it will in all probability be
destroyed. Since this is an effect of excess voltage the damage will occur without
any overload current flowing thus no circuit breaker is going to be tripped. The
problem would occur in every case where multiple power supplies are used in
different adjoining blocks in the system,

If the negative poles of the DC supply to all H-Bridges are connected together via a
strong Common, the Booster Common, Voltage Doubling is eliminated (see Fig. 15).
Bridging the gap would cause the two out of phase outputs to be short-circuited
together causing tripping of the overload protection. Most manufacturers of Digital
Model Railway equipment strongly recommend this common. Similarly in all situations
where more than one supply is involved the existence of this common should be
checked to prevent damage later.

28

Fig. 18 Voltage Doubling

Fig. 19 Voltage Doubling is eliminated by Common
29

4.3 Overload Current on one Side only
Digital control equipment for model railways such as circuit breakers are generally
designed to protect the equipment against short circuits across the track.
Therefore no protection is afforded if the overload current occurs in one leg only.
Assuming one H-Bridge produces DC pulses and the other DCC reversals, heavy
overload currents may occur which are not necessarily detected. If two H-Bridge
outputs are out of phase and connected together on one side, the Overload current
Must be sensed in one H-Bridge circuit or the other (see Fig. 20). This will only be
true if the OL detectors are in all H-Bridges on the Same Side ie. the Negative Side
in Fig. 20 or on Both sides (as in CBC8). In Wolfgang Kufers Mini-Booster (based on
L6203) described here the overload detector is on the Negative Side and this
circuitry is external to the chip. Other Mini-Booster circuits have been designed which
are based on LMD 18200 which contain On-Chip circuitry on the Positive Side. I
have NO knowledge what arrangements have been made in commercially available
Boosters from eg. Digitrax, NCE (Lenz), or CTI. These questions need to be
answered if you want to mix Digital and Analog operations. In my case, I am
using CBC8 which is safe with anything on the DCC side (see Fig. 21)

Fig. 20 Overload Current on ONE side only

Fig. 18 shows that the old CBC8 card can be operated with All Types of Boosters
irrespective of their protection arrangements: If you are using the old CBC8 card in a
mixed analog/digital system the Overload Protection (and therefore disconnection of
power up to 2 seconds will operate in every case cross bridging. However DCC circuit
breakers (such as PM42) are still required to isolate power districts in case of short
circuits across the DCC track.

Fig. 21 Overload Currents with CBC8

Chuck Davis from RCI has informed me that he is developing a new CBC8 card
because the TLE5205 central component in the old one is no longer available. This
card will have overload protection (I >2 Amps) on the negative side and is therefore
safe with the Mini-Booster described here but not with everything like the old card.
30

Fig. 22 explains what can happen if two H-Bridges (with OL Protection on Different
sides) Collide.

Fig. 22 Big Problems if two H-Bridges with different Protection COLLIDE
!!!
This condition will only occur in mixed DC and DCC situations since the DCC
outputs are constantly reversing while the DC output connects to positive only.
Therefore one of the protection circuits will operate and disconnect power from both
rails.

I found a circuit using the LMD18200 on the following website:
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/CircuitIndex.html but, of course, I have no
experience with this device.

4.4 Undetected O/L currents through Protection Diodes in H-Bridge circuits
All H-Bridge motor drive circuits have intrinsic protection diodes included in the same
chip. These diodes protect the output transistors against back emf spikes. If a
voltage differential exists between two H-Bridges which have been connected
together a heavy current may flow through the protection diode to the other supply
as shown in Fig. 23. This current would not be detected by the H-Bridge Protection
circuit and even if the chip was disabled it would not break the current. Most circuit
breakers open one leg only on overload because they are designed to protect against
short circuits across the track.

Fig. 23 Feedback through Protection Diodes
31

This problem can be overcome by connecting a diode in series with the lower
voltage supply as shown in Fig. 24. In my case I have connected a 10 Amp diode in
series with each CBC8 card.

Fig. 24 Series Diode eliminates Feedback
In Summary

1. Stationary Decoders with Protection on BOTH sides can interwork with
ALL kind of Boosters (Mini or Main). In this case Circuit Breakers are only
provided for short circuits across the track.
2. Stationary Decoders with Protection on the NEGATIVE side can
interwork with Mini-Boosters with Protection on the NEGATIVE side (like
the one described in Fig. 39.
3. Stationary Decoders with Protection on the POSITIVE side can only
interwork with Mini-Boosters with Protection on the POSITIVE side (eg.
LMD18200 based).
4. In ALL OTHER Combinations you are courting DISASTER!

4.5 In-Rush Currents with some Sound Decoders
Many of the DCC sound decoders contain large Filter Capacitors which need to be
charged up at decoder initialization. This causes the protection circuitry in some H-
Bridges to operate falsely before the Capacitors are charged up. This is a well-known
problem which some DCC decoder manufacturers like ESU have tackled. However
there are many decoders with this problem and Boosters or Mini-Boosters need to
take account of the condition. It is assumed that a delay of 30 40 mS is sufficient for
this condition.

Fig. 25 Problem with In-Rush currents in some sound decoders
32

If we include a delay of 40 mS, based on a CR network in the Mini-Booster circuit, we
get an additional problem if DC collides with DCC. Since DCC constantly reverses
every 50 or 100 micro seconds The Overload Current is chopped every half cycle
of the DCC output. If a single delay circuit of some milliseconds was added to the
circuit, the delay would be restarted for every half cycle and therefore would never
expire. Both H-Bridges would probably be destroyed in this case. The Mini-
Booster described here takes care of the situation as described in 7.2

4.6 Limitations Applied to Analog Engines running under TrainController
TM

Analog i.e. DC controlled trains are subject to a number of limitations as follows

1. Engine control is limited to Speed and Direction Change.
2. No extra Functions are available such as Whistle Blowing or Flashing Lights.
3. No Sound Functions are available. However 4D Sound should work
Normally
4. No Back-emf compensation is applicable since stationary decoders can only
be Tuned to the Block and not the Engine.
5. Speed Calibrations must be done for the whole train not just the engine.
Virtual Markers are Unreliable. I have used Physical Contact Indicators
everywhere (2 or 3 per block).
6. Running without Defined Path (i.e. no defined schedule) is Not Possible.
Since schedules operate strictly One Way, shunting across block boundaries
is not really possible. Shunting Schedules generally do work but must be
applied to specific Roads where no block is reserved for another engine.
7. Pushing trains containing Resistive Wheel Sets ahead of the engine is only
possible within a shunting schedule ie. you cannot do it within a normal
schedule. The need for resistive wheel sets has been eliminated in TC Gold
because it calculates (from train length) when to release the previous block.

From the above it is obvious that conversion of Analog Engines to Digital Operation
has Many Advantages. However Analog Operation allows automatic running of your
conventional locos where conversion is not possible or desired. Friends can run their
analog engines on my system amongst my trains running automatically. This means
they have to follow the signal indications given on SmartHand which is a lot of
fun!

33

5 Hardware
Clearly not all problems encountered in the project can be solved using commercially
available equipment and therefore some Boards had to be specially designed and
built for my system.

5.1 System Requirements
In summary the requirements for my system were as follows =

1. Provide Stationary Decoders for Analog operation
2. Provide for Strict Separation of buses carrying Driving Commands and
Feedback
3. Provide access to the Digital Command (Track) Bus when required (relay
method)
4. Allow for Separate Power Feed (different voltages) to the digital and analog parts
of the system
5. Allow Safe Bridging of any currently analog and currently digital blocks
6. Provide a delay in tripping of the overload protection to cover the In-Rush
Current in some sound decoders.
7. Provide Overload Detection with automatic reset
8. Provide remote indication of Overload in TC.

5.2 Production of Pcb cards and the EAGLE CAD System
I purchased a Hobbyist license for Eagle which allows me to lay out multilayer Pcbs
up to the size of 100 x 160 mm. I am also obliged to design boards only for the Hobby
and not monetary gain. I therefore cannot produce and sell any boards. However I am
making the EAGLE files available which anyone can take to a Pcb manufacturer who
will accept designs as EAGLE files. I certainly had no trouble in finding such a
company in Melbourne. So anyone wanting to build such a system can get the boards
manufactured for themselves. I only got the blank printed boards made and built them
up myself but the company would also have built the boards at extra cost..

34

6 Commercially available Hardware
In this section I am describing the Analog equipment from RCI in more detail since I
assume that DCC technology and operation is well known.

6.1 The Railroad Control Interface, RCI
RCI is a series of peripheral cards which may be connected to a PC via a
Communications Network based on the RS485 Bus. The cards contain considerable
intelligence because of their on-board micro controllers and TrainController
TM
is
designed to interwork with them.

Fig. 26 Railroad Control Interface - System Overview
The System is designed and marketed by Oaktree Systems LLC and is intended to
run a model railway directed by Control Software in a PC or even a custom made
Hardware Controller. Fig. 26 shows the arrangement and TrainController
TM
is
designed to interwork with this hardware.

Fig. 26 includes the main cards available in the system and the controller (here the
PC) manipulates the cards via a set of commands and replies which are specific to
the RCI system.

All cards conform to the RCI command format which consists of 5 bytes (fixed length)
in each packet -

Command (PC to Card): AAAAAAAA CCCCCCCC DDDDDDDD dddddddd Check

Where AA.A is the card address
CCC is the Command Code
DDD is the first Data Byte
dd.d is the 2
nd
Data Byte
Check is a Checksum of all other bytes.

Polling Response AAAAAAAA CCCCCCCC XXXXXXXX YYYYYYYY Check
(5 Byte Acknowledge)
Where AA.A is the card address
CCC is the Command Code received by card
XXX is the first Data Byte
YYY is the 2
nd
Data Byte
Check is a Checksum of all other bytes.

Control
Software
USB to
RS485 IF
Computer Block
Control
CBC-8
To 8 Blocks
IO-24
1 2 8 1 2 16
Inputs Outputs
1 8
IO-48
1 2 16 1 2 32
Inputs Outputs
1 2 16 1 2 32
Outputs Outputs
O-48
RCI Bus (RS 485)
35

Output Response AAAAAAAA (only the address is sent back in the
response)
(1 Byte Acknowledge)
Note that NO card can initiate a message, it can merely respond to a command.
6.2 Micro Processor controlled Throttle Card CBC-8R
The CBC-8R is a Microprocessor Controlled peripheral card which serves to
control
8 Analog Blocks. At this stage I would like to emphasize that this card drives analog
trains only and has No Connection to DCC. The TC Manual describing Dual
Control of Analog and Digital engines, refers to another Track Driving Card, TD4
which was able to connect DCC signals upon receiving a special command. The TD4
card is currently out of production.

6.2.1 CBC8 Features
Control of 8 Blocks where each block controller includes a 96 Step PWM
Speed Control and a Voltage Sensing single Occupancy Detector. Blocks
may be independently controlled from the PC.
As with all digital motor drive circuits CBC-8R uses a so-called H-Bridge
Integrated circuit (type TLE 5205). This circuit is applied to the track 9.8 mS
after the start of the power cycle. The CBC8R card runs to a 10 mS power
cycle and maximum power is applied when the speed step applied is 95%.
Fig. 27 shows how a sensing circuit is applied after 9.8 mS, at a time when the
power is switched off. The sensing circuit is built into the H-Bridge output
circuit of TLE 5205 and checks for continuity through < 10K resistance
(minimum current detected is 0.7 mA).

Fig. 27 Occupancy Detection in CBC-8R
This occupancy detector has the advantage that is will respond to the
presence of Stationary Vehicles. All other detectors require some power to
be applied to the track, which is OK for DCC, but is a problem for Analog
Track Feeding.

The disadvantage is that the detector is sensitive to back emf pulses from the
motor i.e. it may not detect a vehicle when back emf pulses are High. The
other problem is that occupancy indication is signaled back from the CBC-8R
card via the RCI bus while loco driving commands are sent forward. When I
had more than two trains operating in a group of blocks polling replies were
15 V
Speed Step =50%
Speed Step =95% (Max)
5 mS 9.5 mS 9.8 mS
10 mS
0
Occupancy
Detector
applied
36

not received by TC for 0.5 seconds or more and trains got lost to the system.
We will see later how this problem was overcome.

Another disadvantage is that the CBC-8R card only provides one occupancy
detector per block while Analog locos usually require at least 2 (Brake
Marker and Stop Marker). However external detectors require some power
to be applied to the track at all times which is not possible for stationary
analog engines. I solved the problem by including all three indicators in the
block data in TC. Brake and Stop Markers are needed when trains are
moving, while the block must show occupied when the engine is stationary.
The fact that the stationary loco information may get delayed by a second or
so is of no consequence.

There is Flicker Filter (variable up to 10 sec in 0.1 sec steps) applied to the
occupancy detector to guard against bad contact due to dirty track or wheels.
Since the external Occupancy Indicators have no internal flicker filter I have
applied one to each block in TC block data and have turned off this hardware
one.

Fig. 28 The CBC-8R card
The output circuits are fully current and heat protected. The output current is
limited to 4 Amps and when this value is exceeded for longer than 50 S the
H-Bridge is turned off and a bit is set in the poling reply. The power is re-
applied after 2.5 seconds to see whether the short circuit has been cleared.
Up to 22V may be applied to the power terminals but the negative pole of all
cards must be connected to a strong common.
The start of each 10 mS Prime Interval may be Synchronized for all CBC
cards in the system so that no speed irregularities occur when an engine
drives from one block to the next.
Since the Card Address is set by a set of 6 Toggle Switches, Card
Addresses are limited to the range of 64 127.
The RCI Bus speed may be chosen from 19,200 or 38,400 Baud by Jumper
and TC will work at either speed. On the Preiten Bahn all RCI cards run at
38,400 Baud.

37

6.2.2 Card Addressing
The card address is set on 6 Toggle switches which implies that the most significant
two bits are permanently set to 0,1 which restricts addresses for CBC-8R to the
range of 64 to 127.

6.2.3 Commands and Responses for the CBC-8R Card
NOTE - The commands show here use zero based point addressing, i.e. the
first outlet on the card is numbered 0, the second point 1, etc. TC however
numbers the outlets from 1 to 8. This is a little bit confusing but there it is!
These commands work together to control actual locomotive speed via the
Track Driver card. Through these commands actual speed and momentum
can be simulated.

The commands have three purposes

Initiate Action on the card e.g. setting the speed and direction of the engine
Read back information from the card e.g. Block Status or Card Type
Program Variables e.g. Setting holdover values or momentum are the RCI
equivalent of CVs in DCC. These commands are issued neither by TC nor
TrainProgrammer, but rather the values have to be set via the RCI Test
program, RCITest.

The valid commands for the CBC8-R are

0 Read Type
2 Stop Card
3 Start Card
5 Sync Clocks
8 Store in Memory
9 Recall from Memory
10 Store Current Settings
48 Read Bytes
49 Set Holdover
64 Set Starting Voltage
65 Set Target Speed
67 Set Starting Momentum
68 Set Braking Momentum
80 Set Speed (IO-48 Compatibility Mode)

When these features were designed in TC the CBC-8R card did not exist and its
forerunner was a Track Driver card that plugged into the IO-48 card (TH4). For this
reason on the Connection tab of Block data you should set Track Driver attached to
IO-48 card if you are connecting the CBC-8R card.

TC performs its own Momentum, Brake Rate and Starting voltage calculation and
therefore only uses commands 0, 5, 48 and 80. The others have been enumerated
here for completeness.

When the CBC-8R is powered on, certain values are set by default. These default
values are -
Starting Voltage - 0
Target Speed - 0
Starting Momentum - 10
Braking Momentum - 10
38

These values may be changed by means of RCITest. I have changed variables on
my system as follows

Starting and Braking Momentum 1 on all blocks
Holdover value 1 (0.1 Seconds) on all blocks

Command 0 Type Inquiry

The command causes the card to respond (long response) with its Type and Version
information.

Command: AAAAAAAA 00000000 xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx Checksum
Where xxxxxxxx is ignored
Response: AAAAAAAA xxxxxxxx TTTTTTTT VVVVRRRR Checksum
Where TTTTTTTT This is the card type code for CBC
this
is always 6 (Compatible with IO-48)
VVVV This is the Firmware Version, for
CBC
this is also 6
RRRR Firmware Release Level

Command 5 Synch Clocks:

This command causes the card to reset the timing of its power output pulses. The
purpose is to ensure that the track outputs on All CBC8-R cards are exactly in phase
with each other. If the cards were not synchronized, there could be a momentary
speed changes occurring when trains transit from one block to another. The eight
outputs on each individual CBC-8R card are always kept in sync with each other by
the processor.

This command must always be sent as a broadcast message (address of 00), so
that it will act on all cards at the same instant in time. TC sends this command to all
RCI buses connecting CBC8-R cards every 8 seconds. The card does Not send any
Response to this command.

Command: 00000000 5 xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx Checksum
Response: None

Command 10 Store Current Values

This command stores (permanently) the current values of the holdover times, starting
voltages, starting momentum and braking momentum currently set in the card. When
the card is restarted from power-up, all these settings will be restored. Once these
values are permanently stored in this manner, they will be in effect whenever the card
is powered on, regardless of what PC software is being used. This command should
only be used during setup of your railroad; using it during normal operation may cause
timeout errors and a temporary interruption of train control.

This command must be generated in RCITest.

39

Response: AAAAAAAA

Command 48 Read Bytes

This command read the two bytes of status information from the CBC-8R. The first
byte contains the value of the occupancy detectors, while the second byte contains
the value of the overload indicators.

Note that inputs are latched in the card until they are read by this command, i.e. any
input that goes to a one will be held in that state by the card until the value is read by
TC. Note also that each block detector point on the card can have a holdover value
set. The holdover is the minimum time (in increments of 0.1 of a second) that an input
will stay at one, even after the input has returned to zero. This is useful for filtering out
Contact Flickering due to dirty wheels or track.

Response: AAAAAAAA 48 DDDDDDDD OOOOOOOO Checksum
Where DDDDDDDD Are the 8 Occupancy Indicators
OOOOOOOO Are the 8 Overload Indicators

Command 49 Set Holdover Value

This command sets the Holdover Value for the occupancy detector bits described
under command 48.

Command: AAAAAAAA 49 PPPPPPPP xHHHHHHH Checksum
Where PPPPPPPP Is the Outlet Number (0 7)
255 is all 8 bits = 1
xHHHHHHH Is the Holdover Value (1 127) in
0.1 second steps

Response: AAAAAAAA

Command 80 Set Speed

This command sets the absolute speed (in % of Full Speed which equals the pulse
width in 0.1 mS steps) and direction for an outlet. The speed control function on the
card will set the actual speed based on momentum calculations. Since TC does its
own Momentum Calculations these values should have been set to One and TC
determins the actual speed directly. Direction of travel is set according to the D bit.
D=1 indicates forward, while D=0 indicates reverse.

Command: AAAAAAAA 80 xxxxPPPx DSSSSSSS Checksum
Where PPP Is the Outlet Number (0 14)
xxxx is ignored
D is Direction (1 Forward, 0 Reverse)
SSSSSSS Speed Step (95 Max; > 95 = 95)

Response: AAAAAAAA

40

6.3 The Mini-Input-Output Card IO-24

Fig. 29 The IO-24 Card
This card combines 8 Input points with 16 Output points. The Input points require to
be driven from low-going outputs (i.e. 0V behind a relay contact). If they are to be
used for occupancy detection, the points must be optically decoupled (BD8-T card).
In the main, I have used this card to operate Circuitron Tortoise switch machines.

6.3.1 Features
16 Output Points and 8 Input Points on a very compact card (3.8 " x 2.5").
Power Output Drivers: Bi-directional power drivers on all 16 outputs. Allow you
to drive common anode, common cathode, or bipolar LED signals; stall motor
switch machines; and two-wire or three-wire solenoid powered switch
machines drawing up to 1 amp of current (pulsed). Each output can have it's
polarity controlled individually - no need to choose an output type when you
buy or build the card!
Circuitron Tortoise Switch machines can be connected directly to an Even and
next higher Odd outlet. TC when set up for driving the Tortoise will
automatically set up the two outlets in the turnout data.
WARNING! The outputs of IO-24 are NOT SHORT CIRCUIT
PROTECTED. If A live track rail is connected to the motor terminal
(e.g. short between 7 & 8 on tortoise machine) the IO-24 card can burn
up! I fixed the problem by connecting 150 ohm resistors in series with
each motor terminal which limits the current to safe levels while
allowing the stall motor to operate normally. Oaktree Systems LLC
have developed a Tortoise Connection card that does the same thing.
Filtered, Pulled-Up Inputs for compatibility with contact closures, or electronic
detectors of all types. Both Input polarity and output polarity can be set via
software. The BD-8T Tiny Block Detector is designed specifically to
complement the IO-24 card, providing 8 optically-isolated block detectors on a
tiny card
41

Input Holdover allows you to set up a delayed "drop out" (similar to CBC8) of
occupancy signals from attached block detectors which don't have this feature
built in.
Again the card address is set by 6 Toggle Switches and the IO-24 card
addresses are limited to the range 128 - 191

The card address is set on 6 Toggle switches which implies that the most significant
two bits are permanently set to 1,0 which restricts addresses for IO-24 to the range
of 128 to 191.

6.3.3 Commands and Responses for IO-24

Initiate Action on the card e.g. lighting signals or setting turnouts
Read back information from the card e.g. Block Status or Card Type
Program Variables e.g. The Setting of holdover values or Sense Bits are the
RCI equivalent of programming CVs in DCC. These commands are issued
neither by TC nor TrainProgrammer, but rather the values have to be set via
the RCI Test program, RCITest.

The valid commands for the IO-24 are

0 Read Type
10 Store Current Settings
11 Store Current Commands
16 Write Point
17 Write Multiple Points
18 Pulse Out
19 Long Pulse Out
20 Alternate Pulse Out
21 Mix
22 Flash Off
23 Blink
24 Blink/Mix
25 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
26 Set Output Sense Bits
27 Flip-Flop Pulse
28 Extra Long Pulse
29 Extra Long Blink
30 Set Two Points
31 Set Three Points
32 Set Four Points
35 Strobe Light Output
36 Chase Light Output
37 Three Light Traffic Signal
38 Six Light Traffic Signal
48 Read Bytes
49 Set Holdover Time
51 Read Raw Input Bytes
53 Set Input Sense Bits
80 Set Speed (IO-48 Compatibility Mode)

42

TC only uses commands 0, 16, 30 and 48. The others have been enumerated here
for completeness.


information.


Where TTTTTTTT This is the card type code for IO-24
this
is always 6 (Compatible with IO-48)
VVVV This is the Firmware Version, for IO-
24
this is 2.4

Command 10 - Store Current Values

This command stores the current value of the output sense bits, input sense bits, and
holdover values currently set in the card. When the card is restarted from power-up,
all the settings will be restored. These settings are restored before the power output
drivers are turned on. If you have a device connected to an output in such a way that
it requires the output to be normally high, you can change the sense of the output
using command 26, then use this command to save the settings. These settings
should be made before the device is connected to the card.

Response: AAAAAAAA
This command is only given from the RCI Test program to
permanently store all settings such as Holdover Value etc.

Command 16 Write Single Point

The command sets a single output point on or off. The output remains in this state
until another command changes it.

Command: AAAAAAAA 16 xxxxPPPP xxxxxxxV Checksum
PPPP Is the Output Point (0 15)
V This is the Bit value to be written

Response: AAAAAAAA

Command 26 Set Output Sense Bits (only via RCITest)

This command is used to set the bits that control whether output points are normal or
inverted. For each sense bit which is zero, the corresponding point is normal; when
the sense bit is set to one, the point is inverted, e.g. setting an output state to a 1
actually turns the output off.

43

This can be used to solve some hardware problems without the need to re-wire.
Sense bits can only be set in groups of 8 (a byte), not one at a time, but each
individual bit can be zero or one.

Command: AAAAAAAA 26 xxxxxxxB SSSSSSSS Checksum
Where xxxxxxx is ignored
B Is the Byte Number (0 7, 8 - 15)
SSSSSSSS Sense Bits (0 normal, 1 inverted)

Response: AAAAAAAA

Command 30 Set Two Points

The command sets two output points of the card to the specified settings (A or B).
This command is convenient to use for setting two aspect signals or Motor Switch
Machines rather than sending multiple separate Write Point commands. The two
output points affected are sequential, starting with the point number specified and
then addressing the next more significant point number.

Command: AAAAAAAA 30 xxxPPPPP xxxxxxBA Checksum
PPPPP Is the starting point number
A This is the value to be written into 1
st
point
B This is the value to be written into 2
nd

point

Response: AAAAAAAA


This command reads two bytes of input, starting with the byte specified in the
message, which must be an even numbered byte. The response to the command
returns the current value of the logical inputs, which have had the latching logic
applied to them (not the raw inputs).

input that goes to a "one" will be held in that state by the card until the PC reads the
value. This insures that transitory signals like push buttons are not missed by the host
system. To read the current value of the inputs without any latching logic applied to
them, use the "Read Raw" command (51). Because the actual inputs are scanned by
the card 10,000 times per second, inputs as short as .0002 seconds can be detected
and latched when they occur. If a "holdover" is in effect for any input point (see
Command 49), the input will remain on until the holdover time has expired.

Response: AAAAAAAA 48 DDDDDDDD 00000000 Checksum
Where DDDDDDDD Are the 8 Latched Input Points

Command 49 Set Holdover Time (only with RCITest)

This command sets a "holdover" time for one or more input points. The holdover time
causes the input to be held at 1 for an extended time after the actual input signal has
been turned off.
44

Action Taken: Holdover is set for either a single point or all points. To save the
holdover values permanently in the card, follow this command with command 10.
Otherwise, the holdover values are lost when the card is powered off.

Command: AAAAAAAA 49 PPPPPPPP TTTTTTTT Checksum
Where PPPPPPPP Is the Outlet Number (0 7)
255 is all 8 bits = 1
TTTTTTTT Is the Holdover Value (1 255) in
0.04 second steps

Response: AAAAAAAA

6.4 The Input Output Card IO-48

Fig. 30 The IO-48 Card
In my case this card is provided for general operations such as occupancy indicators,
lighting signals or operating relays etc.

6.4.1 Features
32 outputs, each providing 150 milliamp of current sinking (open drain). It can
connect to external voltages up to 24 volts or power directly from the card, up
to 18 volts.
Complete compatibility of commands with other RCI boards such as CBC-8R,
IO-24 and O-48 cards and the card is supported by TrainController
TM
.
There are 16 filtered inputs, each being scanned 9600 times per second. If
any input point is found to be at 1 during any of the above scans the
corresponding bit in the output register (towards PC) is set to 1. When the PC
reads the register during the next poling cycle. The output register is cleared.
This process continues indefinitely.
The card provides a Scanned Input mode, which allows input from a large
matrix of dry contacts. In this way up to 512 contacts may be attached to a
single IO-48 card. The card can be configured to scan from 8 to 512 inputs in
groups of 8.
A wide variety of output functions, including support for all types of model
railroad signals, crossing flashers, turnout motors, solenoids and relays can
be handled.
45

A variety of plug-in modules such as block detectors (BD8-D) or Relay Boards
are available.
Optional plug-in screw terminals convert inputs and outputs to screw-down
connections.
On-card jumpers select the interface baud rate (19,200 or 38,400) and input
polarity.
The Input and Output terminals are IDC connectors which enable other cards
(such as DC/DCC switches) or daughter boards (such as German Signal
Interfaces) to be connected via 14 way Ribbon-cable or directly plugged in.

The card address is set on 8 Toggle switches which allows addressing between 001
and 255.

6.4.3 Commands and Responses for IO-48

Initiate Action on the card e.g. operating relays or setting switch machines
Read back information from the card e.g. Occupancy Indicators or Card Type

TC uses the IO-48 card only in the single address mode for which the card type
returned is 6 (compatible with CBC8-R and IO-24). Note that the IO-48 processor
contains No Programmable Variables like the other two cards. No commands are
thus provided to write values to memory.

The valid commands for the IO-48 are

0 Read Type
16 Write Point
17 Write Multiple Points
18 Pulse Out
19 Long Pulse Out
20 Alternate Pulse Out
21 Mix
22 Flash Off
23 Blink
24 Blink/Mix
25 Pulse Width Modulation, PWM (in attached Track Driver card)
26 Set Output Sense Bits (values are restored 0 when powered down)
27 Flip-Flop Pulse
28 Extra Long Pulse
29 Extra Long Blink
30 Set Two Points
31 Set Three Points
32 Set Four Points
48 Read Bytes
51 Read Raw Input Bytes
80 Set Speed (in attached Track Driver card)

TC only uses commands 0, 16, 30 and 48 on IO-48. The others have been
enumerated here for completeness.

46

information. This command can be used to identify the cards attached to the network.


Where TTTTTTTT This is the card type code for IO-48
this
is always 6.
VVVV This is the Firmware Version

Command 16 Write Single Point

The command sets a single output point on or off. The output remains in this state
until another command changes it.

Command: AAAAAAAA 16 xxxPPPPP xxxxxxxV Checksum
PPPP Is the Output Point (0 31)
V This is the Bit value to be written

Response: AAAAAAAA

Command 26 Set Output Sense Bits (only via RCITest)

This command is used to set the bits that control whether output points are normal or
inverted. For each sense bit which is zero, the corresponding point is normal; when
the sense bit is set to one, the point is inverted, e.g. setting an output state to a 1
actually turns the output off. Sense bits can only be set in byte groups, not one at a
time, but each individual bit can be zero or one.

Action Taken: The sense bits are stored in an area reserved for this purpose on the
card. The output functions on the card will use these values to control the
normal/inverted state of each bit. However all sense bits are initialized to zero when
the card is powered on and therefore these bits Cannot be used to Rectify Wiring
Errors as for IO-24.

Command: AAAAAAAA 26 xxxxBBBB SSSSSSSS Checksum
Where xxxxxxx is ignored
BBBB Is the Byte Number: Byte
corresponds
To points 0 7, byte 1 to points 8
15
and so on. Only 4 Bytes can be
specified.
SSSSSSSS Sense Bits (0 normal, 1 inverted)
The
least significant bit corresponds to
the
lowest number output point

47

Response: AAAAAAAA

Command 30 Set Two Points

The command sets two output points of the card to the specified settings (A or B).
This command is convenient to use for setting two aspect signals or Motor Switch
Machines rather than sending multiple separate Write Point commands. The two
output points affected are sequential, starting with the point number specified and
then addressing the next more significant point number.

Command: AAAAAAAA 30 xxxPPPPP xxxxxxBA Checksum
PPPPP Is the starting point number
A This is the value to be written into 1
st
point
B This is the value to be written into 2
nd

point

Response: AAAAAAAA


This command reads two bytes of input, starting with the byte specified in the
message, which must be an even numbered byte. The response to the command
returns the current value of the logical inputs, which have had the latching logic
applied to them (not the raw inputs).

input that goes to a "one" will be held in that state by the card until the PC reads the
value. This insures that transitory signals like push buttons are not missed by the host
system. To read the current value of the inputs without any latching logic applied to
them, use the "Read Raw" command (51). Because the actual inputs are scanned by
the card 9,600 times per second, inputs as short as .0002 seconds can be detected
and latched when they occur. No Holdover Timing can be specified on IO-48

Response: AAAAAAAA 48 BBBBBBBB BBBBBBBB Checksum
Where BBBBBBBB Are the 16 Latched Input Points.
The least significant Bits
correspond
to the Input Points marked L
while
the other byte corresponds to the
points marked H.

48

6.5 The RCI Bus System

Fig. 31 The RCI Bus System
6.5.1 Bus Wiring
The system bus (see Fig. 31) connects all RCI cards with the PC, where TC running
in the PC is the Master and all other devices are Slaves. As mentioned earlier this
arrangement polls the different cards i.e. those with Input Points at regular intervals
(typically every 100 mS). For traffic reasons any CBC8-R or TD4 cards should be
connected to a separate bus from any input cards IO-24 or IO-48.

The Bus is implemented to Specification RS485 which has, according to OTS, the
following characteristics

Maximum Speed: 38,400 Baud
Maximum Length: 100 meter
Cabling: 6 Wire Flat Telephone Cable
Termination on last device is left open

The SmartHand Bus of RR&Co is identical to the RCI bus except that it is running at a
higher speed. For this reason I have used RR&Cos USB interfaces also as interfaces
to the RCI buses.

Fig. 32 shows the detailed wiring of the RCI buses. Since Monitoring of the RCI buses
by means of Versa-Tap was often required during testing, I included a monitoring Jack
on all buses as shown.

USB
12V Sup
- +
USB-
Serial
I/F
RJ 12 Plug RJ 12 Plug
RCI Card
RCI Card
RCI Card
14-18V Sup
-
+
RS485
Convertor
IN Out IN IN Out Out
49

Fig. 32 RCI System Bus Wiring
6.5.2 Poling
As mentioned, before the RCI system uses Poling. In this system TC interrogates
each card separately for status changes as shown in Fig. 33.

Fig. 33 Poling Communications
TC knows from its own data store which Input points have been defined. It therefore
interrogates the IO-48 cards defined on a RCI bus periodically as often as it can (ie.
when no Output commands are being). During each read operation TC reads 2 Bytes
or 16 Occupancy indicators simultaneously (ie. in 10 mS) and stores the results the
defined data store positions.

LocoNet uses Event driven Communications where each device is able to initiate
communications towards TC.
50

6.6 Digitrax Hardware
The Digitrax hardware is specifically designed for the NMRA DCC system but I
have used some items for the analog/digital Preiten Bahn. These are

6.6.1 The Command Station/Booster DCS 100

Fig. 34 Command Station/Booster DCS 100
The DCS 100 unit (see Fig. 34) is a combination DCC Command Station & 5 Amp
Booster. The DCS 200 is identical to DCS 100 except the Booster Capacity is 8
Amps. I do net require any Digitrax Boosters since I have installed the Mini-Boosters.

Features
Accepts control signals from LocoNet Throttles or TC in LocoNet format
Can address over 9000 locos
Allows 120 locos to run simultaneously (120 normal slots and 7 special ones)
Contains in-built CV programmer
Allows Operations Mode Programming of Loco anywhere on the layout
Allows service Mode Programming on a dedicated programming track
128 Speed step operation
Basic, Advanced or Universal Consisting
Can handle up to 28 special functions
Provides all Booster functions as per NMRA Standards (not enumerated here)

51

6.7 USB LocoNet interface PR3

Fig. 35 The PC Interface PR3

This unit has two purposes
Provides two-way connection between a USB port on the PC and LocoNet
Allows connection of a programming track to the PC directly (? Actually not
tried at this stage!)

You require a +12 15 V DC power supply if you want to use PR3 in the
programming mode.

52

7 Home-built Hardware
7.1 A Home-built Occupancy Detector
7.1.1 Principles
Initially I was going to install Digitrax BDL168 cards on my system, but subsequently
found out that such devices Do Not function in an Analog Environment. Therefore I
had to include my own occupancy detectors on the DC-DCC Switch cards, see Fig.
36.

Fig. 36 Occupancy Detector Circuit
The circuit is in fact adapted from the RCI Diodes and BD8-T cards, which I have
used before in the previously analog only version of my system. Since the Diodes are
Fast Recovery the circuit works equally well in a DCC situation. For the fast
diodes I used a Common Anode pair MUR 1620 CTRG and a Common Cathode pair
BYQ28X-200. Both pairs are TO3 mounted and I was able to mount a Heat sink
between the two. When I was conducting trials with currents of 3.5 Amps continuous
the Diodes without heat sink got rather warm.

The diode bridge is shunted by a 1.5K resistor to ensure that a current of 1 2 mA
(10 20K across the track) triggers the Opto-Coupler output. If the shunt resistance
is reduced to 470 ohms the trigger level increases to about 6 mA, while increasing it
will reduce the trigger level. If the trigger level is reduced too much you may get false
indications due to leakage currents (moisture content of baseboards, type of paints
used etc.). I found that during DCC operation turnout ladders or Double Slip Islands
connected enough capacity (1 - 2 nF) that the detectors were triggered without any
trains being present. These shunt resistors are mounted on SIL sockets, so that the
values may be readily changed.

7.1.2 The DC-DCC Switch (4) card
12 Detector circuits (4 Blocks with 3 each) are provided on the DC-DCC switch cards.
For successful operation of analog traffic you need 2 detectors for each block in each
direction of travelling: one to act as Brake Marker and one as Stop Marker. Relying
on timing within TC for analog engines is too unreliable. Since I am running mixed
analog/digital traffic everywhere I needed to provide the physical detectors. The
Mainline Traffic (ie. schedule controlled) on my system is unidirectional and
therefore 2 detectors per block are sufficient in most cases. However if your Mainline
Traffic is Bidirectional you may need 3 Detectors per block (Brake and Stop Markers
in each direction).

53

The input card of the particular system must provide a pull-up resistor to +5V on
each input circuit. While this is true for RCI, I am not sure what the situation is with
other devices.

Fig. 37 DC/DCC Switch with Occupancy Indicators specific for IO-48

Fig. 38 DC/DCC Switch Layout
54

Features
1 Card is required per 4 blocks
The card is interposed between 4 CBC-8 outlets and 4 track blocks with up to
3 sections per block.
1 relay is provided per block to connect DCC feed from one Mini-Booster to
this block (Digital Power relay in TC block data).
Block D on the card is fed separately to allow insertion of an Auto-Reverse
circuit in this block, should this be required. In most cases DCC D is connected
in parallel with DCC A-C.
IO-48 Input and Output points can be connected directly to the DC-DCC
Switch card via 14-way Ribbon cable.
3 Occupancy detectors are provided per block with the first two being
connected directly to the IO-48 card while the third is brought out to screw
terminals to be connected to other input cards as required.

7.2 The DCC Mini-Booster
I took an existing design (Booster 1.3) by Wolfgang Kufer (www.opendcc.org) and
changed it as follows

The Auto-Reverse Circuit (which I only require in 2 out of the 64 blocks) was
removed to make room for new circuitry on the board.
An RC network was interposed between the Comparator circuit (which detects
overload) and a Mono-Stable circuit which disables the output (see Fig. 39).
The DCC input was modified for LocoNet.

The full schematic circuit is shown in Fig. 41 and the board layout in Fig. 43.

Fig. 39 Operation of Overload Protection

Capacitor C2 is normally charged to +5V through 110 K resistance (time constant
approx. 0.4 sec). When overload occurs the voltage at the SENSE terminal of the H-
Bridge exceeds 0.2 V and the output LM393 is pulled to ground. C2 discharges
through the Schottky Diode (low forward voltage) and the 10 K resistor (Time
Constant 30 mS). When C2 is nearly discharged, the Mono stable circuit (74LS123)
triggers and disables the H-Bridge output for 1.5 seconds. During this time the
55

overload is turned off and C2 charges again ready for the next overload condition.
Fig. 40 shows two CRO traces of this process.

Fig. 40 Mini-Booster Overload Protection

7.2.1 Features
The current that triggers overload protection is 4 Amps flowing in the negative
leg. Never connect unprotected NEGATIVE (ie. System Ground) to the
Mini-Booster output when DCC is running. The Power FET component
will be destroyed in seconds!
Overload triggering is delayed by 40 mS with a short circuit applied between
the output terminals of the booster. The delay doubles to 80 mS if pure
positive is applied to one output terminal.
If Overload Protection is triggered the output is disabled for 1.5 secs when a
new attempt is made to restore DCC power. If the Overload condition persists
the the protection circuit is triggered again. This process continues until the
overload condition is removed and this period can continue indefinitely.
Overload is indicated on a red LED as well as remotely to TC if input points on
an IO card are made available.
The Output is disabled when no DCC reversals (ie. DCC input failure) are
received within 15 mS.
DCC power up to 24 V is ok and the individual DCC signals pass the Pricom
DCC pocket checker without errors.
Wolfgang Kufers single sided Pcb layout and board size (60 x 80 mm) have
been preserved.
A fairly large heatsink is required in case continuous current of 3 3.5 Amps
needs to be supplied to one block for extended periods (0 Gauge Consist
operations!)
You can increase the trigger current to 5 or 6 Amps by reducing R15 from 10K
to 8.2K or 6.8K respectively, but in such a case a much larger heatsink must
be provided. I have not tried such arrangements and I am unaware what this
does to the DCC waveform.

56

Fig. 41 Mini-Booster Schematic Diagram
57

Fig. 41 also shows how the other Mono-Stable circuit (Trigger Period 15 mS) monitors the
DCC input. The Mono-stable is continually triggered by the incoming DCC pulses. If no
polarity reversals have been received for 15 mS the circuit triggers and turns the power output
off. In this way no permanent DC potentials are left on the track in case of DCC failure.

Fig. 42 Mini-Booster

Fig. 43 Mini-Booster Layout
58

7.3 The Tortoise Unit
As mentioned before, I experienced an incidence where an IO-24 board went Up in Smoke.
This was traced to a short-circuit between one side of the circuitron motor and one rail
(connected to the adjacent tag). If the rail is then driven from a CBC8 outlet currents of several
Amps will flow from the positive on the track to ground connected to the Half H Bridge driving
the Tortoise motor. This current does not harm the CBC8 card but the IO-24 board is
destroyed, because there is no overload protection built into the IO-24 board.

Fig. 44 Circuit of Tortoise unit
Since I had installed the IO-24 boards for Turnout control the cheapest remedy was do
develop a little plug unit which connects 2 x 150 ohm resistors in series with the tortoise motor.
I could have used DS64 units instead of IO-24 but I dont know how these would handle the
above fault situation. The boards were made by RCI but would be easy to lay out on EAGLE.
The circuit of the unit is shown in Fig. 44

In addition there was no good way to connect two IO-48 outlets to drive a Tortoise unit. RCI
recommend connecting resistors somewhere, but the practicality is always a problem. This is
why I used IO-24 bords for Turnout control since they dont any separate power on the tortoise
unit.This little board can be connected to +12 V and provides all the resistors necessary to
drive the tortoise from an IO-48 board (more economical). A photo of the unit is shown in Fig.
45

59

Fig. 45 The Tortoise Unit

60

8 Implementation
8.1 Physical Construction
In the first place we had to create a room. When we moved into the house, only the double
garage under the house existed, but the house was built on steel beams and not stumps as
would have been the usual practice in this country. We were able to take down the internal
side wall of the garage and bring in digging equipment such as Bob-Cats to excavate the
whole basement. Of course two of the outer house walls had to be underpinned (placing 11
1500x600 mm approx. 2m high Concrete Pins under the house foundations) before the area
could be fully excavated. Vladimir then finished the room with internal plaster walls and the
Preiten Bahn had a home.

The System is designed to the so-called Folded back Dog bone principle, where a complete
traversal of the main line implies two excursions in each direction (left to right and right to left
in Fig. 47). The area depicts a phantasy alpine region in southern Germany with Preiten
Hauptbahnhof being the main center with the alpine resort town of Talheim situated nearby.

The upper Preiten part has been shown Offset to reveal the tracks in the tunnel at the lower
level.

A journey on the main line starts at Preiten Hbf and climbs to upper Preiten via the Alpine
Route (1.25 % gradient). It then moves to the left past the Bahnhof Strae in upper Preiten
does a U-Turn at right hand end of the room, runs at the higher level past the Steam Engine
Yard with the roundhouse returns to upper Preiten and proceeds downhill via the Alps (past
Talheim) to the back of Preiten Hbf.

Fig. 46 View over Turntable across to the Alps
From here the train proceeds to the left of Preiten Hbf where it does a U-turn at the lower
level. It then proceeds under the stair case to round the steam yard at the lower level to
enter the yard via the turnout ladder under the single suspension bridge. After completing
61

the U-turn at the lower level via one of the sidings the train enters Preiten Hbf from the left.
It has thereby completed a whole Loop via the Main Line.

Fig. 47 Preiten Bahn Physical Layout
62

Any 0-Gauger will tell you that European type equipment such as turntables,
roundhouses etc. in scale 1 : 45 are unobtainable. As you can see in the photos,
we adapted some Lionel, Atlas and Bachman equipment to suit our purposes
(with apologies to the European Purists).

Fig. 48 The Preiten Viaduct
The Preiten Viaduct (see Fig. 48) was created by Vladimir and he used 9 Noch H0
Rhone bridges glued together. The pylons were constructed from Noch stone wall
sections glued onto timber frames.

The Alpine scenery was created by David in painting a series of wall Frescos
indicating the physical mountain contours. Vladimir and I then built the supporting
structure for the Plaster Mountains. This took the form of Chipboard ribs which we
covered with Chicken wire. The shaping of the plaster cover and painting as well the
Vegetation was purely Davids work and I was merely mixing the plaster (all 200 Kg.
of it!). See Fig. 49

63

Fig. 49 In the Hall of the Mountain King

Fig. 50 The View of Talheim

64

Fig. 51 The French Pacific (Chapelon) in upper Preiten
The German small town buildings shown in Fig. 51 were all created by Susanne Heim
in Germany who is an absolute master in this field. They are half relief ie. they have a
front only.

8.2 Planning
The first step in creating a railway must be to plan the actual track layout and make it
fit in the given room. Clearly two conflicting requirements need to be resolved

Track area and curve radii should be as large as possible
The room is always smaller than required.

I used the well-known track layout CAD system WinRail to accomplish the task. The
result is shown in Fig. 47 and the resultant documentation was used to build benches
and to decide on the various curve radii etc.

Once the plans were completed and benches had been built, the cork roadbed and
peco track was laid. We used Contact Adhesive for fixing both and used steel curved
and straight templates to lay the track. The argument about how to ever get the stuff
off again we put aside: This is not our worry. In this way the result was more
accurate than with nailing or screwing. Vladimir was able to make a couple of
corrections (where derailments took place) and even replaced one unsatisfactory
curved turnout with a new one from Peco, but the whole setup cannot be removed
without destruction! We used over 40 Circuitron Tortoise switch machines to control
the turnouts and double slips.

65

9 Mounting and cabling the whole System
9.1 The Board Panels
For the Analog only setup we mounted the CBC8 boards and IO cards under the top
plates. It became soon obvious that additions were very hard to implement and the
whole thing became the proverbial Birds Nest.

After finding that BDL168 boards did not work in analog environment and home made
occupancy detector boards had to be designed we decided on a complete re-wiring of
the layout.

But how should we mount the cards, if we did not want to hang up-side-down to find
faults or make corrections? On the Digitrax Forum I picked up a tip of mounting
BDL168 and PM42 boards in special pull-out drawers. Drawer runners in various sizes
are available in hardware stores. Vladimir then made the suggestion that instead of
drawers we could have vertically mounted pull out panels. We proceeded with this
method of mounting the cards.

Fig. 52 Panel for Group 10 in Home position
I decided to build these panels around a group of 8 Blocks ie, one CBC8 card. That
implied that the standard equipping of one panel consisted of

1 CBC8 card
2 DC/DCC switch cards
2 Mini-Booster cards
1 IO-48 card with up to 6 Signal interfaces on plug-in daughter boards
1 IO-24 card

66

There is room to mount miscellaneous equipment such as Auto Reversing boards,
Island relay boards, one segregated CBC8 board for the analog tram system etc.

Fig. 53 Panel for Group 10 pulled out

Figs. 52 and 53 show the panel for group 10 in its normal position and withdrawn for
testing. Of course everything is fully functional when the panel is withdrawn and the
LEDs mounted on the front strip give information about power and DCC status.

Fig. 54 Panel Layout for Group 10 (CBC8 Address 74)
67

Fig. 54 gives a detailed layout of the panel discussed above. In general I have adopted
the following numbering philosophy

Everything is derived from the Group Number (ie. 0,1,3,4,7,8,10,9)
The Block Number has Group No. as most significant digit with the least
significant digit being 1 8 ie. the last block in group 10 is 108.
The CBC8 card address is 64 + Group No. ie. on the panel above it is 74. The
only exception are blocks 61 68 (Tram system) where the CBC8 card is
mounted on Panel 7.
The IO-48 card address is 1 + the Group No. ie. 11 on this panel
The IO-24 Address is 128 + the Group No. ie 138 on this panel

9.2 Board Interconnections
9.2.1 Solution Specific for New RCI IO-48 Board
RCI have recently released a new IO-48 card which is identical to the old one except
for IDC connectors which take Ribbon cable plugs. I therefore redesigned the general
DC/DCC switch to specifically suit this new IO-48 card. Input and output occurs via IDC
connectors and this version is used on the Preiten Bahn system. This much simplifies
the installation effort because of Crimping of Ribbon Cable. The interconnection
diagram is given in Fig. 55.

Fig. 55 Interconnection of Boards associated with new IO-48
Since each IO-48 output connector serves 2 DC/DCC boards I have made up Ribbon
cables with three IDC connectors where leads 5 8 and 9 12 on the IDC connector
to the 2
nd
board are crossed over.

68

9.2.2 Solutions for other Equipment Cases
I have prepared designs for other equipment cases as follows

General Switch with Occupancy indicators
Electrically equivalent to above but all input and output leads are brought out to
screw terminals instead of IDC connectors. This is intended to be used if the IO-
48 is replaced by some other equivalent eg. CTI combinations of Switchman
and Sentry boards.

Relay Switch for external Occupancy indicators
For users wishing to use their own Occupancy Detectors (optical or magnetic
etc.), I have developed a Switch 8 card which contains NO Occupancy
Detectors. The arrangement is shown in Fig. 56 The rules for choosing
stationary decoders in combination with DCC Boosters are the same as for the
previous cases.

Fig. 56 DC/DCC switch for other Occupancy indicators
I have only laid out the boards in EAGLE but have not had any manufactured or tested.

9.2.3 Existing Main Boosters
If you want to use Main Boosters such as the one built into DCS100 then you can do
so with the present (old) CBC8 card. If you use any other stationary loco decoders
you must examine all protection circuits first, with respect to which polarity is
protected. Of course in such cases you still have to use conventional circuit breakers to
prevent the whole system from coming down due to a short circuit in the DCC part.

9.3 Cabling
The following cable types were used

Distribution wiring ie. DC/DCC Switch blocks = 6 Amp Twin Power Cable
69

Power wiring ie. Central Power Panel Card Panels = Heavy Duty Speaker Flex
Bus wiring ie. PC to Electronic Boards = 6 wire Flat Telephone Cable
Signals wiring ie. IO-48 daughter boards Signals = 6 & 8 Core Flat Cable
Internal Panel wiring = 9 Core Garden Cable & 14 way Ribbon Cable
Turnout wiring = very light Speaker Flex

Care was taken to separate the bus cables from the power cables to prevent any
crosstalk between the two as shown in Fig. 57

Fig. 57 Section through West Wall
I thought that running low signal level buses and high current power feeds bunched
together for many meters was tempting fate. This arrangement seems to have solved
the problem.

9.4 Power Supply and Distribution
RCI, Digitrax and many other DCC suppliers recommend that all devices be fed
individually from a central distribution panel. The negative poles of all power
supplies should be connected together with a strong common. That includes the
Gnd of the DCS100 Command Station. To satisfy the above requirements, we built a
power distribution panel as shown in Fig. 58.

At the top are a row of 8 6-way terminal strips. At the bottom are 6 12 way combining
strips of which 4 are used for the 4 power supplies: CBC Power (15 Aps), DCC Power
(15 Amps), 13.8 V Power (12 Amps) and 12 V (1.5 Amps). Jumpers are run between
the combining strips and the 8 group terminal strips. The negative poles of all supplies
are communed on the Gnd-Strip and this system ground is then extended to all
groups as shown in Fig. 58
70

Fig. 58 Power Distribution
Fig. 59 shows a Photograph of this Panel.

Fig. 59 Power Distribution Panel

71

There are 4 DC power supplies provided as follows

1. CBC Power
This is a 15 Amps variable supply adjusted to 20 Volts it drives the CBC8 cards
2. DCC Power
This is the same type of supply as above and drives the Mini-Boosters. It is
adjusted to 24 Volts
3. 13.8 V Power
This is a 12 Amp fixed Voltage supply that drives all IO-48, IO-24 cards and
through them all DC/DCC switches, Light signals, Miscellaneous relays and
Turnout switch machines. This supply runs at about 3 Amps
4. 12 V
This is a 1.5 Amps stabilized DC supply which is switched to 12 V and is driving
the Face Panels for the SmartHand units.
5. 24V AC
A Plug-in 24 V 1 Amp supply drives the DCS100 Command station only since
its Booster part is not used.

Fig. 60 Power Supplies
Above the Power Supplies you will note the DCS100 Command Station and a UP5
panel so that a DT402 controller can be directly connected to LocoNet for testing
purposes.

Voltage and Current from each supply are permanently supervised on 4 RRAmp
meters fixed to the Facia board above the supplies. If a short circuit should happen
anywhere in the power wiring it will be immediately apparent and I can shut down the
system before a fire could start.
72

Fig. 61 Power Supervision via RRAmp Meters

73

10 Data Configurations

Fig. 62 The Preiten Bahn Switchboard
74

From the layout plan (Fig. 47) I then prepared the switchboard diagram in TC. This
process is well described in the TC Manual and I wont spend any time on this here.
The result is shown in Fig. 62.

In the following I am attempting to describe, with examples, how the essential data are
entered into TC for the Preiten Bahn. This will get the trains running, but you will need
the TC Manual and much advice from the TC Forum to get on top of all the Tricks!!!

This initial work should be carried out Off Line ie. the computer should not
communicate with the peripheral hardware until the process is completed. Otherwise
you get error messages and disconnection anyway.

10.1 Block Data (Fig. 63, 64, 65)
After you have inserted blocks in the switchboard diagram they will have been given
block identities automatically in the form of Block xxx. As an example I have shown
how Block 78 is configured on the Preiten Bahn. To be able to edit any data you must
be in the Edit Mode.

In the centre of Fig. 63 Block 78 is shown as it is represented on the Switchboard
diagram with its DCC relay and the two exyternal indicators 78A 78C.

You can proceed in the following steps

1. Configure the General tab

Insert your chosen name ie. Block 78
The Maximum and Restricted Speeds have been set to default values.
You can change them if you want to.
Otherwise leave the default values automatically inserted during creation
of the block

2. Configure the Connection tab

These Data concern the particular channel through the CBC8 card
Define the Digital System as RCI Track Driver Card attached to IO-48
Card.
Enter the CBC Address and Outlet ie. 71 (64 + grp 7) outlet 8.
Since I decided that the logical forward direction for block 78 is right to
left the Reversed Polarity box must be ticked.
On the Preiten Bahn all blocks are equipped with a relay to switch the
block to a mini-booster output. This relay is driven from an On-Off
switch labeled 78DCC. This On-Off switch is configured in step 4 but
they have all been inserted and named on the switchboard diagram. In
the Digital Power field you can select 78DCC from the list of On-Off
switches.
3. Configure the Block Editor tab (see Fig. 64)

1. Configure the 78 Internal Indicator is the detector built into the CBC8
card necessary for detecting stationary analog engines. In this case
the address is the same as for the CBC8 outlet ie. 71/8. I have only
shown configuration of the connection tab for each indicator here.
However you also need to carry out steps 5a 5c. on each indicator.
2. Configure 78 A is at the entry of the block looking in the logical forward
direction (ie. on the right hand side of the block). The process is the
same as a. above
3. Configure 78 B at the exit of the block.
75

Fig. 63 Definitions in Block 78
4. Configure 78C in the middle

76

As a general rule you should always define one Brake Marker and one Stop
Marker in Each Direction as shown here. The distances need only to be
approximate and can be fine-tuned later as can insertion of Speed and Event
Markers.

4. As mentioned above all blocks are equipped with a DC/DCC switchover relay
and block 78 also has one which is named 78 DCC. The relay itself is mounted
on the DC/DCC switch card together with the occupancy indicators, which in
turn is driven through an IO-48 card.

TC itself is designed to drive 16 relays with 2 contacts each labeled contact 1
and contact 2. The two contacts can be addressed separately. The IO-48 has
32 Output Points that must be driven separately. For this reason the following
addressing strategy is used when accessing IO-48

Address 1 Outlet 1 Contact 1 operates Output 1 on IO-48



On the Preiten Bahn the 8 switchover relays for 8 blocks are allocated to
outputs 1 8 of the IO-48 card. Thus On-Off switch 78 DCC can be reached
via Card Address 8 (1 + 7), Output 4, Contact 2.

5. The contact indicatoprs as defgined in the Block Editor is all the information
required for running trains by schedules. However you may want to have
indication of progress through individual indicators. For this reason I have
inserted the occupancy indicators external to the block into the switchboard
diagram and Fig. 65 shows how these detectors are configured

a. General Tab may need insertion of proper name such as 78A
b. The Connection Tab requires insertion of Digital System and IO-48
address ie. RCI B and card address 8 input 15.
c. IO-48 circuits have no built-in flicker filters (protection against dirty
wheel contacts) and therefore such a filter needs to be defined here in
TC. In this case I have defined a 1 sec timeout period after the detector
goes open. If contact returns within 1 sec the indication in TC is never
reset. Even though such a flick filter is built into the CBC8 hardware, I
am using TC filters of 1 sec throughout.
d. 78C is configured similarly to the above except that the input point
appears on the IO-24 card in the group ie Card address 135 (128 + 7)
Output 8.

The Steps 1 5 need to be repeated for every Block in the system.

77

78

Fig. 64 The Block Editor

79

Fig. 65 Definition of Contact Indicator 78A

10.2 Route Data (see Fig. 66)
Route Data are mostly prepared automatically during the Block Schematic calculation.
Even though you can inhibit this calculation you should never have to do it. In past
years (before I added the Island relays see Fig. 7) I tried to inhibit automatic block
calculations in order to make the Switch Islands new blocks. All route Data are deleted
in this case and you need to create every route afresh by recording every time you
make a change to the block diagram. Handling of the few relays in TC is much
easier.

Where Island relays are required you can proceed with the following steps

1. Open the Dispatcher Window and select Routes
2. Select the route that should operate the Island relay 16 Entry, in this case route
Block 44 <-> Block 16 and double click on it.
3. Select the Operations tab.
4. Select Accessories and select the 16 Entry On-Off switch.
5. Add 16 Entry to the Operations field
6. Select Operated in the bottom right hand corner.
7. Select the Conditions tab and add 16 Entry 38 Entry (released) to the
Checked Elements field.
8. Change back to the Operations tab.
9. Change the Operating State to Route Released.
10. Add Delay from System Operations to Operations Field
11. Change the delay time to 5 seconds.
12. Add 16 Entry to the Operations field
13. Ensure that Released is set in the bottom right hand corner.

The above 13 steps ensure that

Route Block 44 Block 16 cannot be seized until all Island relays are
released (to ensure the previous train running through the island is well clear).
The relay 16 Entry is then operated connecting the island to Block 16
Once the Route Block 44 Block 16 is released (as the current train has
reached the stop marker in Block 16) the relay 16 Entry is released after a 5
seconds delay and the island is available for the next train.

These 13 steps need to be carried out on every Route that needs to operate an Entry
Relay ie.

Block 44 <-> Block 16 44 <-> 35 45 <-> 36 46 <-> 37 47 <-> 38 71 <-> 33
Block 45 <-> Block 16 45 <-> 35 46 <-> 36 47 <-> 37 71 <-> 38 73 <-> 34
Block 46 <-> Block 16 46 <-> 35 47 <-> 36 71 <-> 37 73 <-> 38
Block 47 <-> Block 16 47 <-> 35 71 <-> 36 73 <-> 37
Block 71 <-> Block 16 71 <-> 35 73 <-> 36
Block 73 <-> Block 16 73 <-> 35

The routes through the left hand island need to be treated similarly.

80

Fig. 66 Definition of Island Relays

81

10.3 Turnouts (see Fig. 67)

Fig. 67 Turnout Definitions

82

10.3.1 Turnout
Each Turnout is automated by a single Circuitron Tortoise switch machine with a Stall
motor. That means that the mechanism is energized in one state or the other at all
times.

On the Preiten Bahn I have named Tortoise mechanisms as

Txy where x is the group number
y is Mechanism number on the IO-24 (1 8)

Fig. 67 shows how one Turnout (T31) is configured in two steps

1. Double click T31 on the Switchboard diagram and enter the General tab

Enter T31 in the Name field.
Leave all other values as default

2. Enter the Connection tab

Enter the Digital System 3. RCI (RCI-C = All IO-24 Boards)
Enter Card Address 131 (128 + 3) and Outlet 1
Set Number of Contacts to 2
Ensure the Pulse box is unchecked since Tortoise is used

The Output configuration is set later during testing.

10.3.2 Double Slips
A double slip requires TWO Tortoise mechanisms. Fig. 68 shows how Double Slip
T11/T12 is configured in two steps

1. Double click T11/T12 on the Switchboard diagram and enter the General tab

Enter T11/T12 in the Name field.
Leave all other values as default

2. Enter the Connection tab

Enter the Digital System 3. RCI (RCI-C = All IO-24 Boards)
Enter Card Address 129 (128 + 1) and Outlet 1. Address 2 is set
automatically to 129/2. It should be noted that the lower address should
always be ODD.
Set Number of Contacts to 3/4
Ensure the Pulse box is unchecked since Tortoise is used

The Output configuration is set later during testing.

83

Fig. 68 Configuring a Double Slip

84

11 Test Tools
11.1 Cable Test Tool

Fig. 69 Typical Cable Tester
Fig. 69 shows a typical cable tester which are relatively inexpensive and will save you
a lot of trouble later on. The 6 wires in the RS485 bus must be exactly right or the bus
wont communicate. I checked every bus cable (RCI and LocoNet). It is very easy to
reverse the RJ12 plugs while crimping them on to the cable end. You have to make
sure the wires are correct, ie. the sending unit should count forwards and the remote
unit should count backwards. Lights 7 2 should light up in turn.

Test Adaptors. I have produced a test adaptor for IDC connectors so that the 14
Ribbon cables could also be checked. You will quickly recognize the pattern as you
test 1 8 via one RJ12 connector and 6 14 on the other.

I have pre-tested all multi-wire cables which saved a lot of Head Scratching later on.

11.2 RCITest program
Once the RCI bus cables are connected to the PC and the COM Ports have been
defined ( see ) you can run the RCITest program in your PC.

RCI supply this test program which can be run on your PC instead of TC. Upon
initializing RCITest the computer screen will display a window as shown in Fig. 70. All
85

Data entered or read from RCITest is in Decimal Form. If you wish to convert to
Hexadecimal or Binary Form please use the Table given in Appendix A.

Com Port: Enter the number of the serial port to which your RCI bus is
attached.
Baud: Enter either 19200, 38400, or 57600 (SmartHand bus) depending on
the devices you have attached and how they are configured. All
devices attached to a given com port must be configured for the
same baud rate.
Timeout: This value is used to determine how long your computer waits for a
response from a card (or handheld) before it declares an error to
have occurred. The value used will depends on your computer's
speed and which operating system you are running. The default
value of 40 is filled in for you and will generally work well for most
systems. Using a smaller value will make the "DISCOVER" function
run faster, but using too small a value will cause errors to occur. The
proper value for your computer will result in the DISCOVER function
running to completion in 10 - 15 seconds. If you change this value,
you MUST close and reopen the COM port for the new value to take
effect.
Address: Used to enter the address of the card with which you want to
communicate.

Fig. 70 RCI Test Program
Command: Used to enter the numeric command you wish to execute. For
example, command 16 is used to set a single output on or off.
Data A: For most commands, used to enter the specific output point to be
selected. Some commands and devices use this field for other
purposes or ignore it completely.
Data B: For most commands, used to enter additional information about the
command being processed, for example, the duration for a pulsed
output command.

For those commands that read data from a device, the next four fields are used to
display data returned by the command.

86

Error Code: Displays the code assigned to any error conditions that occur.
These are listed below.
Count: For the PATTERN command, sets the number of times the test
pattern will be sent.

There are a number of buttons provided as follows

Open: Once a Port number is specified the link must be opened by
clicking on this button.
Close: This is particularly needed if you are changing the port number
within the one session. You need to close the previous port if you
want to open a new one.
Discover: Clicking on this button will cause the program to sequentially
interrogate all addresses 1 255 and for any response received it
will report back the address, type of device and the firmware
version of the microprocessor on the card. All such responses are
displayed in the larger field below the discover button.
Send: Clicking on this button will send an output command as specified in
the top row.
Read: If you, for example, send a Polling command, you click on the
Read button and the reply is displayed in the lower row.
Pattern: For this command only the address needs to be specified. Clicking
on this button sets up a pattern of commands depending on which
radio button (Ripple, Poll, Rip/Poll) is set. The count setting
specified determines how many pattern commands are initiated in
sequence. For Polling the command No. 48 is sent 1024 times for
each count. The Pattern command is intended as a means of Load
Testing the bus system vs. a particular bus address.

Please consult the RCI Users Manuals for the various devices to find more information
about commands and replies to be sent/received.

87

11.3 The Pricom DCC Pocket Tester

Fig. 71 The DCC Pocket Tester
This is a completely self-contained Tester specifically designed for DCC. It has the
following features

Powered from the Track if connected to a running DCC Booster
Analyses Track Voltage
Analyses Bit Timing
Analyses DCC Packet Timing
Can decode and count types of DCC Packets
Can Transfer Data to a PC via RS232 Interface for display and analysis of
individual packets.

11.4 Versa-Tap Device
This device is marketed by Stratus Engineering

(http://www.stratusengineering.com/VersaTap.html)

and is used as shown in Fig. 72

88

Fig. 72 Versa-Tap

Fig. 73 EzView Communication Parameters
This device passively monitors the RS485 Bus and displays the bus exchanges in
hexadecimal format. To display the data streams you need to download a program
called EzView from the above website (free of charge). The Communications
parameters shown in Fig. 73 must be chosen and Line-Mode should be chosen as
the display mode. Fig. 74 shows the EzView Display.

89

Fig. 74 EzView display of RCI Command Sequences
11.5 Test and Monitor Facilities built into TC
11.5.1 Dr. Railroad
This is a tool that is supplied with TC and it examines the *.yrr file statically ie. it looks
for duplicated names and addresses and anything else suspicious in the
configuration. It cannot detect any matters outside of TC ie. it cannot point out missing
addresses on the RCI bus etc. Also Dr. Railroad cannot decide whether the warning
represents a Real Error.

Fig. 76 shows part of a Dr. Railroad printout for Preiten Bahn. 181 Warnings looks far
worse than it is.

Fig. 75 Suppressed Warnings
Fig. 75 shows 5 warnings about possible duplication of digital addresses which are
intended. These may be suppressed so that you dont chase irrelevant warnings.

It is good practice to check Dr. Railroad from time to time to catch unintended errors
during operation of the system.
90

Fig. 76 Example Printout of Dr. Railroad
11.5.2 Inspector
The Inspector is another tool provided in TC and is shown in Fig. 77. The Inspector
displays all properties of the Switchboard object currently selected (in Fig. 77 it is Block
78) and is a very good tool to look for hidden problems.

11.5.3 The TC Explorer Window
This is a very powerful tool provided in TC to facilitate management and editing of
objects. It is particularly useful if you want to undertake a systematic search for
fictitious addresses or even real addresses but which do not seem to serve a
function. Fig. 27 shows an example of an explorer window highlighting Block 78..

91

Fig. 77 The Inspector

Fig. 78 Example of an Explorer Window
92

11.5.4 Detailed Messages
The Messages Buffer is also a tool provided in TC. It records up to the last 240 actions
(approx. 40 secs) that are taken by the dispatcher in controlling a train running to a
schedule. I found this tool very useful when debugging Mysterious train stops to find
the source of the problem eg. When a train stops due to a signal which is red for no
apparent reason!

Fig. 79 Sample Printout of a Detailed Message Trace
A sample print is shown in Fig. 79. It is only the last 240 actions that are recorded at
any time, so you may have to stop the schedule immediately after a problem occurs in
order to find the cause. If you waited until the end of the whole schedule the vital
information will probably be overwritten.
To use the tool

Click on Messages on the Window Bar (I have this set up permanently)
Click the Details icon
Clear the Buffer
Start the Schedule in question
Stop the Schedule at the time a problem occurs
93

Step backwards through the items displayed until you find where the problem
occurred.

The Buffer is not saved with the *.yrr file but you can save the buffer as a text file for
further analysis.

This Verbose Messaging can affect system performance, so the warnings in the TC
Manual about leaving this on needlessly, should be heeded ie. turn off monitoring when
you are not analyzing fault conditions.

11.5.5 The Simulator
This tool is only available in TC Gold and is a powerful way to separate hardware
faults from logical errors you may have made in configuring TC. However, since the
simulator cannot receive any responses from the hardware, it cannot pick up any
Hardware Addressing Errors. For example I had simulated the run of a number of
schedules in my *.yrr file before connecting TC to the actual hardware. As soon as
hardware had been connected (and the COM Ports defined), there were immediate
hardware error reports on all RCI buses. The reason, of course, was that I had
specified the wrong Digital System information in a number of places.

To use the Simulator Tool proceed as follows

In the Railroad Drop-down Menu take the System Offline.
In the Window Drop-down Menu select Simulator which will display the
following window

Fig. 80 Simulator Window
Click on the circular Play button to start the simulator.
Carry out any normal system operations, such as starting schedules, running
Autotrain. etc.
Watch what happens on the screen such as locking of blocks or trains stopping.
If problems occur you can analyse the Detailed Messages window.
By using the single Step Button you can look at things in slow motion.

The Simulator will pick up most software problems like Illogical Schedule
Situations.

94

12 System Testing
12.1 Installing the Drivers
Most Digital Systems today provide Interfaces that connect to USB ports on your PC.
For reasons best known to Microsoft you have No Control over the Port Numbers
allocated. However it is vital that you keep track of the COM Port numbers particularly
if you use the same interface for different buses e.g. SmartHand and RCI buses. For
this reason it is best to install the driver software one at a time.

Download the latest USB driver software from www.freiwald.com i.e. dont rely on the
version sent to you with the interface package. Then follow the following steps

1. Insert the first Interface plug into an available USB port and start the PC.
2. Windows will detect the new hardware (the SmartHand Interface) and display
the following (Fig. 81)

Fig. 81 Windows detects new Bus Interface
3. After choosing not to engage Windows Update press next and obtain the
following display (see Fig. 82)

95

Fig. 82 Choose Specific Location
4. Now choose to install from a specific location and you will be invited to specify
this location i.e. where you downloaded the driver software (see Fig. 83)

Fig. 83 Specify the Location of the Driver Software
5. Press Next and watch the drivers being installed (see Fig. 84)
6. You should now have arrived at the completion screen (see Fig. 85)
7. Open the Control Panel, Go into System > Device Manager > Ports (Com &
Lpt) and check which Com Port number has been allocated to this bus (see Fig.
86).

Fig. 84 Ignore Warning and Continue Anyway
96

Fig. 85 Completion of the Installation of One Interface Device

Fig. 1 Identification of COM Ports
You can now repeat steps 1 to 7 for each SmartHand interface which are used on the
RCI buses and record the COM port number for each bus.

For other devices such as Digitrax PR3 the procedure is much the same except that the
drivers are provided on a CD and the appropriate location must be given in Step 4.

97

12.2 Check Bus Communications and Basic Card Functions
The Purposes of these tests are

Ensure that the PC can communicate with all cards
To do Spot checks on each card to ensure that each card is working properly

Fig. 86 Basic Bus Testing
Once the buses have been connected to the PC, drivers installed and COM Port
numbers noted, Bus Communications should be checked as follows (see Fig. 86)

Initialize RCITest in the PC.
On each of the COM Ports separately invoke the Discover Test and ensure
that all boards that should be connected to the particular bus appear in the
discovered list. Correct any problems before proceeding.

Fig. 87 Discover Test on RCI-A Bus
98

Carry out some sample tests on CBC8 cards generally as follows -
o Read the Status register of each CBC8 card (eg. Card 4)
68 48 0 0 - Click on READ
68 48 0 0 should be the reply
o Connect a 1K 1W resistor across the Track of 43A section and repeat
the above command
68 48 0 0 - Click READ
o Set Speed Forwards 74% in Block 43
68 80 6 202 Click SEND
At this stage power is applied across the resistor and current should
flow through the 43A occupancy detector. Check with Multimeter.
o Close COM Port RCI-A
o Open COM Port RCI-B and read status in IO-48 (Address 5)
o Remove the 1K resistor and repeat the command
Carry out a Pattern Test on each IO-24 card (eg. Address 129)
o Close COM Port RCI-B
o Open COM Port RCI-C
o Set Address =129, Count =1, Pattern Type =Ripple
o Click on PATTERN and observe that all the Tortoise machines
connected to IO-24 move.

12.3 Run TrainController
TC must be configured as described in 10 and some Simulator runs should have been
carried out successfully without hardware.

Fig. 88 Setting up the Digital Systems
99

After initializing TC proceed as follows

Select the Setup Digital Systems screen (Railroad Dropdown Menu)
Define COM Ports for each interface as shown in Fig. 88
Press OK
TC will try to establish connections to all hardware devices and this will most
probably fail since even on missing address on a bus will cause the following
screen to be displayed -

Fig. 89 Hardware Failure Screen

This screen is not very helpful to analyzing the problem, but you can hover with
your cursor on the IO indicator on the Status Bar in the bottom right hand
corner (see Fig. 90).

Fig. 90 Faulty Bus Identification
If you hover the cursor over the IO indicator you will get a Popup Screen
indicating which COM Ports are Offline and therefore faulty. After this it is down
to a Pain Staking search through the devices to find out which bus address is
wrong. In my case I had mostly correct addresses but the wrong bus was
specified.

I used the inbuilt TC explorer to clean up the Bus Information as shown in Fig.
91. You need to go systematically through Blocks, Accessories, Turnouts,
Signals etc. It helps if different devices are on different buses eg. Blocks
(CBC8) on RCI A, Indicators & Accessories on RCI-B, Turnouts on RCI-C etc.
100

Fig. 91 Identifying Bus Addresses with Explorer
I was correcting information for eg. all blocks or all accessories before trying
connection to TC again.

Eventually the above Hardware Failure screen will not be encountered any more on
any of the Buses and TC can communicate with all devices.

12.4 Final configuration of Turnouts and Double Slips
12.4.1 Electro Frog wiring

Fig. 92 Electro Frog on Turnouts

101

All Turnouts and Double Slips on the Preiten Bahn have Electro Frogs which are wired
as shown in Fig. 92 and 93 and these have been pre-configured as described in 10.3

Fig. 93 Double Slip Wiring
12.4.2 Output Configuration
It this stage you need to open the connection screen of each turnout (see Fig. 94)

Fig. 94 T31 Final Configuration
Proceed as follows

Click on the Test symbol and make sure the turnout moves.
Note the position of the Test Symbol and check the actual turnout position
If the actual position coincides with the symbol click OK and go to the next
turnout.
If the actual position is the opposite to the Symbol reverse the output
configuration on the screen.
Check with a Multi-meter that the Frog is switched to the correct side. If wrong
reverse the wires at the switch.

When the turnouts are done proceed with the double slips

Open the Connection screen of the relevant double slip (see Fig. 95)
Click the Test Symbol repeatedly to ensure both Tortoise mechanisms move.
102

Check the Symbol position against the actual positon.
If OK Click OK
If different manipulate the Output Configuration to suit. For example starting
with top position ie. sloping up to the left I set the Test Symbol into that position.
I then noted the actual position and then configured the row representing the
actual position as the top row was. I then proceeded to the second row and
acted in the same way.
When all 4 rows are done check again that the the Symbol position coincides
with the actual position of the double slip
Check continuity between the Frogs and the correct side in each position.

Fig. 95 Final Configuration of Double Slip
12.5 Rail Polarity
12.5.1 Analog Wiring
We check the actual wiring from CBC8 outputs through DC/DCC Switches to the track
first. Proceed as follows

Place an Analog engine on the track of a Block and Assign the engine to the
head of this block looking in the Logical Forward direction.
Open a Train Window for this engine and move the slide Forwards ie. to the
Right. The engine should move in the Logical Forward direction.
If it runs in the opposite direction reverse the wires at the relevant CBC8
Outlet.
Move the engine to the next block and repeat the above 3 steps.
Continue until the whole layout has been done.

12.5.2 Check Occupancy indicators
It is now time to check all occupancy indicators external to the blocks. This is
necessary to ensure all detectors are working properly. We noted earlier that I had put
103

external indicators in series with every block: A at entry and B at exit. Now proceed as
follows

Create a schedule (or AutoTrain) to cover every path on the layout preferably
with Manual Control.
Let the Analog engine used above run to this schedule and not that xxA lights
up on entry and xxB lights when the engine approaches the exit of the block.
If this does not happen search for the cause. I had several DC/DCC boards with
short circuits across the diodes (bad soldering!).

12.5.3 DCC Polarity
Once the analog polarities have been adjusted the above created schedule must be
repeated with a Digital Engine. With DCC the polarity on the track does not matter as
long as all blocks are wired the same. If the engine however bridges a gap between
two blocks which are wired opposite to each other, then a short circuit will occur and
the relevant Mini-Booster will shut off. Proceed as follows

Run the DCC engine on the above schedule
If a short circuit occurs reverse wires at the relevant Mini-Booster output (or
input).

12.6 System Testing Complete
At this stage the layout can be considered as fully functional, but hidden problems may
still occur.

104

13 All about Schedules
Schedules were introduced in 3.5 and are in short:-

A Program of Instructions in TC to run a Train from a START Block to a
DESTINATION Block.

In the German Version TC uses the word Zugfahrt (Train Run) which in my opinion
defines better what a schedule is, but of course we will stick to the word schedule.

13.1 Types of Schedules
13.1.1 Single Schedule ONE Start to ONE Destination
The schedule must define a Path from Start block to Destination Block. If Start and
Destination are in the SAME block the schedule becomes a CIRCULAR schedule
which can be traversed a number of times as specified. The train can be run
Automatically (no operator intervention) or Semi-Manual (Manual with Automatic
Signal Intervention) or Fully Manual (no automatic intervention at all). Specific trains
may be defined to be the only ones allowed on the schedule.

13.1.2 Multi Schedule SEVERAL Starts to SEVERAL Destination
This schedule is the same as a single schedule except that trains starting from one
particular Start/Destination Pair do not necessarily finish in the same pair. Also if
there are n Start/Destinations you need an Operations List at the start of the
schedule to re-call this schedule n-1 times.

13.1.3 Shunting Schedules NO Starts or Destinations
The above mentioned (Normal) schedules during execution allow trains to move in
ONE direction only. When the train arrives at the destination the same schedule may
be called in Reverse but then the train can only move in the ONE direction again
until it arrives at the Original Start.

Shunting schedules define an area of interconnected blocks
Access to these Blocks from outside the area is prevented.
Reserves all Blocks within the area to ONE train it finds within this area
Is always Manually Controlled and the train can be moved Forwards and
Backwards.

13.2 Creation of Schedules
TC provides two methods for creating a Schedule.

13.2.1 By picking from the Block Diagram
In this case you proceed as follows

With TC in Edit mode select Create Schedule in the Schedule Menu. This
will open the whole Dispatcher Block Window.
Select Pick from Block diagram in the Tools Menu.
Upon returning to the Dispatcher Window the cursor changes from the arrow
symbol to this symbol: when it points at a block or this symbol when
pointing at a route.
Clicking on the block or route will select these for the schedule (see Fig. 96)

105

Fig. 96 Creation of Schedule by Picking from Block Diagram
106

In Fig.96 I had selected Block 43 and marked it as Start and Destination

Fig. 97 Start and Destination Symbols
Fig. 97 shows that I selected Block 43 to start towards the right and at the end
of the schedule the train arrives from the left.
Now you can click on every element in the Block diagram which is to form part
of your schedule.
Clicking on the route 43 16 will select this route as well as block 16. I
proceeded in the same way with Route 16 18, 18 11 and 11 84 and in Fig.
96 I am just clicking on Route 84 81.

Fig. 98 Fill in the Schedule Forms
107

Fig. 99 Schedule 15 when path completed
108

.
Double Click on Schedule 15 in Fig. 99 and the General screen in Fi. 98 will
appear
Complete the General Tab with the name Block 43 Block 43, change to
cyclic type and enter the number of cycles eg. 1
Change to the Rules Tab and tick the box Train may stay in start block. If
this is not done the schedule will terminate if the train cannot start after
schedule initialization.
Click OK to save the schedule.

13.2.2 Use of AutoTrain
There is an easier way to create a schedule by the use of AutoTrain. For this method
proceed as follows

1. Initialize AutoTrain on the Dispatcher Diagram as shown in Fig. 100

Fig. 100 Schedule Creation by AutoTrain
2. Click on Block 43 to highlight it.
3. Mark Block 43 as Start and Destination using the symbols in the AutoTrain
window.
4. Click Path Search and the schedule will be established (see Fig.102)

Fig. 101 AutoTrain Steps
5. Open the Schedule Panel and complete the General and Rules Tab as
described in 13.2.1 above.
6. Click OK to save the schedule.

109

Fig. 102 Schedule Completion with AutoTrain

110

13.3 Interlinking of Schedules
13.3.1 Schedule Successors
When schedule Successors are involved the schedules are executed in Series ie.
the predecessor schedule is executed first the Train does its full circuit. Then the
second schedule is executed. This means only ONE train is running at the time.

Successor schedules are set up in the Successor Tab as shown in Fig. 103

Fig. 103 Schedule Block 43 Block 43 calls Block 46 Block 46 as
Successor
13.3.2 Calling Schedules via Operations Lists

Fig. 104 Calling Schedules via Operations List
If you wish to call further schedules from an original schedule, operating in parallel with
the first one, then this can be achieved via Operations Lists as shown in Fig.104.
111

In this example schedule Block 43 Block 43 calls schedule Block 46 Block 46
immediately on starting. Schedule Block 47 Block 47 is called 5 seconds later but still
running in parallel with 43 43.

13.4 Setting up a Multi-Schedule
Fig. 106 shows a Multi-Schedule with 5 trains located in 5 Start/Dest blocks ie. Block
51, Block 52, Halt 3, Sd 1 and Sd 2. The schedule was set up with AutoTrain in the
normal manner. The process goes on as follows -

This schedule, when initiated, lets the first train go. The actual train is decided
at random.
An Operations List ensures that All together is called back 4 more times for
the remaining trains (see Fig. 105)

Fig. 105 Multi-Schedule Recalling
After a little while (solely depending on Traffic Conditions on the track) all five
trains will be traversing the Main Line.
To keep control of the five engines I could only run this schedule as a single
cycle.
To execute a second cycle I had to create Schedule All together A which is
identical to All together (except in name). The first schedule calls the second
as a successor as shown in Fig. 107
112

Fig. 106 Multi-Schedule All together
113

Fig. 107 Calling Successor for the next cycle
You could now prepare a schedule for the next cycle (All together B) or call All
together as a successor to A
In the latter case the schedules would continue to run until stopped manually.

114

14 Train Data and Speed Profiling
TC needs to know some facts about an individual train it is tracking around the layout
so that it can control the engine. Such things as a picture of the engine, what speed
step causes a particular scale speed, whether the engine is Analog or Digital are
contained in Train Data as shown in Fig. 109 and Fig. 110

14.1 Test Track
I have adapted Block 78 as a Test Track because of its length and straightness.

Fig. 108 Block 78, the Test Track

Fig. 108 shows the arrangement and Block 78 forms part of the Main Line when no
testing is going on. Fig. 108 shows also the dimensions of the test track.

The length of the A and B sections are a problem with Analog engines because these
engines, at higher speeds, cannot turn around in the given space and run out of the
block. I have been manually catching them when they return into 78A. When they
outrun 78B as well and when I am alone it really keeps me fit!!!

With Digital engines this is not a problem since I can operate the DCC relays in the
adjacent block and the engines can run as far as they want.

115

14.2 Analog Engines

Fig. 109 Preparation of Train (Engine) Data for Analog Control

116

To create and define analog Engine Data in TC you need to complete the following
steps

1. In the Drop down menu under Trains click on Create Engine and a new
preformat engine eg. Engine 33 appears in the Engines + Trains table.
2. Double Clicking on Engine 33 will open up the Engine Data Tables. Under
normal circumstances the tables will be preset for an American 2-8-4 steam
engine and you can now change the default data to suit your engine.
3. In the General tab you need to call up a suitable engine image from a library
of *.yra files by clicking on the Browse button. Sources of *.yra files havew
been discussed at length on the Forum. I have also used Train Animator
using different model train electronic catalogues to produce my own *.yra files.
4. I have also always specified a suitable name (eg. BR140) and appropriate
length (30 cm) for the model engine.
5. Click on the Connection tab and since the engine is Analog ensure that the
Connection and Train Detection fields are marked Without
Connection and the Use Stationary Block Decoder box is ticked.
6. Open the Speed tab and modify the default data to suit.
7. Open the Resources tab and set the type in this case to Electric and the
Odometer to any suitable value depending on how realistic you want your
model train operations to be.
8. Go back to the Speed tab and click on Automatic Speed & Brake to reveal
the coarse speed and brake adjustment screen.
9. Tick the Enable box and click on Advanced Fine Tuning.. to reveal the
Threshold Speed tab.
10. Continue with Speed Profiling as explained in 14.3

14.3 Digital Engines
To create and define Digital Engine Data in TC you need to complete the following
steps (see Fig. 110)

1.
2. Steps 1 4 are as in 14.1 above
3.
4.
5. Un-tick the Use Stationary Block Decoder box and select in the connection
field the digital system ie. LocoNet and the train detection field Without
Connection.
6.
7.
8. Steps 6 10 are the same as in 14.1
9.
10.

117

Fig. 110 Preparing Train (Engine) Data for Digital Control

118

14.4 Speed Profiling
In this process an Engine is run on is run on a Test Track to measure its scale speed
at particular speed steps. With this information TC can control the scale speed of this
engine as required by blocks being transited.

14.4.1 Adjusting Creep speed

1. Place the engine on the Speed Track in the particular block
2. Assign the engine to this block (in this case 78)
3. Step to the Threshold screen in the engine data (see Fig. 111)

Fig. 111 Threshold Adjustment for slow running

4. Move the speed slider to the right (forwards) until the engine just moves reliably
5. Click on Store to record the value in the forward field
6. Move the speed slider to the left (backwards) until the engine just moves
reliably.
7. Click on Store to record the value in the backward field.

14.4.2 Determining Speed Profile
Once the Threshold speed settings have been determined and other engine data eg.
Maximum forward and backward speeds have been entered, determine the speed
profile ie. a graph of scale speed against speed settings in the decoder. For this
proceed as follows

1. Enter the Speed Profile screen see Fig. 112
2. Click on initialize and accept the warning that all previous values will be
overwritten.
3. Set up the test track parameters if this has not been done before
a. Length of middle section ie. 260 cm
b. Run-out, I found 60 cm convenient
c. Pause time, I found 3 sec convenient
119

d. Start indicator
e. Centre indicator
f. End indicator
4. Click on Start.
5. The engine will start to traverse the centre section at Creep speed.
6. Once arrived at 78B it will reverse at return to 78A at the same speed
7. The engine will go back and forth at increasing speed until the maximum has
been reached.
8. The measuring process will end automatically
9. Click OK, Close and OK to get out of the engine data screens

Fig. 112 Speed Profiling

120

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