Operating the C&DR

[garrywhiting]

and so did a nautical distraction which I won't bother you with!

Stop knocking holes in the hull :-)

Since it seems you want to know, actually a

[tedp]

Well the up side is I will be able to invest in a better one....  ;D

And the time I have to wait for it will enable me... to do some operating of the layout!   ;)

[JulienW]

Well the up side is I will be able to invest in a better one....  ;D

And the time I have to wait for it will enable me... to do some operating of the layout!   ;)

Just shows that every cloud has a silver lining.

[tat2drod]

and so did a nautical distraction which I won't bother you with!

Stop knocking holes in the hull :-)

Since it seems you want to know, actually a

[Malcolm]

Ted
What about an autopilot for the layout that drives all the trains to a timetable and all you have to do is sit back and watch. 
By the way whatever happened to sextants and compasses and the like and sailing the boat using the wheel in the same way you would turn the controller on a model railway.  Seems to me an autopilot takes the fun out of sailing in much the same way an automated model railway takes the fun out of operation.  Ditch your autopilot for the boat and invest in 009 Sales!! ;)
Malcolm

[MickT]

Seems to me an autopilot takes the fun out of sailing in much the same way an automated model railway takes the fun out of operation.  Ditch your autopilot for the boat and invest in 009 Sales!! ;)
Malcolm

We're not talking about 12ft sailing dinghies here, even Cap'n Ted needs to eat, sleep and do his daily ablutions when on a voyage!

Mick

[tedp]

...By the way whatever happened to sextants and compasses and the like and sailing the boat using the wheel in the same way you would turn the controller on a model railway.  Seems to me an autopilot takes the fun out of sailing in much the same way an automated model railway takes the fun out of operation.  Ditch your autopilot for the boat and invest in 009 Sales!! ;)
Malcolm

;D ;D
As Mick says an autopilot is a very necessary item on long sea passages. Apart from enabling you to do your 'daily ablutions' it frees your hands for improving sail trim, keeping a better lookout, for navigation etc. In the old days I had to back the foresail and let the boat drift a while if I had to go below deck.

Invest in 009 sales? I have done so time and again, even last time at Sparsholt. Now I'm retired I plan to take a small modelling box to sea and build a few of all those kits when in harbour!

But as long as I have to wait for boat spares, I can go back to... operating the C&DR! The early morning passenger to Dunalistair is almost due, old no. 11 under steam and ready to go. So if you don't mind...  ;)

[Tigger]

I admire anyone who uses an operating sequence during an exhibition - I never managed to do so!  ::)

We used operating sequences at exhibitions with both our O Gauge layouts in the MRC.  I spent very many hours of fun drawing up sequences which were cyclic and it was very enjoyable and satisfying to use them at shows because it gave a real purpose to every train and light engine movement (40 train movements on one, 80 on the other plus all the shunting and light engine movements!)  Very much the same can be said for the tagging system which Ted uses.  I drew up a system over 25 years ago and the introduction of new stock this winter and Ted's encouragement and guideance means that the day I start using it is probably a little nearer!

This was drawn up during a correspondence between Tigger and myself and it has had a pronounced effect on train make-up, as it concentrates on brake capacity in trains. Up to a few years ago I never bothered much, but now I take care to marshal vacuum-braked stock next to the engine on downhill trains.

Oh yes, I remember it well!  The important thing to remember is not how much a loco will pull but how much it's capable of stopping!  That's why the Riddles WD 2-10-0 locos were only classified 8F and not 9F.  The extra rear pair of wheels was not for traction but to lessen axle loading on poor track and was not fitted with brakes, hence their classification was no more than the 2-8-0 locos.  I digress...

[Graeme Dunbar]

Seems to me an autopilot takes the fun out of sailing in much the same way an automated model railway takes the fun out of operation. 

I think the analogy is quite apt. If by automated model railway you mean turn the power on, leave the room to let the railway get on with it then there is no fun in taking part, but I don't think the boat sails itself to where you tell it while you go off and have a pint or three in the pub.

On the other hand, an automated model railway where you set the points and signals and send the trains off in the knowledge that they will slow by themselves and stop at the next signal while you focus your attention on another train movement is good fun. It is what I am trying to implement. Different people enjoy different aspects of the hobby: some like to be engine driver and others like to be signalman or fat controller. Even with a fully automated railway I assume there is still the enjoyment in designing the sequence, programming it and seeing if it manages to complete the cycle without descending into chaos. However, that would seem more appropriate for standard gauge mainline rather than the majority of NG layouts. I can imagine that driving a live steam model outside on challenging track must be fun, but the actual control of an 009 loco is a fairly small part of the railway modelling process to my mind. I'm rather fond of shunting though.

[tedp]

Frankly, there is a world of difference. An autopilot is an indispensible item on long sea passages. It is used both on commercial ships and seagoing yachts as no one can safely steer a vessel for more than an hour on end - it's a boring job that can best be taken on by a computer. Watchkeeping and navigation are much more important, and a legal obligation as well, which is made easier by using an autopilot. Yachting may be done for leisure, but there is a seriously sharp edge on it that can kill unless you know what you're doing.

On the other hand, a model railway is an innocent form of leisure that I find purely relaxing. Any automatic operation of a model railway is, like Graeme says, another aspect of modelling and simple good fun without any more danger to it than crashing one train into another if you mess up.  ;D

[Tigger]

[Graeme Dunbar]

[tedp]

Returning to topic, the C&DR has a few automated measures to improve ease of operation. These are possibly better suited to the electrics section, and have been briefly mentioned in the signalling thread, but the idea is as follows.

Each station can be assigned one of the two available controllers. Any station (say, Rae Bridge) can lay a claim on the next section of main line by clearing the corresponding home or starting signal. This is then connected to the station controller. But if the same section of line has already been claimed by the station at the other end (say, Dunalistair), Rae Bridge has to wait until the line is released.

In that case, an insulated length of track near next to the home and signals is de-energised. This has two purposes: first, to prevent a train in Rae Bridge from straying on to the line that was claimed by Dunalistair. Second, if the Dunalistair has sent a train on the line, this can continue right up to the Rae Bridge home signal. Then it will stop.

The result is that I can send off a train from Dunalistair, and meanwhile continue shunting at Rae Bridge without worrying about the inward bound train. If the shunting is completed when the other train is still under way, I can clear the Rae Bridge home, and return the Dunalistair starter to danger. The train will then be taken over by the Rae Bridge controller.

The switching and interlocking action is taken care of by a relay circuit that works so fast you won't even see the train falter. This circuit is used on the two main line sections.

At Rae Bridge, the branch is manually assigned a controller. Here, no relay circuit is in use, but it could be done equally well. There is a de-energised section on the connecting line between the tram station and the main line junction. This is worked in conjunction with the branch home signal, and has a diode so it can be worked into the other direction without operating the home signal, which would look a bit funny. But I fear we are not becoming too technical for this topic.  ::)