I am JUST starting out researching how to use servo motors to animate things on my train garden. I currently have a ski lift, drawbridge, and an ice fisherman I made using parts and motion from toys. The motors, gears, and pirated parts do a good job. Now I want to use servo motors to do some more elaborate animations. PLEASE don’t laugh at my ignorance. The servo end of things I have already wrapped my head around. All the motion I can do with them is intoxicating. 
Can someone tell me in layman’s terms what’s the cheapest easiest way for a NON computer geek to use a laptop to control multiple servos? Is it possible to do without an external thingee like Arduino? I use a program to control a bunch of moving lights for a band. There is a dongle that converts the USB signal to DMX (a lighting standard protocol). There is NO programming language involved. All control from the GUI is straightforward and easy for a novice to understand. All I want to do is to be able to control multiple servos, with varying speeds of throw and throw start and stop points. As I said, I use a dongle for the lighting. I’ll bet I need something like it for the servos too. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!!!
No - and be careful with that. A USB port can supply at most 500mA, which may be enough to power 2-3 standard servos, but not more.
There are a few:
Lynx Simple Sequencer
Lynx Servo Sequencer
LynxTerm
Perhaps - do you know the output torque of the servo? Multiply that by the gear reduction ratio to know the final torque, then compare that to the torque available from the “high torque servos”.
We have quite a few servo motor controllers which can be connected directly to a computer. It depends on how many servos you want to operate. A popular product is the SSC-32 servo controller - there are a few programs available so you don’t need to code. You control the speed and position of each servo and even create sequences. be sure to purchase a 6V power supply, power cable and (if you need it) USB to RS232 adapter.
An Arduino (or other microcontroller) is used primarily when you don’t want your project permanently connected to a computer - such as for a mobile robot. An Arduino would also allow you to connect sensors and other electronics (for example if you wanted to move a servo based on sensor readings (for example a train passes a certain point and you want to lower and arm).
The SSC-32 sounds like my unit! A few more questions: 1. Doesn’t the unit get power from the computer cable like my DMX dongle? 2. What program/s would you recommend? 3. I have a high torque hobby motor with a reduction gearbox raising and lowering the drawbridge. Are the high torque servos powerful enough to do the same thing? Thank you for the quick response to my question. It really helps a bunch!