Anyone control turnouts by command control only?

Not exactly the same, but with my legacy layout I will not be using any control panel. I'm using fastrack so I am getting command switches and will be using SC2's to control all of my accessories. 

So far I really enjoy this setup. But with legacy remote being able to name everything and visually see what I am controlling it makes it very easy. Not sure how it translates to dcs as I do not have both remotes, but thought I would share

My layout is FasTrack with DCS and Legacy.  Right now the switches all have their control levers on the tabletop but I have an AIU and am planning on using it with DCS to control the switches and accessories.  I'm in the same boat as you.  I just haven't decided whether or not to extend the levers to a control panel.

 

One alternative might be to mount them on my fascia near their turnout  I'm not sure I want them sticking out like that though.  Seems like a problem waiting to happen.

 

Great thread!

I built my Fastrack layout before the Command Fastrack switches were even mentioned by Lionel.  I use 048 and 060 turnouts and work with my Legacy Cab-2 through a Lionel SC-2 TMCC switch controller box.  I still wired in the switch control levers because I like all the green and red lights on my control panel.....impresses the kids and they like using those anyway.

 

TEX

Steve

My layout is 30 years old. All my switches have controls on the panel. When DCS came out I connected those switches to several AIUs and have both manual and DCS control of my switches. Some sidings in my big yard requires a train to travel through several switches to reach the siding. I love the route feature. One press of the button and all switches throw allowing access to the siding.

I think Rich Battlagia (sp?) has all of his switches controlled through DCS and I think he even has routes programmed in where it will throw several switches at once.

Eric

 

I have thought about putting them on the facia, but with a small aisle way between the wall and layout I have decided against it, too easy to get bumped.  I also have small children who will want ot play with them.

 

I do plan to place buttons around the layout for the operating accessories.  They will aslo be operated with the AIU.

 

I guess I could always try my layout out without a control panel and if I do not like it I can wire one in later.  

Yes, on my layout I use several AIUs to control all the switches. No control panels. The switch machines are atlas and on the top of the layout, so I can reach them if needed and throw a switch.

I use the controllers, but am planning to install several SC-2s for TMCC control of my switches also.

 

Note that you can put your switch controllers sideways on a little 2 1/4" shelf along the edge of the fascia. That way they don't take up much room, and the handles don't stick out, as in this picture:

 

 

Bob A.

After thinking about this more, I thought of making little boxes so they could be recessed some behind the fascia and not stick out as much.  Bob Anderson has a good idea though.  I'll have to think about that.

All switches on the Munoz Lines (about 30) are controlled via MTH/DCS and AIU interfaces.

The system works beautifully. The only issue is that the layout is big and complicated. I can no longer run more than one train and control the appropriate switches for anything more than that train. I have to scroll down the switch list on my remote. Don't try to control more than one train with a long passenger train barreling down the track at 70 scale MPH and a switch thrown the wrong way into a yard. You're asking for trouble.

 

Eliot

I eliminated the control panel on my layout for a while.  However, I decided to go back to a control panel.  I just like the visual evidence of switch positions that a control panel provides.  Additionally, it is much easier and quicker to flick a switch for an accessory or turnout than to scroll through menus to activate the accessory or switch.

 

Earl

JD,

I'm using remote control with TMCC and the ASCs for my switches. I stared small

and next thing I know, they are all remote controlled(Atlas and Ross) Put numbers

on the switches so that you know which buttons to push. I have 20 switches but

I'm starting to remember the numbers without looking. Practice, practice, practice.

I like the convenience of standing in different locations and controlling the action,

its become addictive. I'm also using a remote control unit for lighting. Its a seperate

device, not associated with TMCC. Again its very convenient.

"Try it, you'll like it".

Good luck

Joe

I started off with just using the wired controls but after hooking up some SC-2s and getting some command Fastrack switches I end up using the command only and really enjoy it. It does take some practice though...

No panel here although I wold like to have push button switches in the respective positions of each turnout on the fascia. I guess I'm the odd man out here, I am controlling all of my Ross switches through Z-stuff's data wire driver with my Legacy Cab2 controller. My biggest problem is remembering the switch numbers which are now up to about 15. It's always good to have a second 'throw' option in the event of a potential train wreck.

All switches (19  42" path left and right snap switches) on the Houndsville Railroad are controlled with my Cab 2 via SC2s and they work great.  Enjoy throwing switches and changing routes from anywhere in the train room.  Also use the SC2s to remotely control accessories.  Have a great day and keep those trains on track!

bob

I've run a layout with eleven switches using just the CAB2, but I think as I do the permanent layout I'll be adding a control panel. You can get as busy as a one-armed paper hanger if you have several trains running and you want to change switches.   I still plan on having the switches wired to the SC-2 controllers, and any new switches will be purchased with command capability.

 

I don't think I'll use the standard controllers, I will probably use small toggles with LED indicators for switch positions.  I'll have a mix of Fastrack and tubular switches as well.

I like the idea of recessing the controllers in a box along the side of the layout.   Maybe even in a drop down control panel off the side of the layout.

 

In reality all my switches but 2 are within in easy reach, and a control panel really wont be needed.   I could easily just manually throw a switch if I could not find it in the menu fast enough.  My layout is not that large, so I wont be running trains at a scale 70mph anyways.  I might hit Wild Bills later today to pick up that AIU.

 

Hi all

In my mind, a lot has to do with how many switches you have to control and where they are in the layout.

 

I have two under table staging areas and these are controlled by manual switches on the control panel, with LEDs to indicate direction of the throw. These are drive-thru, no backing up, but there are a lot of them and a lot of movement in/out of the yards. 

 

The mainline switches, Z-stuff mostly, use the data wire for the z-2500s, are with the legacy control. The table-top yard switches to sidings with accessories are a mix of old Lionel and Z-1000s and I use several ASC's for these with a double wire back to the control panel with an LED to show the throw direction. 

 

I definitely need the LEDs to see the direction for the far side of the layout well away from where I normally stand. I don't do a lot of walking around.

 

Ralph

I have 57 turnouts of which nine are crossover pairs connected together, so I need 46 to be controlled. I wired them to five AIU’s, have been running them with DCS, and it is OK. However, I don’t like to have to scroll to operate them, so I have a control panel that I am in the process of wiring.

 

The control panel has numbered toggle switches for the turnouts, and the turnout numbers are on the panel’s track layout. The turnout numbers are the same as the AIU numbers, so the panel track layout also helps when using the DCS remote.

 

I will have sensors that detect the position of the turnout points, and these will drive the bicolor Green/Red LED’s located on the panel at each turnout location. I did not want to control the LED’s based on the command given to the turnout as sometimes this could be wrong if the turnout failed to operate properly.

 

Here is the panel by itself with the toggle switches installed but only the LED holders in place. (The toggles located on the tracks turn the track blocks on/off via relays.)

 

 

Here are a couple of shots of my Control Center, which is far from done. 

 

 

 

Any way you go, you'll have fun with your trains; and if you get bored (fat chance), you'll always be able to change whatever you did.

 

Alex

 

My AIU controls all but one switch. I ran out of connections so I will be adding another AIU.

I do have the manual controls connected so I can use them if I'm in the middle of something else with the Remote.I don't have them gathered on a panel yet, that will happen on the larger layout.

I'm also considering getting another remote for that reason.

And Yes, Routes are the way to go for a yard. I use them for all but one siding.

I control all (usually at least 20) switches on my Christmas layouts using DCS and 2 AIUs.

 

What took the longest for me to adjust too was NOT being able to switch a turnout in a blink of the eye when necessary.  That's quite easy to do with controllers but NOT easy to do using the remote.

 

Think of the steps: select the switch menu, either scroll to or type in the switch number to get to it, then select the direction to switch it.  That all takes time - and that's what took me a while to get used to.

 

I, and my son too, often run multiple trains and having quick access to switches to avoid crashing is part of the fun of doing so.  I am thinking of installing controllers tied into the AIU - something that I did the first year I had DCS, for when I want faster access.

 

But for "normal" running, I have absolutely no problem only being able to use the remote.

 

- walt

Sorry to hear about the delay with switching using DCS and AIU's.  I have Legacy Cab-2 with SC-2 and I can do multiple switching at one time plus it only takes a second to switch an individual turnout.  Once I get my Legacy or TMCC trains running I just switch at will.

 

TEX

Steve

Some planning ahead and some anticipation helps though!  Sometimes I just stay on the switch menu so I can react faster.  That helps too.

 

What helps ME but not so much with guests, is knowing each switch's number in the remote - that way I can punch in the number and get to it faster than scrolling.  It's not THAT bad, but certainly not as fast as using a controller.

 

- walt

It's pretty quick with the Legacy, but not instantaneous. 

On a now dismantled['09] layout I controlled my 32 turnouts with Cab 1 via ASCs utlizing diodes for conversion of AC for the DC Tortoise Motors. Today on my small attic layout I operate 16 Tortoise powered turnouts with SPST toggles from a small panel with track schematic. I know the position of all turnouts by the direction the toggle handle leans on the track schematic---to "thru"[mainline] or "out"[siding]. Power supplied by a 12 VDC "wall wart. About as simple as it gets. 

From day one of TMCC, I controlled all of my switches remotely. I have also programmed in several routes when I was using CAB-1, and by some weird thing works with Legacy, without having to reprogram them all over. I am also using SC-1's, they were going out of favor, but for switches or a simple accessory works fine, and were very inexpensive. I also mark my switches with numbers that I assign, so I would know at a glance how to identify them.  I do keep 1 post war style switch connected in tandem, but just to see the red & green lights and physically throw the switch.

Alex

Control panel looks awesome!!!

        I use fastrack switches so I use the manual switches and the AIU for controlling the switches. The best of both worlds at my fingertips.

 

          Bob K.~

 

 

All our switches are on control panels and any switches that divert from a main line or cross over between mainlines are also controllable with the DCS handheld.  This keeps the list fairly short for scrolling and simplifies the naming of the switches. 

 

I found it nearly impossible to name and understand the names of more than a dozen switches in the yard and engine servicing facility, so those switches are easily thrown using the panel buttons.

 

An additional benefit to this system is the ability to throw a switch from across the room to avoid a catastrophe.

I started doing these little "identifiers" on my 2011 layout - they helped a LOT!:

I've been controling everything on the layout..trains .. switches ..all accessories and lights through my TMCC Cab-1 and now Legacy Cab-2 for years now. I have a large box of switch and accessory controllers all brand new-never used!

After years of running this way you begin to learn the shorcuts like sticky keys and use routes as much as possible... it's so much easier!!

Also as Super O Man mentioned all accesssory #s along with switch and route #s programmed in the Cab-1 just appeared in the Cab-2 the day I plugged it in! Magic??!!

 

BTW: Alex your control panel is AWESOME!! If I were to have one that's how I would want it to look!

My layout is 12 x 24 fastrack with 13 accessories, 31 fastrack 072 switches controlled by the cab2 legacy remote thru sc-2's.  I had control levers when I had 18 switches but removed them and control with cab2 only now.   No problems in the last year I have had this layout.  I do have numbers next accessories and switches so I know what is what.

I do this on my layout an it works great for the switches I can see. The ones in back become tricky as does the 4 way yard switch. I would suggest some type of light as an indicator for any you can't see quickly

I control all 18 of my switches with CAB1, and will use the CAB2 when I change over.

It's been a long time.  I have ASC3000s which are used to control these switches.  (Remember Train America Studios)  All this equipment was from Train America Studios when the ASC3000s were first introduced. 

All has worked well without flaw, except for my brain as I occasionally forget which switch was assigned which address number.

Mike

Ralph, RD -

 

Thank you for your comments!

 

The panel itself is 1/4-inch masonite, primed and then painted glossy white. I was going to spray clear over the 1/4-inch wide tape, but it was not necessary.

 

Here are the actual three-level track layout, and its single-level, spread out tape representation I used on the control panel shown in my post, above.

 

It is very easy to determine which turnout number on the control panel corresponds to the the actual turnout on the layout.

  

 

 

 

Thanks again.

 

Alex

Again, A greattttt job.  I remain inspired as I work on mine.  

 

Three levels in my layout as well however I have taken a different approach. I gave up on a single panel and I divided the my control panel into several parts. 

 

Two for Undertable Storage Yards - East and West, one for the Tabletop and Second Level on a single large panel, one for the Turntable Yard, and one for the Intermodal Yard. I used the Atlas 8.0 planning tool to print the layout in sections and then had a sign designer work on it and put it to a film and attach to a 'plexiglass' equivalent and I framed them in picture frames. There is no tape overlay. The largest panel is 20"x24" and the others are 14"x16" unframed.

 

My layout is broken down into blocks/districts and each one is wired for power and back to the panel as well with an bulb in the track plan to show that the particular section of track has power. This helps know that all the right throws and Cab1/2 buttons have been pushed and the train can go thru its routes.

 

There are approx 100 turnouts with control switches, though I do use some with the z-stuff DataDriver. There is space and some addition panels for the accessories and lighting controls which I have a lot of and also divided into groupings. EG, Oil Pump yard, Refinery, etc. I can turn the power on/off for effect and for saving of bulbs, troubleshooting.

 

There are a lot of building steps and some help from Dale H. on the use of a single common and Relays to keep the AWG of the wiring down has helped a lot. 

 

While I am able to run trains, the panel control continues to be work in progress, 65% done. The yards and turntable area done mostly. The table top should be easier to do now that I have had some experience doing the wiring and have all the components on hand though the sidings and OTC controls seem daunting as implementation time approaches.

 

Good to see your fine work. Hopefully, mine will be to a point that pictures can be posted.

 

Ralph

All remote AIU here. Would be neat if MTH made all switch and all accessory AIU's

I originally controlled my turnouts with CTI Train Brain software and hardware and mouse clicked on the turnouts on the PC monitor schematic while running MTH Trains with the DCS remote.

 

Now I command the turnouts with the same software but use a touch screen monitor and it is much handier. I also now run the MTH engines with the same CTI software . Attached is a screenshot of my touch screen control panel. The section in yellow are the MTH engine commands and the center and right sections are the layout schematics and the turnouts.

Thats really sweet.  Is it hard to set up?  I would love to have something like this on my layout.  Does it interface right into the AIU and TIU?  

 

Can you give us more information on your setup?