Patent ID: 7810760

Claim:
A decoder for a model railroad stationary switch machine, comprising: a first connector connecting to a stationary switch machine; a second connector connecting to a track section and making electrical contact with a trigger rail of the track section, the trigger rail comprising a short section of rail that has a gap on each end from an adjacent rail such that the trigger rail is completely electrically isolated from power to a track layout; and a microcontroller that is connected to said first and second connectors and monitors a presence or absence of voltage at the trigger rail, wherein said presence of voltage at the trigger rail is caused by a wheel of a train bridging a said gap, and the microcontroller receives to a signal via the first connector representing a current switch position of the stationary switch machine to generate control signals to the stationary switch machine via said first connector to move track points controlled by the stationary switch machine to correctly align with the train based on the presence of voltage received through the second connector and the current switch position of the stationary switch machine.