Life in the fast lane...

As a software engineer I should have know better.  Once Yeovil Town had been fitted with DCC Accessory Decoders and CDUs we could not only operate each point from a common ZTC 511 (Sort of signalman position) but we can also set routes of 6 or more points with just one command!  It was great just watching a line of points all changing with a 2 second delay between them (can be adjusted) which stops too much drain on the power supply. 

Building a control system with DCC means you can 'wire up' each route just by programming which means you have complete flexibility to produce complex arrangements but without any further wiring.  This is the only sensible way of achieving this as we can add extra routes in minutes...

It comes into it's own when you want to bring a loco from the shed out onto the main line and there are about 8 points to negotiate and set.  The reassurance that the loco will go where you want it to go and seem that the onlooker to negotiate a myriad of complex junctions is just like looking at the real thing, captivating!

Next step is to complete the last four points, two of which are on a single slip and fit the temporary laminated MIMIC diagrams to the control stations.  We can now complete the Control box stand and concentrate on the extension board.

We have also decided to do some more research on a special time line to establish which periods we will model, based on what is commercially available as RTR or in kit form and how the buildings changed.  We hope to run several eras and state which one on at exhibitions.  We also intend to run different eras on different days for a two day event.