Control of the Model Railroad
The modern way of controlling trains, signals and switches is digital by DCC or mfx.
The model railway's more than 100-year history has gone through several technology shifts. In the beginning it was most thought of as a toy where the locomotive had a built-in steel spring that was turned up and then propelled the locomotive forward. In the 1930s, the Model Railway became electric and operated with alternating AC or direct current DC.

In the late 1980s, the digital revolution started and then Motorola (MM) was created the model for Model Railway. The Motorola standard had limitations in terms of the number of locomotives and turnouts that it could control. During the 1990s, the DCC standard had it´s break through, which was subsequently developed in several steps up to the standard we have today. The European manufacturer Märklin also developed a variant of the DCC standard they call mfx. With mfx, all locomotives, signals and accessories automatically assign an address. They also automatically send information to the controller what functions they can perform and these are logically displayed in the controller as various function symbols. The mfx standard has also been further developed into what is today called mfx +. With mfx +, the locomotive can be run in the control unit in the same way as the real locomotive's control, and that fuel and sand need to be constantly replenished just like in reality. In addition to the control unit for DCC or mfx, you can also add a train traffic control software. This can arrange and coordinate traffic on the Model Railroad, so that turnouts, signals, railway crossings and lighting in houses follow the daily and traffic rhythm. An example of such a program is RocRail. With RocRail you can also run the trains using a Smartphone or other wireless controls.

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