I have a couple questions for hobbyist out there who have built and use CTC machines with their layout.  Our club is in the process of designing a signaling system and would like to have a dispatcher operated CTC machine. My question is how to build the signaling system so it works with the CTC machine during operations, but also works "automatically" when there is no dispatcher?  I understand it will have to be some form of APB signaling, but how is routing accomplished and controlled by the signals with no dispatcher?  

The OpSig has posted a You Tube video of the clinic I gave 6/13/2021 on the OpSig Virtual Meetup.  The subject was "Building a Consist - Locomotive Management" and discussed how a prototype road manages its locomotive fleet and the general steps for processing locomotives through a terminal, from arrival to building an outbound consist, with suggestions on modeling those practices.

Enjoy.

Will answer any questions if you have them.

I have the "Life Like HO Operating Gravel Unloader #8204" and would like to know the best way to incorporate it into my layout.

I can picture delivering gravel from a quarry to this unloader, but what then? What is the "prototypical" way to then take that raw gravel and get it to a processing plant/cement plant, etc.

Thanks,

Grampy