TrainController Gold and Silver - Freiwald Software

B
5 The Visual Dispatcher I
5.1 Introduction
A human operator is normally only able to operate one or two switchboards and at most
two trains at the same time. If multiple control panels or a certain number of trains are
to be operated at the same time, then either support of additional human operators is required,
or a component like the Visual Dispatcher, which is able to take the place of
additional human operators.
The Visual Dispatcher (or in a word Dispatcher) is a component that makes large scale
railroad operations manageable by one person, matching operations found on the largest
club layouts.
Like a human operator the Visual Dispatcher is able to operate turnouts, signals, routes
and trains. This is called automatic operation.
A broad range of operating flexibility is provided from completely manual through to
fully automatic operation (e.g. hidden yard control). Manual and automatic operation
can be mixed simultaneously. This applies not only to trains on different areas of your
railroad, but also to different trains on the same track and even to the operation of a single
train. Automatic processes are not bound to specific trains. Once specified they can
be performed by each of your trains. There is no need to learn a programming language.
Time-table and random functions increase the diversity of your model railroad traffic.
Built-in train tracking functions display on the screen which engine/train is on which
track.
Like a human operator must know the overall structure of the model railroad layout the
Visual Dispatcher needs to know this, too. This structure is represented by a diagram
that contains blocks and routes and the track connections between them. This diagram is
called main block diagram of the layout. The main block diagram describes the track
layout of your entire model railroad in rough outline.
The Visual Dispatcher manages traffic flow using a blocking system. Blocking ensures
that trains do not collide and supports the tracking of train positions. For this purpose,
the railroad layout is divided into virtual, logical blocks. That means, you define blocks
at locations where traffic control will take place (e.g. scheduled stops in a station).
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