Designing Model Railroad Signal Systems
Mike Burgett
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Description
A mistake many modelers make is finishing the scenery before even giving thought to a centralized traffic control machine and model railroad signal systems. Incorporating a CTC machine can cost a bulk of money and time, so it’s not necessarily something you want to toss off to the side and figure out after the entire track is laid and the scenery is placed. The type of CTC machine is dependent on the model railroad layout design and signaling is dictated by the track configuration. Planning the model railroad signaling systems before building the layout will likely land you the most successful outcome with your layout.
Designing the Signal System and CTC Machine
In part four of the 11-part Chesapeake & Ohio series, Allen Keller and Mike Burgett examine the importance of model railroad signal systems. Mike designed the CTC machine and the signal system for the Chesapeake & Ohio before even starting with any other step of the modeling process, which is not a common practice but it worked out to his advantage. The CTC machine served as the foundation for which a lot of decisions were based on. In fact, the CTC machine dictated the need for a double deck railroad, otherwise the Chesapeake & Ohio layout would of been entirely different. On top of that, every single one of the towns were carefully chosen based off their signaling arrangements.
To conclude this segment, Allen asks Mike to share any signaling tips he has to offer based off his own experience. Operations is an extremely important factor to consider when it comes to model railroading. Model railroad signal systems can be complex, so putting a bit of effort into planning the system out before building your model will help you in the long run.
You did something most unusual before starting the layout. You designed the CTC machine and the signal system before you even started. Wow, that's unusual. Tell me about that. Well, the railroad from the start was always based, if you will, on the signal system.
Towns were selected primarily not just because of switching potential, if you will, but wow, that's a really neat signaling arrangement in that town. Oh, that's unusual. And as silly as that sounds, the CTC system dictated a lot of why the railroad went in the way it did. It dictated the fact that it's a double-deck railroad. I'm not a fan of double-deck railroad.
If I had my preference, I would prefer a single deck layout, but I had to have X amount of railroad or I was gonna end up with a desktop type CTC panel, and I didn't want that. I wanted a floor model type CTC panel, and in that set, I had to have X amount of railroad to justify that kind of space. So as silly as that sounds, the CTC had to be designed prior to the layout because it was the foundation which a lot of decisions were based on. Now, you're very interested in signaling. What tips would you have for others who are thinking of signaling their layout after they've built it, or even before they built it maybe, I don't know.
Well, one thing I find that a lot of us do, we always start off with the concept of, yeah, I want to have a signal system, or I'm gonna have something, even if it's just turnout indication. But we tend to just put that in the back of our mind, we get the layout built, and some of us even get our scenery completed, and then we go through and we start to put signals in. Well, signaling is very much so dictated by the track configuration. And as you'll see later on a few of our clinics, there's clearance points and stuff that are all associated to turn outs and everything, and one thing I tend to find that we do is because we're not really paying attention to, we need a signal system, we put our track in, but we never take consideration, well, I'm gonna have to eventually put a signal here. And we end up having a turnout in a spot that's just not conducive with prototype signaling, or a building where a signal needs to be, and we ended up having to break the laws of signaling to get our system in because it wasn't planned for from ground zero.
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