Greetings all.?Here is a picture of my first go at a layout for my dining room table top. It's not immediately clear from the picture but the Upper East/West Loop is elevated above the yard and main.
I'm wondering if the blocks make sense? I'd like to get to a point I can automate the simultaneous running of 3 trains using block detection for collision avoidance using the NCE BD20s (plus PowerCab, NCE USB/AIU.) JMRI runs on an RPI3. I do have an Arduino loaded with DCC++ and am waiting on a motorshield but so far I appreciate the low barrier to entry with the NCE stuff if it will work for me.
Couple of questions:
1) Do I need to add physical signals right off the bat to achieve this or is that more of an element for realism I can add down the line??
2) Among many things I don't quite grasp yet is once block occupancy is established, how does JMRI know which train to hold to avoid a collision? Suppose train 2814 is coming clockwise along Westerly Pass. Train 3201 is approaching counterclockwise on North Main. And lets say traffic on the Main always gets the right of way. How does JMRI establish that it's 2814 it needs to address and hold till North Main is clear? Do I need additional inputs to achieve this like Transponding or RFID? Or can you just kill track power to a block with the effect of holding whatever train is on it? (In that case I'd have to modify my blocks so turnouts were isolated from power cuts.)
I started out on this a couple weeks ago for my toddler who's into trains but I've been having a ton of fun with this. Thanks in advance!
jb
