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[quote user="7j43k"]Should you choose NOT to use the rails to charge the battery--essentially dead rail, signal detection is very simple. You do it like the real railroads. [/quote] Yes, which is DC on the track.  A wheel shorts the circuit and de-energizes a the relay in the relay cabinet.... <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=railroad+track+circuit&biw=1438&bih=719&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5sLzExYjSAhXj5YMKHRXlDbYQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=_ZXf8BstT8d3jM">https://www.google.com/search?q=railroad+track+circuit&biw=1438&bih=719&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5sLzExYjSAhXj5YMKHRXlDbYQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=_ZXf8BstT8d3jM</a>:   So you are back to powering the track...which you needed to do before, except you just spent $80 per locomotive, to eliminate wiring and track cleaning, which you will need to do anyway if you want signals.  This assumes you want to do it like the prototype.  Optical detectors are a different story.  Unless you want Equipment Defect Detectors, which I believe are actually optical, both in model and prototype. My point is there is more here than just train control.  And like DC, DCC isnt going away.  There is too large a customer base, and there are too many limitations to batterypowered radio/bluetooth.  As was previously mentioned, there will not be a standard for this until someone makes one open to use by anyone (re:Lenz and their DCC protocol), so yes you are stuck with whichever one manufacturer you choose.  I would need to see a price point of $30 per locomotive and a battery that lasts 3+ hrs and fits into a 44ton or Plymouth switcher (without an attached car) before I would even think about it.  And even then I probably still would still not do it (re-batteries have a limited cyclic lifespan). I asked Bachmann if I could consist their Blurail locomotive with my DCC locomotive.  They said no.   I informed them politely that their product is useless to me and would not be purchasing their Blurail offerings.
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