What is “Hornby LDM56” on Railmaster? 

It stands for “Loco Detection Module”!

This is the information the Gallah has:

The term “loco detection” refers to the following components:

R8306 Railmaster Detection Pack
R8307 LD Module
R8308 LD Track Sensor
R8309 Tag strips

No information on price at this time, as the products have not been released. However, it is thought this will be the cheapest loco detection system on the market.

It is thought that the tag strips are self-adhesive RFID tags which can be attached to locomotives and rolling stock.

The LD track sensor is a black strip similar to the hornby uncoupling ramp which can be retro-fitted to an existing layout. Wires from this unit will have to go through a hole drilled through the baseboard.

The LD module is similar to a points decoder accessory, except it connects to track sensors instead of point motors.

It is thought that Railmaster and eLink will support up to 56 locomotives with tag strips, hence the name LDM56?

You can have up to 96 track sensors on your layout.

The Railmaster loco detection receiver has 24 ports, allowing up to 24 track sensors to be used. Up to three additional R8307 LD modules may be added, giving up to 96 sensors.

Does Railmaster work on Linux? Yes, but the eLink must be connected to a Windows computer, running any version of Windows, back to Windows 98.

Information on all this is in the PDF you get when you install Railmaster.

Can’t wait?

Go to Hornby’s web site and download the evaluation version.

This version can be activated with your activation code included with the CD supplied with the eLink.  In other words, if you have installed the download, you don’t need to install a second time when you get your eLink with the CD. The evaluation version lasts for 90 days,  and you can use it to design layouts etc. If you have Hornby elite or select, you can try it with that.  If you haven’t got a Hornby eLink, select or elite, then Railmaster controller can be set to “None”. You can play about switching points and driving locos which don’t exist. Have fun.