creating dispatcher panels using JMRI

"Nothing worthwhile is easy" may or may not be true, but it is true that (a) dispatchers on the Burrlington Northern have repeatedly asked to be able to control the turnouts at the Delta Wye and along the double track main, (b) those turnouts were already controlled by "accessory decoders" reachable on the NCE DCC system, (c) I already had set up a USB connection between my laptop and the NCE DCC system, and (d) it was easy to procrastinate diving into the steep learning curve of building such panels using the JMRI DecoderPro and PanelPro open-source software.

In the end, though, it only took about 6 hours of focused concentration and youTube video watching to get the job done. I'm not saying it was fun or easy, I'm just saying that it is doable, and even rewarding. The JMRI software is an extremely complex set of tools, with many features, but to get this job done I had to just focus on three things: (1) how to create software labels for each turnout (and make sure it is stored in memory forever), (2) how to lay out the track on the panel, and (3) how to connect the panel switches to the correct turnout labels. Not to mention step (0), which is figuring out how to download the software and open up the needed tools - also a complex undertaking in itself.

So, here's a screenshot of the "turnout table" that I ended up with, showing each controlled turnout. This had to be created before connecting panels to them.

The system name for each turnout "NTxx" is simply the two (or more, if needed) digit address of the "stationary decoder" on the layout that drives that turnout. The user name is whatever I call that turnout verbally.

The next steps are to lay out the track diagrams, using their faux-CAD tools, and then to link each turnout on the diagram to its corresponding NTxx address. It took longer to figure out how to do it, than to do it. Here is the final result: a set of track diagrams on the laptop allowing the dispatcher to control the key turnouts. By clicking the mouse over each controlled turnout, the software sends a message to the NCE system to set the turnout to the desired position.

Now that this is done, I feel sheepish that it took so long to "get around to it", considering how useful this will be to dispatchers for all future op sessions.

But in case you think I'm declaring victory, consider this: How will the dispatcher know which way the turnout is thrown, if an operator out in the field has thrown the switch using the toggle switch or push buttons on the front of the benchwork next to the turnout? The only way would be to cycle the turnout on the laptop control panel, which would derail any train that might be on that track being used locally. Now I need to install toggle switches at each turnout to clarify if the turnout is under dispatcher control or local control. And this would be only the crudest way to do it. A better way would be with sensors and position lights, so the dispatcher could see which way the toggle switch was thrown, etc. Not to mention trackside signals. As usual, one thing leads to another! Argh!