[PRCo] Re: Detroit__Control

[Edward G. Skuchas]

on 8/7/02 2:19 PM, Jim Holland at pghpcc at pacbell.net wrote:

> 
> Good Morning!
> 
>> John F Bromley wrote:
> 
>> Sorry, sent response to the group -
>> just noticed this was a personal message.
>> My apologies.
> 
>> Not Pittsburgh - Ivor runs the Boston Arborway line
>> with a full subway including detailed stations and
>> an amazing 4-car control system with a duplicate
>> subway operation as far as "Heath St Loop" that
>> allows, under proper care, a total of eight
>> three-car trains to be in independent operation at
>> different speeds on the same track at the same time.
>> Only one other 4-car system I know of,
>> and that's the one Ivor built for Phil Spencer.
> 
> Sounds like the  *Detroit--System*  of control which has been written up
> in  *Traction--&--Models*  on various occasions.   Don't know if Basil
> Motoligin was instrumental in its development or not, but believe he was a
> big user of it.   Basil (I-F  I remember the name correctly) had a
> beautiful "O"--Scale Detroit model system.
> Basically worked off diode control with 2-cars-(trains) using right-rail
> for ground, 2-cars-(trains) using left-rail for ground thus the total of
> 4-car control.
> Would have to ferret out the articles for more details.
> 
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> 
> James B. Holland
> 
> Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation.......
> ___"O"--Scale St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars and...
> ______"O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net
> 
> ______Pennsylvania Trolley Museum http://www.pa-trolley.org/
> ___Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
> N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.nmra.org
> 
> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> 
The Detroit system is an inexpensive method to have multiple car control on
the same trackwork.  The cars need to be properly set up for operation.
Typically the individual will have his whole car fleet arranged into the 4
different types required for independent operation.  So you have to
dedicated to the system.  Visitor's cars will only work on certain circuits.
The other thing that I noted was that the trackwork needs to be arranged in
a certain arrangement.  Tracks cannot converge and diverge because you would
have multiple car control for the same trackage.  I believe that the
operators try to keep separate loops of operation for the cars. I was at one
layout in Detroit where two loops went down the same street.  The two tracks
down the street looked like single track, but they were laid next to each
other and kept electrically separated.  So if your layout can be kept
separate, you have a neat layout to operate, as was this layout in Detroit.
The guys operated this layout so much and tweaked it to really operate well,
that I saw an HO car back pole through all of the over head wire at full
speed without any problems.  I don't know of any one in any scale do that
today.  

Ivor's layout can operate 8 cars over part of his layout (some of the
surface trackage and all of the subway section) because he has a double
overhead wire in those areas.  It also has an ingenious system to alternate
successive cars' poles onto one wire and then the other.

The Detroit system offers a proven simple way to have multiple car operation
without a lot of expense.  It has its uses, but also its limitations.  And
Ivor's layout is one of the finest I have ever seen.  So is Phil's.

Regards to the modelers.

ED