Converting the layout to DCC

Operating the layout is one of my favorite activities.  Since the mainline was completed, construction activities, as such, have slowed down immensely.  When I built this layout, I knew that sound was required.  Therefore, I designed the layout to be operated by five operators using Pacific Fast Mail (PFM) Sound, and PFM-compatible systems.  The layout, of course, used cab control with common rail wiring.

As time moved on, and technology progressed, Digital Command Control (DCC) was developed.  A friend of mine, Stan Knotts, was a relatively early adopter of DCC, and installed the Digitrax system on his HO layout.  The simplified operation of the layout was very attractive, and I began to look at the possibility of converting the layout to DCC.  After a particularly vexing operating session on my HOn3 layout, where the operators were often crossing block boundaries with their trains, I decided to convert my layout to DCC.
Ah, but now the questions arise!  How much wiring had to be changed?  What system should I use?  How do I go about the actual conversion?  I decided to write an article that detailed the answers to these questions as solved on my layout.  I have posted it on this blog.  Click on this link DCC for the Denver & Rio Grande Western in HOn3 to read the article.  You may also access the article via the same link at the top of the page.  I hope that you find the information in it helpful to you as you consider converting your layout to DCC.  I can assure you, it will be worth the effort!