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Having a reliable, effective control system is critical to the operation of the railway. This section describes the control electronics, and why some of the decisions were made.
When I last had a model railway, as a teenager, I wanted automatic signals: they would set themselves as trains passed and points were changed. With a strong interest in electronics it was obvious to me that it could be done, but was "just too difficult". This led ultimately to my losing interest.
I wanted, from the outset, to have a computer controlled railway. The idea that I had was that most trains would be operated automatically; others could then be driven by hand. This would allow single-handed operation of a reasonably complex layout. Most of the "fun" for me will be in developing schedules and watching it happen, not in manually driving the trains themselves.
For computer operation, reliability is key. It is essential that the points can be set consistently to their required states; it is important that trains start and stop on command. If manual intervention is needed - even infrequently - then the operation will grind to a halt. I suspect that cleanliness of track and wheels will be the biggest issue.
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