My layout - somehere in GermanyHi - I though I would introduce myself and my layout.
When I was 4 years old my parents gave me a 3029 Märklin loco so from then on I was hooked into German rails.... My older brothers also had Märklin (they each has the 3000 loco) and we shared a single transformer a layout of about 6' by 4'. During my high school years in the 1970s they abandoned their trains while they chased girls and I extended the layout and bought more stuff. Then when they had kids they decided they wanted their trains back and on of them took the transformer, so I was unable yto run anything until about 1986 when my wife bought me a transformer. I visited the train store and discoved that Märklin was going digital and the whole notion got me excited. I bought some flex k-Track too. This was in South Africa.
I started programming in 1989 before I even had a central unit and interface. I assumed there would be 128 or 256 speed steps. I was very disappointed when I found the first decoders only provided 14 speed steps. I demontrated a digital layout computer controlled at hobby fairs etc. (DOS based rogram written in Turbo Pascal)
Then we moved to Germany where one could buy lots of stuff much cheaper but there was no space for a layout. In 1994 we moved to the USA and about 10 years ago I started building a digital layout in our basement. The progress of this layout can be seen at
http://layout.mixmox.com
Space is still pretty limited so I have a mainline that runs disgonally across the room to provide greater length. At both ends the mainline goes into mountains and connects together again completing aloop underneath. There is also an underground S-Bahn station
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/SBWilsnack
that provies a way to get more track into the same space by using mutiple levels.
One one side is a winery
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/winery_hill which will have vineyards and a winery at the top.
On the other side is a farm which is now pretty much complete.
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/farm-paddock
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/feeding-geese
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/chickens
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/pig_sty
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/day_night
In the middle of the room there is a BW with turntable, tarck is in place but no landscapnig has been started at all yet;
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/Engine_yard
It is all run from my own software - I use Visual Basic and an Intellibox -
The software is pretty sophisticated - handling routing, loco calibration, prototypical accelerations, signals, turntable, cab views etc..
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/train-cab-view
it also can control my digital rortary crane
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/digital-crane
preogram decoders
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/PTrack
test s88 modules etc
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/20021006s88Testscreen
and even arrival and departure signs
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/remote-sign
I can also connect to the system using my PocketPC PDA - thus giving me a full color untethered remote!
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/PocketPC_remote_train_control
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/Crane_keyboard
I intend using LEDs for all the layout lighting and am especially pleased with how my signal box turnout out:
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/signal_box
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/inside_signal_box
My latest effort has been to install all the color light signals:
http://layout.mixmox.com/1/signals-installed
There is plenty more that can be browsed on my web site too...