Lighting plays an important role in the appearance of the model. Controlling it using Arduino and relays is possible, but once you want to configure colors and brightness, the complexity increases. Home Assistant (HA) already supports many devices and allows you to manage scenes: WiFi/ZigBee bulbs, switches, and ESPHome. The final result is that from…
Category: Train Layout
Forest area base and ballast
Preparation of the forest was done by cutting a wood to shame and gluing brown and light brown dirt. Ballasting was done as always but with different ballast from Noch. White dots represent placement for trees.
DIY Programming on siding track with Z21 Starter
I sometimes want to program CV to one locomotive without the need to remove other locomotives from the track (POM). To avoid this, added a siding with a DPDS connected to the Z21 white. This allows to bring a loco to the siding, change the switch, program the loco and after changing the switch again…
Railway crossing external circle
The external loop had a “dirt road” and a tunnel entrance that needed some improvement. After removing the dirt and cleaning, plaster was used to make a more leveled countryside road. Using a knife and an old wagon ensured clearance on the rails. Once the plaster is dry it is painted, ballast added to the…
ROCO 10836 Automatic switching
Instruction manual can be quite confusing. Here is my simplified circuit installation in a NOCH preformed layout. The manual states that the switch must be connected to have a more robust connection. I have not being able to avoid short circuits following the manual. Making no additional connection to the switch work well. NOCH preformed…
ROCO 10836 Switch decoder for controlling traffic light/signals
There are a various way to control the signalling on a layout. One possibility is to use the same P and N (rails) to have it fully integration inside the DCC addressing. For this option and using ROCO devices, the layout and material needed is: It is compulsory to connect P and DCC from the…





