Years ago a model railroading magazine used to have a regular feature where they showed examples of real railroading that mimicked model railroading.

The real industry is still at it.

The July issue of Trains magazine has a side bar article on it's excellent coverage of the Wheeling and Lake Erie that made my eyes pop. The article demonstrates how, via a hand-held remote control, engine crews can throw switches either on the train or on the ground. Elsewhere in the issue, remote control of engines by crews on the ground is mentioned.

Gee, sounds a lot like what all you TMCC and DCS guys have been doing for years.

Pretty soon the locomotives will all be straight electric, have smoke units, infrared connections, and my favorite, a middle third rail!

And don't forget the "quilling" train horn.

Interesting how modelers and real railroads are moving past each other. Dispatchers sit at consoles screens with the big picture of the territory and set switches, block authority, sometimes set speed etc. Meanwhile modelers are using DCS, TMCC, DCC etc and nose mounted cameras trying to get next to the layout they operate to experience what the engineer does.

Sam

THAT IS A FUNNY WAY OF LOOKING AT IT ............... TECNOLOGY IS JAW DROPPING , BUT I SOMETIMES WISH THE DESIL ERA NAVER CAME INTO VIEW THOUGH