Raising the Bridge...Automation with Arduino: Pin Count

"...Did I size this correctly?..."

If not,  "You're going to need a bigger bridge..." 

So I take it that no the bridge lowers briefly whilst the turnaround takes place then opens again once the turnaround is complete and the boat is ready to set sail ?

How are you doing the logic with single switches either side ? Are you keeping track of the boat direction, toggling based on the current state of the limit switches, or just toggling raise/lower each time you hit a switch and hope you don't ever get out of sync ?

Do you need to control the points motor so that the boat departs on the other track than it arrives on or does that rely on the railroad team ? I assume it is basically a loop track with a turnaround siding. Likewise, do you need to control the turnaround ?

Does the LED signage need triggering when the bridge is closed to traffic ?

Perhaps trigger some sea shanties whilst on the turnaround 

 "...You will have a fishy on a little dishy; you will have a fishy when the boat comes in..." 

What's that ? I'm banned from the model railroad club for life ? 

Your way to engaged BD! I have to find a way to discourage this participation:)

I met with railroaders today to go over the operation. There are a number of mechanical/electronic functions never been tested before in order for this to work. I don't do layout or mechanical, that is all on the shoulders of the modellers. We have decided on division of labour and the testing milestones that need to be reached if a full production model is to be realized.

The ramp is a mechanical marvel. It has simulated lifting pistons that will be controlled by a servo. I'm excited to see what it works like under servo control. It is going to the point booth this week so maybe next week I can drive the servo.

My starting point is a main distribution frame MDF. That is a 20"X20" piece of board with infrastructure like power and wire routing harnesses ready for modules. I make the MDF's as I need them. Once installed its onto the modules and the connections from that point on. I hook up electronics and test. I need servo here and someone else takes care of it.

My time is occupied over the next two days so I can only think about the project and not do stuff. I have been working on pulling together the code body parts.

OK, so when do we start with the ideas for the 'crazy' automation element of the challenge ?  

I figured you already introduced the crazy? To me any project that assumes to automate something already done manually, big or small involves some amount of crazy.

I figured you already introduced the crazy? To me any project that assumes to automate something already done manually, big or small involves some amount of crazy.

When you are finished with the bascule bridge, then how about doing a 'Falkirk Wheel' type lifting engine but for a railway engine instead of a canal barge ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Falkirk_Wheel_Timelapse,_Scotland_-_Diliff.webm

You can then have a nice little algorithm in the background to continually shunt rolling stock from sidings on one level, to a siding on the main level before it goes around the main line; whilst another train comes off the main line into the siding to change level.

If you want crazy, then I guess you could keep it as a canal feature, but I'm not sure working with water is such a good idea... 

I watched a science show on the operations of the wheel. Engineering at its peak.

Water is a no-no around our setup. That have to accept beer or they would have to exclude me.

Hydraulic bascule then... pour beer into the counterweight ballast tank to raise the bridge and then drain it into your glass to lower the bridge....

You could have a submarine periscope that pops up out of the water and does a scan of the room. You could perhaps stick a small camera in it and get it to take a few images. Throw in a bit of face detection and have the cropped image displayed on a billboard as a 'have you seen this person?' type poster.