My dad got me into model railroading when I was five and ever since there has been a never ending challenge to run more trains in a fixed amount of space.   My initial solution was to go from O to N scale which as the hobby grew was only a temporary solution.  The set now occupies a room in the basement and covers and area of 10 X 21 feet.   It has 8 complete loops, over 100 automatic switches, 75 engines and about 400 pieces of rolling stock. 

Four years ago I converted four of the eight loops to DCC thinking I could run more trains and control the speeds visually, wishfully thinking, a lot of little people died in train wrecks.  I then started to introduce Bitswitches into the layout, initially to control multi train operations on single loops with Block BitSwitches and later for sidings with Station and Spur BitSwitch combinations.  I now run fourteen trains simultaneously with no loss of life.

The conversion took some time and effort but BitSwitch personal were always available to answer questions and provide help.   Bitswitches add a level of realism to train operations and now I get just as much fun watching them run as building them.   I now get a kick out of younger family members coming over and screaming that the trains are going to crash, to their surprise, they don’t! 

Dick Drew
 

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