Dave,
I am using a Legacy/ DCS block control system on my layout that utilizes relays, resistors, signals, blocks and contact tracks to automatically run multiple trains on the same track.
It works as follows: a train enters a block where the voltage has been reduced and stops via the use of a contact track and a relay which is triggered by the “lead” train. The key to the system is to reduce the voltage sufficiently in the block through the use of resistors to stop the engine but NOT turn it off. As the lead train moves forward it hits a contact track section, triggers a relay and restores full voltage to the block containing the stopped train and it proceeds forward.
Most TMCC and Legacy engines with Odyssey turned off will stop and start fine in the blocks. All my MTH engines stop and start flawlessly. When Odyssey is turned on, the engines will stop in the block and not re-start or they will simply blow through the block without stopping at all. So, it is vital to me to have the ability to turn Odyssey on and off.
Frank Cavolo
