I am using JMRI Panel Pro on my layout.  As it stands now, my dispatcher moves a marker around the panel for each train. With Five or six  trains at a time on the railroad, it can be easy to lose one. Has anyone used JMRI to automatically move an icon around as a train goes from one block to another?  I have detection on each block using NCE BD20s and AIUs. These activate indicator tracks, changing tracks from white to red. The JMRI help page refers to block tracking but never fully explains how to implement it. Any ideas?

After recommending that Rob in Texas consider adding a webcam to the club I began to think about doing the same. There are a lot of inexpensive video monitors that are either usb or wireless connected but few talk about compatibility with apps like Skype. 

Is anyone using a webcam to share or monitor the layout?

Does the pan & tilt feature work as advertised?

What would you chose to allow an interactive experience as Skype provides?

Thanks!

Neil

Lately, I've been using blender sticks that are made of paper. They can be sharpened to a point with a pencil sharpener. I just soak the tip in alcohol.

Recently, I read a letter to the editor of a print magazine that questioned why a club layout suffered from dirty rails. The editor offered cleaning solutions, but no help regarding why the rails might be dirty.  IMO, no help at all.

Poor conductivity or ‘dirty rails’ is caused by four sources:  Rail Composition, Environment, Rolling Stock, and Maintenance.

Rail Composition