HO COORDINATOR REPORT

Improvements to the HO Division of the H. B. Plant Railroad Historical Society

Immediate Plans:

      Planned improvements to the Plant City layout will include new track and turnouts & machines, a new diamond and a new control panel. These improvements include a change to Digitrax DCC in the Plant City Area of the HO layout.

DCC and Why:

           The Executive Board and the HO coordinator have decided to move in the direction of Digital Command Control (DCC) for the H. B.  Plant HO Layout. This is being done for a several reasons. First of all, most of the new locomotives currently manufactured have DCC decoders already in them. Therefore, having a DCC system, the operator can take advantage of all the features that these new locomotives have to offer. Second, the price of decoders for existing locomotives has dropped significantly over the last 18 months. This in turn makes it more economical to modify older locomotives to become DCC. Third, now members can finally run a Proto 2000 with an Athearn and a Kato with an Atlas and so on. Last, but not least, the system is expandable to eventually add working signals, turnout control and, someday, computer controlled trains where one operator can simply start a program on a PC and run 4 trains or more simultaneously.

Future Goals:

            Operation is where this is going. It is our goal to create a layout where many operators can run trains and have fun with the hobby. Right now, the layout can only handle a few operators at a time. This can evolve into waybills, switch lists, car cards, etc. Making the layout functional and user friendly will help everyone get more enjoyment out of the layout and potentially bring in new members.

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