The NMRA HUB Division

Signaling Presentations
HUB Modular Railroad Signaling Documentation
HUB Signaling Address & Number Assignments
NORAC Rules
Signal Committee Meeting Notes & BOD Reports
Vendor Links

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Committee Origins & Goals
Discussions on signaling the HUB Modular Railroad began in the spring of 2010. At the 75th NMRA convention that summer, the project started to take root when Dick Johannes, Jeff Gerow and Stan Ames attended a Signal Seminar at the convention. In addition, Dick attended any and every session on signals on model railroads he could find, with the other two members attending many of them alongside him. They returned to Boston energized with the concept that signals could be done on a modular railroad. The problem was how, since signal systems are designed for static layouts. Additional members of the HUB Division joined the effort, which evolved into the HUB Modular Railroad Signal Committee as we know it today.

At present, Erich Whitney is the Chairman, and the committee members are (in alphabetical order) Gerry Covino, Manny Escobar, Jeff Gerow, David "Shack" Haralambou, Mark Harlow and Peter Watson.

The goal of the HUB's Signal Committee was to research, design and build a true modular signaling approach for the HUB's modular railroad. Signaling had previously been done on other modular railroads, but the solutions required a specific set of modules arranged in a specific order. This approach was not adequate for the HUB, due to the variety of layout shapes and sizes that we display at our shows each year. An additional complexity was the fact that the same set of modules are not always displayed together, because the combined total number of modules owned by modular group members is more than can be used in any one show. So our Module Coordinator routinely rotates through the available modules to ensure that all members have an opportunity to show their module(s) at least a couple times a year.

The committee set out to develop a signaling system consisting of both hardware and software components to meet these needs:

• Must be able to shuffle modules in any order at each display setup, and signaling must work with no wiring changes and minimal setup effort.
• Minimal (if any) changes to existing modules if the builder chooses not to add signals.
• The railroad must operate even if the signals don't.
• Minimize cost.

Please email our Signal Committee Chairman for additional HUB signaling information or questions.

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