In an attempt to keep costs down but still have “Automatic Signals” some railroads have turned to systems that do not use “Track Circuit train detection” but rather “Trip Tracks” or “Axle Counting”.  I will discuss why these systems should be avoided if possible. Continue reading →

Traditional approaches to automatic signaling use track circuit sensing and relays in a manner similar to full-scale railroads.

In many cases this works fine until longer track segments are required, central monitoring is desired, or you want to add CTC capabilities. Continue reading →

I have run on many tracks across the United States, England, and New Zealand. I have seen only a handful of railroads that supported full-time bi-directional running with automatic signals. Continue reading →