Adding timetable and train order control to the Columbia & Western: Pt. II
We conclude our look at operations on the C&W/Mark Dance; photos by Timothy Horton
• How would crews acknowledge they had received orders, thus closing the loop for the dispatcher? • How would the dispatcher set and clear the train order signals signifying to the crews they had orders or not? After briefly investigating and then rejecting DCC transponding, and by personally rejecting radio headsets, I had pretty much decided on phones or FRS radio handsets–one for each train order station–as the tool for crews to OS their progress. However, how was I going to implement this inexpensively and, more importantly,
easily? The PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY J. HORTON AND THE AUTHOR L 58
ast month, in the first install- ment of this two-part series on designing and implementing a
timetable and train order operating sys- tem for my N scale Columbia & West- ern Railway, I described my quest to “design out” the agent/operator role and parcel their responsibilities between
the dispatcher and crew. In the “Table of responsibilities,”
I identified several
things where new hardware, creativity or invention would be required: • How would the crews OS their train status? • How would the dispatcher pass train orders and clearances to the crews?
phones I had used on other layouts had their own PBX or wiring circuitry which I wished to stay away from. I found handsets also had a tendency to be knocked off their hangers and for their chords to hang down below the benchwork. Remember that I was retrofitting the train control system into an already constructed layout, so I didn’t have the luxury of a lot of re- designing. Ideally the phones would be mounted high and away from hip level where they might be easily knocked off hooks, but then their chords would hang down in front of the scenery on the lower levels and that was not a very visually appealing scenario. The quest to get rid of those spiral phone chords led me to inexpensive wireless phone handsets. Investigating this fur- ther I found that several brands come in matched sets where each handset can address any other in an intercom mode requiring no phone lines at all. They also came with their own mount- ing cradle which could easily be at- tached to the existing fascia with a couple of screws. Should I wish to keep them fully charged at all times I had the option to run low voltage wires to the cradles, but given that the hand- sets hold their charge for days I find it easier to recharge the handsets be- tween sessions. The Panasonic set I chose had several nice features includ- ing support for up to six handsets (near perfect for the C&W), the ability to plug in a headset for the dispatcher,
MARCH 2014
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