Discussions concerning a question about "Radio Control Layout" have overflowed into considerations of basic control architectures and how they may or may not be operated together.  With the introduction of RailPro, the hobby has access to a new control system to be weighed against the many systems available.

Industry response can be seen in the many DCC decoders that have been designed to automatically detect and switch over to DC mode.  Some of these have even included various methods of controlling sound functions.  Most interesting of these is the NWSL S-CAB which will operate a DCC decoder using DC power and R/C control.  This allows the DCC decoder to function without DCC on the track.

DCC has been limited to one-way communication.  One-way communication has been good enough for most DC and DCC users, but speed indication and consisting issues can take advantage of two-way communication.  Other features might be included on our wish list for the next big thing in model railroad control.  Comments?