The New Construction committee is in the process of designing and rough-framing
the new layout, which will be a multi-level layout. While it will be optimized for
"walk-around control" in which operators follow their trains around with
portable controllers in hand, it will also be possible for operators in a
central tower to control trains during an Open House or at other times when the room
is full of people.
MoW : Maintenance of Way
After the the main structure of the layout has been completed, the Maintenance
Of Way people get to work laying track. All the visible track
at TMRC is hand-built. Ties are cut by hand, placed on the roadbed, glued,
and stained. After the ballast has been added, the rails are hand-laid and
hand-spiked! This process is quite challenging, especially
since the track switches are also scratch built, part by part. After the track
is built, MoW maintains the track, preventing derailments and ensuring that "The way
is still there!"
SceneComm
Because our new layout is quite different than the old one, buildings
transferred from the old layout have required retrofitting, and many
new buildings have been added. There is still a tremendous need for
more new buildings and more scenery. As the progress page shows,
adding scenery is a slow and detailed process.
S&P: Signals & Power
The Signals and Power committee provides the power for operation of the
trains, and provides the signals to advise operators of their permission to proceed
(although System3 does have "auto-stop on red"). TMRC gained a lot of its
reputation from S&P, since it was the first club to have a fully automated
signaling system with multiple cab operation. Today, we are still at the
forefront in control systems, as System 3 can operate an unlimited number
of trains and switches from a centralized system with multiple control stations. The
progress page is a great source of information on what S&P is doing. In recent times,
the S&P is in itself split between two distinct groups.
Electronic Works
"E&E for all grievances!". May it be upgrading the computer-systems, or a the hardware components of the layout
such as signal distribution block-cards, or adding a new lift bridge, the Electronic Works
builds most of the circuits required to operate the device in sync with the layout. In recent times, the Electronics
Works group also routinely has had multiple small projects, which include building custom cars such as
the RF-camera car and the track debris clearing train.
Software Works
"We have a software solution, always!".
Having moved on to the maintenance and co-development phase for System 3, Software Works takes responsibility
for adding newly built physical layout to the System 3 software backbone. Software Works constantly adds other
features to System 3 such as dispatch tables and extra functions, such as auto pilot and auto guidance,
made available to train operators. We at TMRC maintain the extensive Java back-end with an illustrative Python
front-end software system completely written and managed by TMRC which implements System 3 at the user level.
Working closely with Electronic Works, the Software Works also writes appropriate software to drive the electronics
built by the other group. Small independent projects in this sub-group have included writing android app for System 3.
The Electronic Works and the Software Works jointly maintain a room video surveillance system.
Car and Loco
The Car and Loco committee maintains our extensive fleet of freight cars,
passenger cars, and locomotives. In addition to maintenance work, this
committee selects new cars and locomotives for purchase.
Publicity & Records
The Publicity committee takes care of advertising open houses and other
activities to invite the public to visit the club. This also involves taking
the responsibilities of a Web-master and maintaining or upgrading the TMRC webpage.
The secretary of this committee also is in charge of records, record activities
as defined in the constitution.
Administrative
Being a club that takes care of more than 60 years of history and
a modest amount of capital, we have some administrative tasks. Our main positions are:
Governors
Treasurer
Secretary
The two Governors ensure that meetings happen, and that the club is moving
on towards its goals. The treasurer takes care of the club's money,
which we have to spend carefully, since building a world-class layout is not
cheap. Each committee is headed by a Secretary. The Governors or Treasurer can
also hold additional Secratary portfolios.
