I was bought a Raspberry Pi Pico advent calendar for in December2023 and that was a good first, introduction to Micro comtrollers. I have then used the Pico and the Liquid Crystal display from the Advent Calendar ,with relays and reed switches (sourced from others) to automate one track on my model railway. The Pico randomly selects the route the model train takes and randomly stops the train at various stations. I have now purchased a second Pico and LCD display (from the Pi Hut) to automate a second track. The second LCD I purchased from ther Pi Hut was from a different manufacturer than the one supplied with the advent calender and it took me a little while to realise the different software and commands required to control the second LCD ( I2C) device. I still have some optimisation to do on the first model railway track and will then automate a second track. I use the LCD to show the various steps the Pico is running as it helps me understand what the Pico program is doing allowing me to debug my program. I did take me a while to start to understand Micro Python and Thonny; but I am pleasantly suprised in what I , a retired person, can achieve in 3 months. Why did I buy from the Pi Hut; the price seemed competative with others and they did deliver on time