Another great video. Regarding the lights on the Class 25, I think it allows better realism. In the real world you should never have a red light showing on anything other than the last wagon/coach. (A very important safety requirement). Only when the engine is running without wagons and coaches should it ever have red lights showing. I suspect Heljan have taken this into consideration.

Regarding Wiring Practices - I don't want to be offensive but the wiring practices you demonstrate are shall we say a bit less than ideal. I would like to use a still captured from your video so as to illustrate some wiring techniques to avoid. I am not sure of your copyright situation on the published videos but regardless pf that out of respect I would still like your permission to do this. I will credit the channel as you wish. I am thinking of something from this video around the 14:57 mark. PS: I do appreciate the software aspects and I do appreciate what you are doing.

Great Video Chris, been following your journey for a little while now and love your use of Automation via DCC-EX I too am following this way of control. Looking forward to your journey through 2025. Cheers - James

use the same DCC-EX motor board here, its lovely, hate the damn barrel connector, screw terminals would have been far better.. not to mention the OLED connector gets blocked by the WiFi shield, that said once working its zero trouble "a lot more electronics experience"... I have a pair of controllers speaking gibberish currently.. once they work a video is going up on what went wrong..

do you have problems with the loft temperatures in summer and winter ?

Have you thought about axle counters instead? Entry and exit counters for each block? This way speed is irrelevant and would also catch decoupling issues. Could use micro IR emitter/receiver pairs to count with nothing more than white paint in the middle of each axle...?

Thanks for all your videos Chris. Maybe fix a metre of track to a "plank" and practice ballast and weathering every 6 inches. That gives you up to 6 goes and you'll soon be pleased with the results. Happy 2025.

Great video Chris. Good summary with an eye on the scenic future and Knob Box V3.

Sounds like a fishplate / rail joiner not having electrical continuity. Recommend soldering a separate dropper wire to every length of rail on the layout, so you never rely on a rail joiner for conduct the electrical signal

Still giggling at every mention of knob box. :) I think good practice would have been to put droppers on every piece of track although it's a lot of work. All looking good so far...

I have a couple ideas that might work. what if you took and instead of making sure every car is checked what if you made a caboose or car that can be put at the very end acting as the sensor. which cars are going to be at the end and make some special trucks with the end piece that would normally hook up to another car have the end device that would normally be put at the end of an engine. With the light on it. the trucks would be removable containing all the necessary materials to draw enough power

Looks fantastic 😮. Did you create the layout or is that jmri panel pro?

Love what you are doing with automation. I totally get the calculations that you are doing. But I'm not sure where you are doing them? Perhaps you could cover the current overall architecture in a future video. Have you also automated the speed profiling? It seems like a necessity if 128 speed step granularity is needed for a new loco both forwards and backwards. No need to reply directly. Make more videos

This is how iTrain does it. It knows the length of the trains, the speed of the trains (track speed against speed setting), and the point in time that the train enters or leaves (same thing) a block. It can then calculate the instantaineous position of a train in a block, even when the speed within a block changes.

This may be something of interest. github.com/DCC-EX/EX-SensorCAM/blob/main/sensorCAMmanual.pdf

Out of interest, have looked into, the company, Mega Points Controllers ? I'm also the design stage with automated running and train detection in mind. its very much a learning curve!

With your new software you actually should be able to fake a block between two real blocks. Just the gap belongs to the block "behind" the train in each direction.

It is a clever idea but it limits what you can do from what you had before. How can it deal with a train stopping at a station decelerating through the block and at a station a parcel van being added to the train. It looks like everything now has to run at constant speed and length for it to work whist before you could do that. I started out using reed switches with a tiny magnet under vehicles which worked OK but as the amount of stock increased it was hard to keep up with the number of magnets needed. Not so much of a problem now with sales on line I can get them cheaper and more powerful so smaller than ones I started out with. No really up your street I guess not being an electronic solution but these days I use treadles that are depressed by the wheel flange of any vehicle so no need to modify anything on my stock before it can run.

If you made your blocks a consistent length - say 3m then you could free up the previous block only when the train enters the block one ahead of its current block. This would ensure that exactly one block is occupied for each train, irrespective of how fast the train is travelling.

Today I caught up with your four videos from the last 3 months. I am impressed by the amount of creative work you are doing to effect the desired automation without requiring the wheelset resistors. Watching the multiple trains running is quite enjoyable; also seeing the screen monitoring the changes in block status certainly adds to the fun. In one of the four videos you said two personality traits of yours are impatience and laziness. Seeing the amount of work you have invested, I find it hard to believe the laziness attribute. Thank you again for letting us look over your shoulder as you pursue this dream.

Great work

Hey mate, just wondering with your automation at the end of blocks, could you not use red and green dwarf signals? With asp-1 or asp-2 infrared units?

Regarding the comments of parting trains, I'm looking into using a resistor or track powered FRED on the last wagon to protect it. For most of my layout it would stop a rear ender but at junctions/crossovers may need some LogixNG to stop allocation of blocks in between.

Hi. I’m really interested in the layout of your railway - you have some interesting route ideas that I’m keen to explore as part of my next layout design. Do you have an AnyRail layout file that you’d be willing to share?

I have some UART multiplexers somewhere they would enable connecting three readers to one serial port.

BTW with JMRI warrants for auto trains it dynamically calculates train speed over block length to check if the speed to throttle ratio is correct. I'm also not keen on going on the resistive wheelset exercise and looking at how to keep blocks occupied.

Re: paint "wearing out" - that's why we solder 805 resistors between wheels and axles. As for the sort of dead reckoning you can do - it doesn't deal with a separated train (slipped coupling), which is also a real world problem. If you're OK with that, then dead reckoning (and putting the consists in a database and computing length, speed etc) would be fine.

Would it be possible to use the DCC Concepts DCF-WP12 pcb pickup and bridge the contacts with a resistor??

Thanks for sharing another video. The logic makes good sense, just complicated to get all the software to talk and share the information but I guess that's what you have sorted with your custom app. I took a more simplistic approach and just hold the blocks for much longer than necessary as I didn't fancy the resistive wheelset option either. I did notice that for JMRI to stop a train for a red signal within one of my safe blocks, it needed to leave the previous block so delaying that block every time was causing an issue but fortunately it's only short trains that use that part of my layout so I just don't hold the previous block for a long train in that case. You shouldn't have that problem if it knows the speed and length of the train.

I know you said you think you have reached the end of the tech path. I doubt it you love it to much. lol.

I 3D printed some wheelset insulators with conductive plastic. problem is they are now 2k Ohm per wheelset when 20k ohm would be better..

you certainly think outside the box

Seems to me that if you have sensors on the points, you could tie the "timer" for the main blocks to the occupy trigger for the point. Then if the train stops, the point remains active, and the adjacent blocks remain active, even when there's no current sensed(?) I'm figuring a top & tail method of block detection, obviously the locomotive always runs current. I'm planning to modify all of my coaching stock for track powered lighting. Still leaves me with a problem for the wagons, but the guards vans will also be modified for a tail light... and since I'm steam era, the only time there won't be a van on the end of a goods train is when the train breaks, and losing the tail of the train is a whole new problem!!

That is some very very clever thinking. I may take this idea and roll it into my automation. I have a similar issue on my tramway. Blocks appear unoccupied when a tram is present. This cause is different. 4 wheel trams often "sit down" on dead spots on track. They stop drawing current and the DTC2 can't detect them. JMRI then drives another tram into the back of them. I've been thinking of a way of rewriting my JMRI scripts. Now you have me thinking about rewriting the Arduino sketches to ensure that the next block is active before the allowing a block to go inactive. Easy when the blocks are on the same Arduino, trickier when the block is on the next node. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers Chris

I like the concept, but sorry to be a party pooper, what if a wagon or coach becomes detached from the rest of the train? If the last wagon or coach had a lamp (as they would in reality), there would be a current draw. Worth considering?

I still think you will have a problem if you get an accidental uncoupling. How will JRMI know there is an uncoupled wagon/coach on any block?

This is amazing. I would love to be able to do this. I too dont fancy the resistor wheel sets but i have no idea how to achieve what you have. I can cope with reasonably straightforward Arduino code but i dont understand how the code acesses the individual train's parameters. Would you consider doing a video(or more) to explain the app youve created and its code, sufficient for me and others to be able to do it. I realise thats maybe a lot of work but just thought I'd ask. I love your videos. Its great to be able to follow you through the process. Its very helpful and encouraging. Thanks for sharing your journey.

I remember getting the DST triangle lesson in school and thinking.... When am I EVER gonna use that? Hahaha. Boom! Right now. 😀 Well done!!!!

Clever, "Lies to Children" (JMRI edition) hopefully I will have enough of a loop to play about with similar soon (ish) what you are getting into is a proper Train Management System, and your set up with pretty much everything going roundy roundy or back and forth works well. no need to overly complicate it this actually sounds like something JMRI should be able to do itself, given you can profile stuff and tell it the length of the blocks I like this, comes down to JMRI doesn't see the sensor directly, it sees what its told the sensor is. with MQTT also quite easy to have a "real sensor" and a "virtual one" - JMRI sees the virtual one, and a logic controller sets that based on considering the real ones etc goes to show just how deep this rabbit hole is very nice

Although this is totally over my head I do find it interesting as to how you get around your problems.keep up the good work

great vlog on channel keep up the great vlogs thanks lee

I was able to connect my 3 aspect signals direct to the arduino. I used the more expensive Berko signals. Can' remember if they were common cathode or anode, but I think the former, your solution with shift registers is more elegant.

LAYING FLEXI TRACK You must NOT use screws, nails or even track pins to lay such track, as any decent Model Railway Club would have told you. Pinning, screwing, or nailing track down is one of the biggest and most frequent causes of unreliable and jittery running of locomotives, because microscopic dips in the track are caused by such methods, which obviously upsets a locos current collection abilities !!!! Further its wise to lay flexi track on a minimum 5mm thick layer of soft cork. It needs to be 5mm, anything thinner is a waste of money, as the glue required to fix the cork down will be partially absorbed into the cork, making it go hard. You can glue flexi-track reliably using Evo-Stik PVA white glue (in the green bottle) because this version is not waterproof, and allows you to lift and move the track later by simply adding a little warm water and waiting 10 minutes for the glue to go soft again. PVA has no problem sticking plastic to cork or wood !!! Further ballasting can now be done more easily and quickly if you mix 40% PVA glue with 60% water, in a jam jar or similar. Then you pour the ballast into the jam jar, and put the ballast down like a paste, using a screwdriver or similar to smear the ballast paste carefully between the rails. For pointwork it is wise to pour the ballast on first, ensuring no moving parts are obstructed by the ballast. Then simply drip, drop by drop, the PVA-Glue mix onto the dry ballast. If you add thrree drops of washing up liquid to the glue-water mix, this will prevent "surface tension" allowing the glue-water mix, to soak into the ballast without moving the ballast around. Any ballast that get stuck to the inside of rails MUST be carefully removed before any running of trains occurs. This method will take around 24 hours to dry. After which it is possible to use a "Track Colour" Aerosol spray paint from either (Railway colour) Precision Paints, or Howes Models "Railmatch" railway spray paint range. Track in Britain up until around the year 2000, became covered in toilet effluent & brake block dust, within just a few weeks of track being laid, (a dirty light brown colour) !!!! Using PVA to glue track to the cork or wood, is also a lot simpler & quicker, and helps prevent damage to the track. Further to lay flexi track it is also wise to use the "Tracksetta" ruler type tools that clip between the rails, as made by Peco, including the straight version ! These help ensure no microscopic kinks occur in the track as you lay it. It must be added, that ALL commercial track systems DO NOT get the real life distance between parallel tracks correct. They are always overscale ! Except when laying a modern Western Region line, that was pre 1892 Broad Gauge, which meant track had originally been spaced further apart than today !!! Happy Modelling 😄

DIRT ON RAILS, WHEELS & WHEEL COLLECTORS !!! Increasing stalling after one months use ! This reeks of "dirty track, dirty wheel treads & dirty pick up collector" problems !!! A loft layout is of course very susceptible to dust ! Despite using DCC 14-16v AC in the rails, this does NOT cure the problem of wheel, track collector & pick up cleaning, as many seem to think ! It isn't as good as the Marklin 16v AC THREE rail system. Because you still only have two rails ! So frequent checking of track, wheel treads and their swiper pick ups is unavoidable. Further wheel cleaning must NOT use tools such as fibre glass propelling pens. Hornby in particular are coating their loco wheels with a Chrome finish, and this is easily damaged, by vicious Fibre glass cleaners. It will quickly begin to reveal the actual wheel is made of brass. Once the brass come into contact with the rails, you can get dirty wheels, in just one or two circuits of the layout. Indeed Bachmann & Co, are not in the business of providing solid Nickel Silver wheels, which are the most reliable and trouble free type. They last too long, for Profit making commercial manufacturers !!!! Track rubbers from people like Peco will keep track clean, BUT it has to be said, that if you use track rubbers, you then have to vacuum the track. To remove the fragments of track rubber left behind. Or these bits of dirt are likely to be attracted by the 12v DC motor in the loco, which obviously sets up an electro-magnetic (attraction) field around the loco - which attracts dirt into the model loco. With loft layouts, unless they are used on a daily basis, I always told customers, you must at the very least clean "ALL" track before using a layout. Otherwise the dust that's settled on the rails, will be turned to "black crud" by a locomotives necessity to collect current from the rails. The dust over which the wheels have to ride, results in micro-arcing, which Burns the dust, and helps to make it stick to wheels & rails !!! Liquid cleaners with a soft cloth that leaves no fibres, is probably the safest & quickest way of cleaning loco wheels. A (powered) "rolling road" is also helpful in allowing you to turn the wheels on a loco as you clean the wheels, by hand. Happy Modelling 😝

interesting video, like the way your layouts coming on, i herd the efe rail pacers aren't as good as the realtrack versions which they are a copy of, with the bachmann 101 touch wood mines been fine on my layout, i now what you mean about trying to get new locos that dont have faults, keep up the good work, looking forward to the next update. Tom

Hi mate ,why have a set of points in a block just power it and isolate it

Bloody frustrations!!, all I'm gonna say is peco unifrog!!

Do the blocks have to butt up? Could you not have the point as an undetected area? I say that because from a prototypical point of view, with the exit not being long enough for a train to sit in and no headshunt either, each yard siding would be separately signalled right through onto the main running line. So the points and yard exit wouldn't be detected. You'd probably also have a catch point in the short straight of the yard exit to prevent anything accidentally getting on to the mainline.

I've heard if you wire the lighting on the locomotives separately from the decoder they run and stop more on the spot every time. I don't run DCC but thought it might help someone with a problem stopping in the same place every time, Someone did do a video explaining what why and how if anyone is interested looking it up, it was a Hornby issue that video.

You could add phosphor-bronze wiper pickups. And / or keep alives. I read that Keep Alives are good for 15 seconds. (More than enough for your double slips.)