Since I started building the layout I have been expecting to use either the MBS (Manual Block System) or OCS (Occupancy Control System) method to control train movements.  My initial era (mid 1990’s) put it squarely into the OCS era.  I knew that CN used TT&TO until the early 1980’s but this was a bit of esoteric information for me when construction commenced.  Since then I have backdated to the 1980’s for my era, but I continued to expect to use OCS.    

Today was a typical cold & wet Melbourne day, so time for decoder installs...

I continued on with the install of the LokSound - Select Direct decoder into the Proto 2000 RDG - GP7.  I had to cut out and Dremel several sections of the weight so that i could install the decoder.

I'VE GOT TO GET GOING

 Here I am at age 75 - I have no layout and I have not run my HO trains in 30+ years. I started in HO in 1962 and stayed somewhat busy with it until the mid 1980s. My only MR activities since then have been reading/looking at model railroading stuff on the net(sites, forums, blogs, YouTube), buying a few new parts, and buying a few used items at train shows. Its time for me to stop just thinking about my trains and getting back to working on them.

I found a pair of abused Blue Box SW7's that need a lot of attention but with some detailing, could be a nice model.  I'll strip the paint, clean, lube and tune the mechanism and get the shell ready for details. 

I plan on making one into a Conrail SW9 with a Cannon & Co cab and sound. The other will probably become a Lehigh Valley switcher but I'm not sure yet. Only one works as is, the other has it's shell glued on and a truck that spins freely.

On the 1903 W&N branch operating in June 2017 for OS Omaha I will have 4 positions available.

1.  Wilmington Yardmaster and Shifter

This position based out of the 6th St yard serves as the general yardmaster for the Wilmington Terminal and supervises the yard engines there.  As the yard shifter, the job classifies inbound trains and cuts and builds the outbound trains and cuts.  If required it could do industry or interchange work.

Here is the yard at Wilmington:

Hi all,

I model a whole transportation system that is operated probably as prototypically as possible based on extensive research and given the technical impossibility of operating this transport system exactly prototyplcally. But for my transportation system there was no TT/TO, track warrant systems, no fixed signals or complicated train management system. Why?

DCC power now in Hermosa and 14.5' train with 32 cars

Not much layout work in the last week or two - due to lots of work, plus happy stuff like graduations. But I have finally gotten a few books on grass and trees by Gordon Gravett - generally not available in the US but by far the best I've found.

So as a little project to get back into the layout after a a break for about the last month I decided to install some more LokSound - Select Direct decoders in my non-sound locomotives.

The first project was a Athearn - RDG RS3 #445.