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Rich: I support your request for such an article but I don't have the time to write it. I run my layout with a computer and find it pretty easy to do. I think the reason we don't see more of this is that it can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Decoder programming is the first step anyone should take. Once you have read or written CV's by computer you will never want to do it with your throttle or command station again. Turnouts are perhaps the next eaisest to control. With a little block detection the computer can ensure that a train never enters a turnout that's thrown "wrong". Tracking a trains position on the layout is the most complex. Transponding with block detection can work but has limitations caused by the lenght and number of blocks. Optical sensing can help improve the resolution. The computer can also estimate the speed of the train based on the throttle setting but this requires carefull calibration of the decoder speed table and can drift with distance. The TDR systems railroads use are very expensive for a model because of the short track length. I have a computer controlled layout and it works as well as I need but it's far short of a real railroad.. Technology marches on and in time it will get better. For now, a fair approxmation is the best I can hope for. Ken
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