Train Automation at Chadwick Model Railway | 108. 

Automation is something I struggled with at first as I could not understand it at first , there were very few videos on you tube 10 years ago.. Now its all running great and I work trains manual and auto..with complex routes working on three trains its great to see all the points fire in a few seconds and the trains stop and go etc.... Auromation is another hobby on its own I think... great vid Charlie....... Jim

I’ll just sit over here in the corner with my dunce hat on...As soon as I seen all the flashy lights and wiring I had brain strain but it looks really cool it’s truly amazing how far this hobby has gone

Hi Charlie - as a recent returner to model railways and DCC in particular, you have become my go-to person for advice/instruction from your brilliant videos. Your style really chimes with me and as a consequence I've learned a great deal very quickly. Keep up the great work!!

Oh My! The whiteboard is out so I know I need to concentrate :-)

I look forward to watching it early saturday morning with my first cup of coffee.

Hi Charlie. Just bought a simple shuttle from Block Signalling and they have now updated it so now they have done away with the need for external diodes! Much easier! Regards Alan

I'm not a model railway owner or maker but this is a beautiful hobby. Very absorbing, peaceful and fun.

Charlie, where were you 30+years ago? ....lol man you make this a lot more simpler than try to figure it out your self. Like it was back in the day. Thank you so much for doing this.

Every time I think of a subject matter I need to learn and move into you seem to release a video that corresponds... Great video, helped my simple little mind understand it!

I'm sorry but when Charlie sat down with a book and glasses, I def considered it was going to be Jackanory. "the wicked witch who stole the trains"?

Hi Charlie, The most lucid explanation on computer control I've ever come come across. I've experimented for years with DIY computer programs with limited success but this program opens up new hope that one day I may achieve what I'm after. Anything you have to offer in the future on the subject would be very welcome. Well done Charlie. Regards.

See, now this is exactly the kind of thing that fascinates me these days Charlie, because back in the days when I did have a railway none of this stuff was even heard of.I used to have a layout that spanned something like twenty seven feet by sixteen, I'm possibly going back to something like 1976 (ish) here, even back then my clever cloggs brother had worked out a very crude system where he could make trains stop and start by regulating the current to the track. To cut a long story very short, his system did actually work, no control over speed of approach or anything like that, but he did come up with a way of making trains stop at red signals and they wouldn't move again until that signal went to (off) green. This is one of the main reasons I love following stuff like you and other people of course, post. The stuff you guys do these days is just a natural progression of that bizarre idea my brother had all those years ago. This channel is easily my favourite from all the model railway vlogs I follow and if it wasn't for the cost I could quiet easily start setting up another layout after watching your posts and try to catch up on all things I used to wish I had back in those days. Great work Charlie.... Keep it coming and thank you.

It's wonderful to see another video Charlie, I do appreciate and really enjoy watching them. I've also found a number of useful tips/advice since watching which have helped me.

Another cracking video. This hobby is amazing, it just keeps giving, thanks to contributors such as you Charlie!

Thanks Charlie. Train automation is one of the interesting aspects that has drawn me to DCC. As all of this is still new to me I found this video very helpful. Cheers!

Thank you very much for this overview of options. Very well explained and some good advice indeed. Seeing your rains run makes it easier to understand how the system works and what is possible. Keep it up, always a pleasure watching your videos!

Excellent video Charlie. Been considering Block Detection on my new layout and this video is really helpful. Very well put together as usual. had to smile at the Autofocus trying to deal with that Whiteboard when you were out of shot. Great stuff and many thanks.

Brilliant stuff, Charlie. Thank you. Been thinking of dabbling in shuttles. This has given me a taster.

Thanks Charlie for a very informative video, I also just watched your first video following this one, triggering horn and flange wheel sounds added a lot to the immersion, fascinating stuff and I can see how addictive it would become building ever elaborate sequences. Keep safe - looking forward to more on how this progresses on Chadwick! 👍

Thanks for a great info. Combinning equipment you have and showing really good practical exsamples of train control and movment.

Amazing...the many facets of this hobby people still think of as a circle of track around the Christmas tree. There is a niche for everyone. I am fortunate to have a member of my work crew who is a retired signal man on the railroad. Loves to wire mine and other railroads 😁. So I see signals on my layout in the future but the trains are operated by the crews so I don’t see computer control ahead. Fascinating video. Thank you Charlie. Ps I’ve put the signalman onto your channel and I’m sure we will be hearing all about loco net at tonight’s session 🚂

Well, that made a lot of sense! Being a single operator on my layout I can see how helpful it would be to allow a passenger train to loop the layout on automation while I am running the mine train up and down the mountain line. You did a very good job explaining that concept.

Thanks Charlie, another very thoughtful Video, makes my old HO Triang Trainset my dear Mum and Dad bought me in the Fifties like something from the from the Stone Age. Keep Safe.

Charlie, I really don't know how you do it! This is fascinating to me as when I was modelling, the most technical item was the old Hornby black colour light signal with the big yellow on/on switch (come on, who remembers that one?!) Just watching your amazing inspirational video about how to setup an automated sequence and develop it truly blew me sideways. Train Controller looks looks more like a modern signal box than a model railway. The capability available to modellers today could not even be dreamed about when I had my layout and as usual, you make it informative, interesting and a joy to watch.

Fascinating stuff Charlie , most of it way above my pay scale , but definitely something that I enjoy watching and learning about . Thanks for the heads up on DC automation , I wasn't aware it existed .

Great treatise Charlie, thanks for posting.

Automation is definitely something that I will be implementing on my next project. A very informative video which I hope will lead me down the right path. As you say, you need to do loads of research to pick the best way forward , more videos on this topic please Charlie.

Another good article, Charlie.

Absolutely brilliant Charlie. Great info

An interesting and informative presentation Charlie ...always look forward to your uploads .

Um. I think I need to run that again. Well done Charlie

Hi Charlie have watched all your videos from the start as I’ve just got back into model railways and planning a layout in my loft I’ve found all your videos informative and entertaining please don’t delete your past videos as I will be going back to them as and when I start my build as for weathering track before ballasting you’ve got it spot on I’m a train driver and ballast can be different shades of grime and can be black in station areas and at some signals. Keep it up looking forward to more videos.

Very good demonstration. Thanks. Easier than programming an arduino.

This was well timed. I'm just starting on my first layout and thinking about a shuttle system. Thanks Charlie.

Whilst I am waiting to have our dream home to truely break out into a dedicated space for a layout, the idea of going DCC is quiet interesting to me and a great deal of time and research for a design that suits me, in the meantime vids like this give me an understanding of the concepts and principles behind a layout and hopefully I'll be able to incorporate this into my layout, thanks Charlie!

Fantastic. Thanks it has clarified alot for me. I am just building my first layout and after talking to dcc train automation have gone the digikeijs route. Their help and your videos are invaluable as I think I am the only railway modeller in Seychelles so there is no local advise.

Another great video Charlie. Very interesting, thank you

Fantastic video Charlie. I've not done any modelling since my old (pre-DCC!) N-Gauge layout 30+ years ago. Nice to see how the electronics and automation has progressed.

Thank goodness! I thought you were either sick or hailed up on a Bahamian beach taking a well earned (RU-vid paid for) break haha...excellent to watch this evening and get on with the learning...notebook out.....cheers

Than you Sir, from Spain, outstanding channel.

Hi Charlie, superb video and must admit it was chadwick that led me to looking into automation.. Must thank you for your pmd advice and can confirm that James at dccautomation is a wealth of knowledge and I am currently on my way to doing my block detection on my layout.. Superb and keep up the good work.. Must stop watching your videos its bad for my bank balance 😂

Yet another fantastic masterclass! Thanks Charlie...

Exactly the video I was hoping you'd do eventually. Super informative. Thanks :)

Another great video Charlie. I'm new to all this and I definitely look forward to the next one. i hope to set everything DCC and computerized.

Finally got to watch latest video. Enjoyed the content and hoping to install a automated system. Thankyou

That was a really helpful video Charlie. Thank you. By reference to your earlier video where you "lashed up" all the red wires to demonstrate the switches, and this one, I have now worked out how to do all the wiring for block detection (time consuming but inexpensive), but not install the BD168 until the budget allows. Thank you again for a really useful video.

Thanks Charlie for another great and instructive video.

Thanks Charlie, interesting stuff. Like you say, research, research, research ! I did lots of it in planning for Pevenbourne. I’ve settled on iTrain 5 Plus to run alongside my Z21 Black. With lots of advice, I decided to go with Digikeijs block detection. I had planned to use the Z21 block detection, but it’s so expensive. The Digikeijs 4088s give me twice as much detection for my money. So far I’ve installed two 4088s and getting on fine with them. The only issue I find though is the fact that the detection current is quite sensitive so you have to be careful how you run your wires. They can’t be more than a metre long either otherwise false detection occurs. James Hudson at DCC Train Automation is very knowledgeable as you say, and also very willing to help. I had a problem with detection on my ADM Turntable and James suggested that I replaced its inbuilt autoreverser with one from LS (I already had one of these to control a reverse loop on the layout at James’s suggestion), this solved the problem. So James can help suggest solutions that interact with his knowledge of the many products on the market. Anyway, until next time, take care Charlie.

one of the best videos ever. lots of new information i learned today. would like to see series on start to end for the dcc setup.

brilliant video as usual Charlie. i may be revisiting this video in the future.

Very educational video Charlie!! Thank you for sharing. Cheers Onno.

Fascinating, and clearly enunciated too. Thanks Charlie

Brilliant video as always, although not my style of operation it was very interesting to learn about. I may look into it in the future when space, time & money allows. All the best, Owen 😊

Thanks Charlie. Interesting oversight. My dad (who was the electrics genius on our big DC layout) did a lot this with relays, but essentially the same as you describe, but analogue, not digital. You'd have hated it: all that noise of the relays firing! But we didn't have sound locos 30+ years ago, so it didn't matter. When we extended the layout in the 80s, we built in a 12 track shadow station (as the Germans would call it) - not a fiddle yard as there was no fiddling hands involved, and not a marshalling yard as it was all below the sceniced baseboards. That shadow station was controlled by a diode matrix: something I happened to come across in an old Railway Modeller, and my dad made work for the layout. When one train arrived, it would stop, and the next train would then depart, setting the entry points to the free line. I couldn't tell you how on earth it worked (apart from breaks in the track, sprung points and a shed load of diodes), but it was great: you could set a train off on a circuit including the shadow station, and it would be about 25-30 minutes before you saw it again.

Excellent video. Thanks Charlie

Terrific explanations! Many thanks. It's a whole new world, and well done for explaining it so well.

I will admit automation is something I would like to implement in my layout but assume that it is too complicated. Watching this has certainly given me some great ideas to think about. A little bit of setting up and to get started but once your used to it and comfortable using such software, it will become easier. Will definitely look into this a bit more. Looks quite good. Thanks for sharing this Charlie! All the best, Clint

Brilliant. Very well explained.

Wiring and programming sounds fun

Very interesting video! 👍 I feel this is where the hobby starts to get very confusing 😂 if you can get it perfect though, it can be fantastic! 😀 Also thank you for the help with my trackplan 😊

Hello Charlie, Bruce from St. Paul, Minnesota in the USA. I wanted to congratulate You on the time, no matter how frustrating it can get, I have been literally fascinated by You're videos and I am also a fan and a subscriber. I am an N Scale modeler and stuck on stupid when it comes to the UK currency. I have tried to purchase a few things in the UK from a few Vendors and it never happens. You and another UK guy Tim use to be FMR is now, I am 61 years old and having a brain fart, something else. He and You have taken the time to show some of Us , no matter what scale We are into, some do's and don'ts in this all inspiring Hobby. We all need to learn something new or different, even if it's to admire someone else's work or even their mistakes to help each other. I enjoy You're work and the kindness in respect You display while helping Us modelers. I wanted to say from my heart with respect to You, thank you. Keep up the wonderful job, when you enjoy something its no longer a job, now is it? Haha 😄. Stay Safe, You and You're family . Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Bruce

The Vista Start Up Sound gives me a twitch to this very day :) Another great video.

Another great video. Thanks Charlie

Inspiring to say the least. Wiring is fun. It never scared me. The more complicated it get, the more I dive into it. Who know? Maybe one day I will be into block detection .. got a laptop for it too hahaha

Interesting, as you said useful I imagine for exhibition purposes if you have shunting to be done. Well done Charles!

Interesting , just plain Interesting, Thank you so much for sharing.

hi charlie what an absolutely brilliant video had me glued just by reading the video title couldnt wait to watch it when i got the notification you had put it up. i am myself going down the detector route as my dear lady is buying me the ecos esu command station for christmas which has its own detetector modules same as yours does at a nice price of £175 and its one wire to the track with a break in the track at each end. and yes i will myself be going down some form of automation on my layout in the future with the ecos esu and my computer so this video was an absolute gem for me for info and guidance. cant wait for the next video you do as we in the clarke house always look forward to friday evening in front of the telly watching your latest video or exploits. your good friend peter

Tremendously helpful. The layout I'm planning will be five staging tracks (American for fiddle tracks) through a double ladder to four station tracks, all on a lower level to represent a below-grade station in a fictional town west-north-west of Amsterdam. Above the station will be a city scene with streetcars, and both the lower level and city scene will be fully automatic if I can just get my act together and start figuring out the tremendous amount of planning, wiring and programming that I need to do. (There's be a freight line to the left of the city scene on the upper level that will be DCC but not automated.) And all of this in N-scale (gauge), Dutch trains running on Kato Unitrack on a shelf 15" deep in a room that is also my office, our exercise and yoga room and a guest bedroom that sleeps 3 but is no more than 10 by 12 feet in our 1920s craftsman cape in Upstate New York. Your videos are so very helpful! Thank you!

Thanks for this one, Charlie. I‘m sitting on the beach at Fuerteventura and looking forward to get back home and working on my layout, n gauge. Looking forward to your next obe!

Wow! Great video and really clearly explained Charlie. I am considering how to digitise my new layout once it is built and, this is a great starting point. Guess I will be doing a lot of reading and research before I even begin!! Also considering getting another couple of jobs to pay for it all!!! Thanks again, great video.

Well done Charlie, another great video, a bit over my head but still interesting.

Great video Charlie really interesting and informative. Only just viewed it. Really can't get used to every two weeks but can live with it cos the quality is 110%. You really need congratulating for the slick and self effacing delivery. I couldn't do it in a month of Sundays

Smashing mate, very instructive. And didn't have to dodge "she who must be obeyed" once.

Thanks Charlie for another interesting video on a technical subject. The world is your oyster I guess. regards Gareth

Another great video. Well explained.

A whole new world indeed, is right Charlie. I watched this Clip once and watched it again. First time, I was all confused (WTFudge..!??) Second viewing was a little more enlightening. I am still Scratching my 'Bonce' but it was becoming clearer. Thx for opening up this wonderful field of possibilities, but think I will be watching and Scribbling Details down for weeks. Thx for your Efforts in enlightening this Luddite, it is appreciated, muchly..! My Old Lap top a 10yr. old Toshiba is at least a Start. Cheers from Kim in Oz. 😎 P.s. I just Subscribed. Yahoo..!!

Morning Charlie 👍

Thank you Charlie. I hadn't realised some of the gadgets for DC. As I gather loads of ideas/information, it certainly keeps the dementia in check! Following this video has given me another option to plan in a DC line separately which might suit my older Triang trains of 50+ years ago. That's once I lay a test track - and as I mentioned before, a possible use for my super 4 track and series 3 track of which I have a good few points! The new Peco track I've bought will do the DCC and plumped for Digikeijs maybe using JMRI. Need to learn more yet and look at itrain. And then I can bring my wealth of knowledge gained from writing Fortran albeit punch card input is no longer necessary😂😂😂 The DC option will be quicker as a way of getting something running for my grandsons!

I can not go done the DCC route as the more videos I watch the more I learn what it can do and as you said the costs go into the hundreds and that is beyond my pocket. If my son Jason does show more interest in Model Railways and less in his phone, then maybe at some stage he may go DCC and by then it will be another much larger kettle of fish, but maybe easier to install as more and more electronic come into it and less wiring. Have a good two weeks and thanks for another interesting video. Martin. (Thailand)

Hi Charlie, thanks for another nice video; I am always looking forward to the Fridays that you post a new one. I've been using iTrain since 2012 and I like it very much. Also the (private) forum is very good. In the English section are over 2000 topics and over 15000 posts. It also has sections in other languages: Dutch (that I mostly use because I am Dutch), German, French, Spanish and Italian (the latter three much smaller). In the forum you get good answers to your questions very quickly, often by the developer himself. By the way, I use Dinamo as interface, which allows mixed running of DC and DCC trains. The interface is made by small Dutch company VPEB.

very clear and interesting thanks

Thanks again Charlie for firing the imagination!

Ahh, great to have a video this week! Couldn’t have come at a better time as my health isn’t the best as I believe I have COVID-19. Which couldn’t have come at a worst time as I was meant to be going to Yorkshire on the NYMR steam railway. Have a great day Charlie!

Most interesting video 👍🏽 As a user of DCC I have been experimenting with automation without a PC through the use of various methods including the Lenz ABC braking modules which require the fitting of Lenz decoders . Another way is to setup the command station to perform shuttling operations again without a PC in sight . The Marklin CS3 as well as the ESU ECoS are more than capable of achieving that and even the old technology Uhlenbrock Intellibox ( Loconet ) will do nicely

Hi Charlie another excellent video about train automation finally getting Beighton parkway back on track pardon the pun been laying track and track bed ballast in long rolls I loved your video on back scenes episode and sent for 1 from art-printers it just goes to show how the back scene gives your layout depth after the track is down signals are next I would like to thank you for the inspiration you have given me and everyone who watches your channel. The software that I use is hornby rail master I intended to upgrade to rail master pro so that I can eventually use voice activation to control lights sound and speed nice one Charlie because your videos are not just about model railways it is an interesting insight into electronics well thanks again kind Regards Kev

In one of your older videos, someone suggested to use automobile audio-damping material underneath the layout board to reduce the train rattle. I added the suggestion to use those 4x8 feet foam insulation boards.... thinking that they would be easy and quick to install.... at least they would be easy before the tracks, etc are laid. - Hope this helps.. God Bless.

Hi Charlie, I think this lock down has given us all a bit more time to consider what were doing on our layouts, i love the idea of I Train i think it would work well for me. However one bit at a time as they say. I am a member of Rainhill MRC and we have not been idol, One of our guys is working on buildings and the station while others are building signals useing MERG electronics hopefully a lot of this will be ready to fit when we return to our club. Your doing so well with your layout I look forward to your next edition Regards Alan Massie

Charlie thank you for your informative info because as with lots of other old farts on your blog we grew up with just a circle of track n a train 😆 So watching this stuff is like rocket science to us and just amazing at what can be done now a days with model railway layouts! JohnE

Fascinating stuff, Charlie. It’s something I’d love to get in to but out of my depth price wise (for now 😂)

Good video, thanks. This confirms my thinking that it was so much easier and cheaper to do simple automation, like shuttleing, in old DC systems. Today, If I want to do the same in DCC, I need to invest hundreds in a computerized system in addition to the central DCC system. Or to make an isolated DC trackage beside the DCC trackage. Or, to feed the current to isolated trackage via a DC/DCC switch.

Automation sounds good. My layout is DCC so may be out of my price range .It is however intriguing. You can't beat a nice glass of malt and sitting watching the trains go by. Good video and very well explained. Ah, yes the chuckle brothers!

Smart Charlie to do all that computer stuff, keeps your shirts clean.

Fantastic video, sadly compared t yourself, I have gone the analog way, building it all myself, some work, some don't, but it's fun when it comes together, thanks again from down under, keep well and safe, cheers

Good introduction to the topic Charlie, well done. By the way the ESU-ECOS DCC Controller offers a lot of opportunity for automation without the need for a computer. However, as with all these systems, one must be prepared to put some thought and patience into planning and programming.

Hi Charlie another great video mate I really enjoyed it a every interesting still working on my model of br mk2c coaches mate stay safe and well mate goodbye for now clive

Brought this along at just the right time Charlie, we are going with a blended Digitrax/NCE/DCC concepts system for the new layout, with Train controller as the program. Biggest issue here in Aus at the moment is actually getting the stuff, it's looking like it will be another 2-3 months before we get any stocks of stuff that is on backorder.

Hi Charlie another great video. i use Digikeijs hardware for control of points and block detection cost was the deciding factor, i now use TC Bronze which i purchased a few months ago for me it was easier to setup and use than I TRAIN but that was a personal preference. once again a thanks for a very informative video

The beauty of the Digikeijs stuff to me is you can use practically anything you like with it. Your digitrax handsets will all work - they just need plugging into the appropriate port in the DR5000 with the usual curly cable or the appropriate digitrax reciever needs plugging in to the DR5000 and then you can use the radio or infrared feature of the digitrax handset as normal. I have a roco wlanmaus handset running my DR5000. The large round control knob suits my oafish way of controlling things perfectly! The dr5000 has a built in router and I've connected the roco handset to it that way. The range is great. I've had my wife stand in the railway room in the front of the house and I've walked half way down the garden with the handset and pressed various buttons and the layout has behaved exactly as it has been commanded to do. What I really like about your digitrax handset is the dual control knobs - seems to add an element of labour saving when you have a handset with only one control knob. You say you've "got too much invested" in digitrax to consider swapping, well who says you have to sell up and swap? If you are interested in having a play with digikeijs then you don't HAVE to get rid of what you have. That's what makes it unique. All of your stuff can be used with a DR5000 if you like. You can even mix and match with other brands. You aren't trapped into having to keep spending with digitrax if you want to add more modules. Even your digitrax command station could be re-used if you want with a dr5000, I believe there's a couple of pins you change on the front to convert the command station into a booster module and it then acts as a slave to the DR5000? - The digikeijs unit even comes with dedicated ports for loconet. I picked up my DR5000 from James at the start of the year - I think it was around £180 so not expensive at all to get in to at all if you want to have a play with one. £ for £ the digikeijs modules are definately the cheaper system block for block as you rightly pointed out. All the best, Jon.

Excellent video, Charlie, even more so than usual. You don't need to keep kneeling to the altar of Digitrax; the Digikeijs DR4088LN seems to be a drop-in replacement (at least it is if you don't add any DR4088CS to it to really save money, I think you'd need the DR5000 controller to make use of that combo). But on it's own (or with lots of them), the DR4088LN option seems to be the one to go for. My only problem is that I've acquired a bunch of BDL168s over the years, so it will be a long while before I venture to a digikeijs unit - even though I'm now using a DR5000 controller to replace my DCS200 - or rather to make that box a powerful booster.