TMOTW-MWOT is a non-profit IRS 501(c)(3) corporation whose goals are to entertain and educate the general public and to develope this facility for the display and operation of transportation systems in miniature using a state of the art model railroad infrastructure spanning significant portions of the United States.

Also, TMOTW-MWOT will have a large indoor and outdoor Transportation and toy train history museum.

The model railroad (Miniature World of Trains (MWOT) portion of the facility will be run on a schedule just like the real railroads. All computerized functions of the railroads and highways, including day and night operations, will run the entire operation. Including lighting effects to simulate day and night scenes, including a thunder storm will be shown in the miniature world. Also, lighting effects in the miniature buildings  will add realism to MWOT.

There will also be the opportunity for all ages to learn about Transportation systems, green technologies, energy and computers used within the TMOTW-MWOT.

TMOTW-MWOT will also offer "how to" classes in conjunction with the model railroad industry's World's Great Hobby program and major manufacturers from around the world.

TMOTW-MWOT will educate children and their parents on issues of personal safety when it involves Transportation, computers and energy related issues. TMOTW-MWOT will focus on keeping children safe on the Internet and teach railroad safety to children, teens and adults via Operation Lifesaver. Other programs pertaining to railroad and highway safety, disaster, high alert and hazardous materials training and equipment requirements of first responders and demonstrate the use of this equipment in miniature.

TMOTW-MWOT is creating a curriculum for the local schools in conjunction with the Greenville County School District and A.J. Whittenberg School Of Engineering. TMOTW-MWOT will be working with Greenville Tech, Children’s Museum Of The Upstate and the Roper Mountain Science Center to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

The primary educational goal is to engage and excite children and young adults about the qualities, capabilities and functions of railroads, city and town infrastructures in the modern world.

Visitors to TMOTW-MWOT will be able to see this realistic and prototypical model railroad operate through dense urban as well as sparse rural landscapes. The purpose of modern railroads, to move heavy freight quickly, efficiently and safely over long distances  from factory to your home will be highlighted. This of course has great entertainment value but it also has a not-so-obvious technical educational value.

When the physical operating Miniature World of Trains model railroad is functioning, there will be facilities built in not only to operate the trains and surrounding devices automatically, but also to allow the public to control some of the running trains. A mock-up of a locomotive’s operating cab will provide the guest operator with a realistic interaction with the controls to provide a virtual reality setting for the operator. The guest operator will, through the use of onboard cameras, be able to see the passing scenery from the vantage point of the train’s Engineer. This will not be a video game – this will be actual remote control of the train resulting in actual viewing of the results of the operator’s actions.

The critical educational opportunity will be the next step. The mock-up of the locomotive cab will be portable. It will be capable of being delivered to a school classroom. Control of the train will be projected over the internet from the classroom to the TMOTW-MWOT facility. Similarly and simultaneously the visual field provided by the onboard camera(s) will be carried over the internet back to the classroom. Potentially this process can be carried out anywhere where the mock-up can be delivered and the internet is available, world wide!

Aside from the sheer fun of doing this, the student(s) will be shown not only what the railroads today do, but also the underlying technology that allows remote control of the model and remote viewing of the results. This remote control comprises a fairly complex set of technologies but the result is immediately clear to the student. Almost every student has some knowledge of trains. The concept of a train is easy to accept at any level of development. The concept of remote control is obviously more complex but there are many examples in our world today.

Coupling the train concept with the remote control concept allows the student to accept the technology on a familiar level. Again, this is not a video game where the moving parts are all bits and bytes and images. MWOT enables a set of real moving objects to be controlled by a guest at a remote location. Our space program (NASA) is a marvelous example of highly sophisticated technology and remote control, but the underlying technology is complex, there are many dangers, and we don’t let very young students participate in the control process.

With TMOTW-MWOT the student will first have the ability to operate a real device remotely and then have the opportunity to learn about the technologies that support the remote control. The mechanical train models at MWOT, their control system at TMOTW-MWOT, the portable video cameras, radio links of video, network servers and other components, computer interfaces, video displays, the locomotive cab simulator, and human user interfaces – all are interesting topics to explore and all are at the heart of today’s advanced technologies.

Clearly, the level of comprehension of the technologies involved is a function of the education and experience level of the students, but there is something to be learned for all students. The “gee-whiz” factor is great. We need to allow our students to be exposed to some “awesome” technologies in order to peak their interest. Hopefully some of the students will be challenged by the technologies and choose to pursue them in their higher education and vocational choices. Some may even choose to pursue a career in one of the many railroad industries. Modern railroads are not the dirty, dangerous and simple technologies of the past. They are technologically advanced infrastructures that require employees who can function in a fast-paced high tech environment.

We need to improve the level of education of our students for tomorrow’s workforce. We know that the economic development of the Upstate and the Carolinas can be limited by the educational level of the locally available workforce. Anything that we can do to peak students’ interests early in their development can encourage them to pursue technological careers that improve their own job opportunities and enhance the economic engine of the Greenville area.

Mike Jensen - IT/DCC Director