Those of you who follow my Granby Layout thread will know I now have some new shunting sidings

Here is something new I discovered this week that may be of interest

………………this is the block set up

                                                    BLOCK 2  Loop                                              BLOCK 4  Storage

BLOCK 1         turnout                                              double slip

                                                   BLOCK 3   Arrival                                             BLOCK 5  Storage

Originally my plan was for the train to travel on the main schedule A and finish in Block 3 where it would do the Kaydee Shuttle 

Schedule B would move the released light engine thru the double slip to Block 4

Schedule C  from Block 4  back through the slip and Block 2, avoiding the carriages in Block 3, to Block 1

Schedule D  Engine backs from Block 1 into Block 3 couples enpassant and the entire train backs into Block 4 or 5 for Storage 

This works fine except carriages dont like backing across the slip into Block 5….but thats life

However when the track got laid I realised that Block 1 had some scenic potential rather than being hidden storage




Block 1 is the curve in the foreground heading into the turnout……….blocks 2 and 3 are beyond in front of the double slip 

So it should be possible to have a train stop at a station on the black board before being reversed and backed into storage 

Unfortunately the curve is quite tight (24" radii) and the gap between carriage and platform face will look bizarre…..but it staightens toward the end……….so I made the Arrival Block 3 the destination or finishing block for Schedule A. I placed the schedule specific stop marker in Block 3 so the loco would stop in that block but clear of the turnout this enabled the first carriage to have a parallell face with the eventual platform

Great…….the next problem was how to do the uncoupling…..the loco is already in block 3 as is the uncoupler…..a schedule must have more than one block

My first solution was a schedule to move the train forward into block 4 and then a second schedule moved the train back again from Block 4 to 3 but stopping over the uncoupler……this worked but was clunky

This is what I worked out

Schedule A  finishes as described in Block 3

Schedule B  is from Block 3 to Block 4 but now a start of schedule operation has the train move for 15 seconds at 6 mph so that the loco is over the uncoupler….it then does the shuffle

I had hoped that at the conclusion of these operations the uncoupled light engine would then continue on the schedule into Block 4………but not so……it remained stubbornly in place…..I guess in a schedule start operation it doesnt like the [Stop] or [Speed 0] commands at the end of the shuffle……………..so the next row of commands has the loco move for a further 20 seconds at 6 mph acrooss the slip into Block 4……..the time being adjusted to ensure the loco clears the slip. 

All this works fine……..the schedule finishes cleanly and the sequential schedules in the run around then start

Hopefully this isnt too boring or confusing but I thought it was worth sharing with you……..I hadnt realised it was possible to move a loco by command for quite a distance say 15" carry out some other operations and then move it a further 24" to another block to complete a schedule…….and TC correctly plots the movement…………lots of other possibilities