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Turnout & Signal Controller

Meet the TSC 1, a circuit module that interprets pulse inputs to produce a controlled on/off state.

Description

A self-contained circuit board with two pulse inputs, a single on/off output for device control, and two on/off status indication outputs.

The label "T-R" (red elbow symbol, Turn at turnout or Red signal aspect) represents the Off state.
The label "S-G" (green rod symbol, Straight at turnout or Green signal aspect) represents the On state.

This module receives pulse inputs and always outputs the on/off state corresponding to the last input. In other words it does not blindly toggle between output states every time it receives a pulse. Thus it can set and hold turnouts, signals, lights and other props to a known state regardless of their current state. If, for example, it is in the Off state and then receives multiple On pulses in succession it will switch to On in response to the first pulse and ignore all subsequent On pulses, but immediately respond to the next Off pulse.

I do not require attribution if you incorporate this controller into a published layout, but if you do so please post a link in the comments so I can see it in action.

Bug warning

At time of writing RL contains a bug that causes a turnout not to respond to remote trigger activation if its lever type is "None". It's a sneaky bug, it doesn't emerge until the layout is reloaded.

Example layout

The included bare layout demonstrates the control of turnouts and a signal to manage a figure-8 junction. For both applications a Remote trigger activator with on/off state (Room.8) is required to perform the actual manipulation of the target object. In all cases train detectors are used to generate the pulse inputs. I have used wires in most cases to make the circuit easier to trace, but all pulse inputs on the layout can be transmitted wirelessly, as has been done with the components labelled "pwd". You must use wires for the on/off output connections.

For the turnouts, detectors on the approach side indicate the direction from which the train is arriving, and the controller sets the turnout positions accordingly.

The signal controlled by a remote activator has its range set to zero, as we do not want this signal to make its own decisions. The source track must be set normally as it governs the holding point for the train. All other signals are configured normally and the turnouts are AI-locked. Train detectors indicate whether the junction will be clear for the approaching train (the other path is given priority) and the controller sets the signal accordingly.

Direct wireless input

Also on the layout is a demonstration of sending simple wireless input directly to the controller by deleting the wires from the input tabs and setting passwords in the logic gates.

How to copy the controller to your layout

Use the Bulk move tool (Room.6). Before selecting objects you will need to make the Details (circuitry & baseboard) and Room (labels) layers editable. You should see a "Props selected" count of at least 39.

Click Copy and then Done in the tool dialog. Close this layout and open the destination layout. Grab and position another Bulk move tool, open its dialog and click Paste. Then save, close and reload the destination layout (the wiring will not work until this has been done).

Pasting the controller into another layout does not create a dependency on this mod. Neither you nor any other user of your layout will need to be subscribed to this mod thereafter.

Example applications

Automated Tag-Based Train Routing
National Park Automated (handles tag-based sorting of trains entering the staging yards)
Switchback Automation
Automated Turnout Exit Switching
Electronic Message Boards (handles tag-specific block occupancy for the destination board)
Rail Joint Audio (handles block occupancy in the final example)