Middle Earth Model Railway

The control systems for the railway have increased in complexity over time and there are currently five main control boards, with one 'slave' board for the Staddle branchline (linked to Bree).

The network is electrically divided into five regions which correspond to the five main stations. Each has a control panel (governing the distribution of power and the operation of points within the region) and a locomotive controller. Each region is further divided into track sections (such as a platform, etc.) which are electrically isolated from their neighbours. Power to a particular section is via a single switch, so that it is not possible to connect a section to more than one power source at any one time.

For examples of the control panels used on the railway, click here.

Regional control panels can hand command of track sections over to other regional control panels. This enables a train to travel from one end of the railway to the other (over the four control regions) under the commanded of just one controller for the entire journey. This is achieved by exporting and importing power between regions so that one regional controller can feed power straight into its neighbour's control panel. However, each control panel retains overall command of its track sections and can cut the power supply from other panels at any time. This method provides a very flexible means of control although the chances of error are slightly increased (compared to a more basic system) because of the number of switches involved.

Of the five locomotive controllers, one is a single supply Gaugemaster unit (providing power to the Michel Delving region), two are home-made versions (Grey Havens and Buckland regions) and two are feedback controllers from Trax Controls (Hobbiton and Bree regions). All, except the Gaugemaster, are hand-held units linked to the control boards via a cable enabling the operator to walk around the layout as far as the wire will allow. The cables vary in length of between 1.5 and 3 metres.

Click Here for a circuit diagram of the hand-held controller used on the railway.

The construction of Grey Havens station has seen the introduction of safety-related electrical systems. The station is linked to the rest of the railway via a 'bridge' that drops down when not in use and which potentially allows trains to run off the end of the track and over the edge of the baseboard. To solve this problem switches have been installed that permit power to reach the track only when it is safe to move a train. This is when either the bridge is impassable and a barrier across the track is closed or when the bridge is in place and the barrier is open. No other combination will allow power to reach the track. More information and a photograph can be found here.