Check what Lee Willis and Dale H are doing, they have extensive conventional layouts.  I know that Dale has all sorts of relay controls for his layout, he's talked about them many times here.

You can see what Dale still does in this recent thread from 6/23/14.

Best Way to Run 2 Conventional Engines on a Single Loop?

Train detection and voltage control.

I used to use relays to control passing sidings and for diamond protection. I did some pretty fancy setups with my portable layout.

• Two trains alternating with a single siding
• Two trains meet and pass with two sidings
• Three trains with three sidings (2 in one direction and one in the opposite)
• Four track yard with four trains taking turns one at a time
• Single track with reverse loops at each end and a passing siding in the middle
• Double intertwined figure eights with protection
• Four trains 4 sidings meet and pass

Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Somewhere I have pictures, but it may take a while to find them. They might be on a memory stick.

Pre Command Control Days

Or what I call Friday......make that everyday.....

There are a number of books on the subject of automatic control of conventional trains. Relays work well.....but so do insulated track sections with jump wires.

You can have a loop of track, two trains and 3 sections of isolated track. Trains will stop on insulated section and trigger the other train....which will run to the next insulated section.....kind cool considering there are no moving parts or electronics!!

Elliot,

I'm sure, "Entertrainment" lives on in the memories of many. Just how many youngsters as adults are reliving those moments on their own layouts now? We may never know .

Pappy, I think the total attendance in the 14 months that it was open was 110-120 thousand. Of course some have passed on, and the kids of the day probably have kids of their own. The layout lives on thanks to the TM video. I wonder if it still plays on RFDTV. I never got that channel.

That layout was supposed to use a computer to control the trains, but the cost of the custom software forced us to get creative and use some early micro processors programmed with basic.

Then there is this method, which my buddies and I developed after long sessions on the basement in 1954-1957.

1. Set up the two trains on the same loop
2. Power up the track with our trusty Marx power supply: get them moving.
3. When one starts to catch the other, reach out with your hand and grab the loco and hold it back a bit.  
4. Repeat step 3 as needed!

With a little practice, you get really good at this.  As to any damage or abuse it causes the locos, compared to what else those locos put up with back then, this was nothing.

By the way, my Dad was very into to "home electronics" way back then.  We had Heathkit radios and an early TV kit, etc.  He would have loved how Dale H does it.  That is a really slick idea, very well done.

I had to laugh at this topic. I only entered the command control era in 2014, with the purchase of a NOS cab-1/command set and used TPC. In 2000 I built a layout using Atlas Snap-Relays that let two trains run alternating laps around my layout. As one entered a passing siding, it activated the other train and shut itself off to stay in the siding. Two trains, four sidings, either direction. The layout itself had a lot of problems but the analog gizmos worked just fine.

I used a 153  signal and it's contractor using the train's weight to cut off power to a trailing block. You had to lock the E units in FORWARD. Be attentive and expect crashes. All of this is right out of the Lionel instruction manual.

I'm sure there are many of us who did this in their PostWar days.

Peter

Relays!  Just love those little mechanical gems.  As for sound, in my early days, whatever sounds I could make up.  Even back then there was a volume control for the sounds.  Mom had no problem getting me to quiet down.  I must add, the volume control always seemed to creep back up after awhile.  Then Lionel came out with rail sounds.  OMG!!!  Thought I died and went to heaven.  There was one for diesel and one for steam.  Actually, if memory serves me right, there were two for steam.  A six wheel tender and a box car where as the diesel had two variations of the box car.  That second variation may have been my own shell swapping.  All of this was powered by a simple ZW.  Boy!  Those were the days!

In my case I didn't do any of those intelligent things so I got rather bored with the layout.  When the new electronics like DCS and TMCC came out I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.  My old conventional engine is a shelf queen.

.....

Dennis

I pretty much followed a similar procedure as AMC Dave noted. It was generally called "Cab Control". I have also done what Lee describes using 0-5-0 train management.

The main reason I immediately purchased the TMCC system [and DCS for awhile] was capability to easily run multiple trains on the same power district. The first step was to have Train America Studios convert 13 conventional locomotives to TMCC/RS.

I designed a 3 relay IR detector scheme for running two trains on the same track loop. This setup was published in an article in 2009. I can provide the design info to anyone who would like it. 

Good point, Lee!  I would call that using the ol' '0-5-0' .

     Hoppy