Hi

So about a year ago I dug out my old m-tracks with the old digital system and set it up at my parents while I was housesitting. I started looking into it and figured I could buy a new starter set and a few extensions with mfx and c track to fiddle around with on rainy day at my place (I don't have room for a permanent layout).

Needless to say, I got a bit carried away and long story short, I now have around 20 turnouts with 4 mfx locos. And to top it of I also got the CS3+ since controlling the turnouts with the mobile station got a bit clumsy. And I'm the first to admit that the CS3+ was abit overkill but what done is done.

Now, since I now have the CS3+, I figured I might look into doing some automation. Instead of buying what I think I need first and then learn that I should have done differently I thought I'd ask here first.

I've added a very simplified layout but it illustrates what I want to achieve. I have two loops, one double tracked where the tracks are one way, and one loop where trains can go in both directions. And its the single track loop I'm looking into at this point.

If a trains enter block A and there is no train on block B then it should pass on track 1 without anything else happening.
However if a train enters Block A and there's already a train on block B then one of them should go into track 2 and wait until the other train has passed on track 1.
I know that this has a few flaws, what happens if the oncoming train is already on the same block when a new train enters? In the beginning this is acceptable for me.


Ideally some sort of mfx train detection to control the individual trains would be the best option but from what I've read Märklin are not allowed to create that functionality.
So what I'm thinking is that I have to get a S88 with a mix of circuit and contact tracks to trigger events and detect trains and signals to stop the trains on track 1 or 2.

My question to you who have actual experience with this, am I on to something here? Are there other options I should look into?
Learning from experience is always best but for a change I thought I'd not jump into it and buy the S88, 4 mfx signals and the circuit/contact tracks only to figure out that there was a better way. :)