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I created this topic for the discussion about this interesting ATC system and a possible reverse enineered, improved variant that could be designed to support long trains with multiple distributed motor cars. The current system has a few drawbacks, including the lack of support for the aforementioned emu/dmu sets, not supported precise station or signal stops and the speed spikes during block boundary transitions that is the result of unsynchronised pwm pulses. The current system seems to use a binary block control system with stop and go signals for each block controlled by the occupancy of the next block. This means a current based block occupancy sensor must send info to its neighbours and receive info from its neighbours. The direction switch decides on the running direction and which incoming next block occupancy info is to use. The slowdown is gradual and triggered by having an active occupancy in the current and next blocks and cleared by having no occupancy in the next block. The drive signal is pwm, based on the speed set on the throttle and the slowdown value of the current block calculated above. This could be improved in multiple ways, like having two neighbours sending info in both directions, which would allow 3 speed operation, with stop, slow and go (red, yellow, green) speed settings. It's also possible to drive 2 or 3 aspect block signals from the block state. (and even signal a block for both directions, with the unselected direction automatically falling to stop) The multiple speed option would allow the mixing of trains with different speed curves. Station stops could be automated by adding an auto stop enable switch to the controls and a threadle type wheel detector to the stop position. The block would then automatically switch to slow mode and display a stop aspect, slowing the train as soon as it enters the station and stopping it precisely at the a wheel sensor. Departure could be controlled manually by turning the auto stop off (resuming normal atc operation depending on the next and next next block) or by a timer automatically doing the same until the station block is clear. (this would create a fully automatic ATO system) In later posts, i will try to design a system that could support all of the above, first with a multiple speed synchronised pwm pulse ATC system, then adding the station ATO features if possible. I'll try to keep the physical format of the components and the connections the same as in the original system.

http://www.railengineer.uk/2016/09/30/atacs-the-japanese-level-3/ *hat tip to dimlys1994 over at SSC forum for this