If your layout is small, one control panel may be all you need. Nov 17, 2014 model railroader is the worlds largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. Jan 20, 2012 model railroader is the worlds largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. That is the facia has the track diagram running along the front for the entire layout with the turnout controls placed as appropriate. It runs on windows, mac and linux, simulation of trains. Layout editor panels may also be used to set up automatic running of trains on your. Visit evan designs to buy your diorama and model train software today.
Model train software find modeling software for model. Rocrail is free software for controlling model trains for linux, apple macos. Model railroad control panel building your model railroad. Switchboard editor is a graphic, straightforward control interface, showing a range of switch keys to watch and control items. Another section discusses how to construct a model railroad control panel with led lights that denote turnout control and position. Because of its broad range of features traincontroller is perfectly suited for beginners and professional model railroaders. Traincontroller is characterized by particularly simple and effective use as well as secure operation. The jmri project is building tools for model railroad computer control.
I will show you how i build control panels on the albuquerque carnuel and tijeras rr. Mrcs is your home for open source electronics for model railroad operations. Locofi wifi model train control wifi sound decoders. The only control panel style that i have seen other then the traditional methods is to have the panel embedded directly into the facia. Jmri is intended as a jumpingoff point for hobbyists who want to control their layouts with a computer. Its also entirely independent, so you can build with almost any track.
I am about to start on my control panel and was just wondering what others have achieved in this area. System application is another tool for creating modernstyle control panels. Just download the setup package, install it and start editing your first track plan. This is another type of model railroad software that you will almost certainly find useful for your train layout not so much for planning purposes, but more for creation of signs, decals, old classic advertisements for your buildings or billboards, simulation of brick or stone walls, stained glass, window treatments, wallpaper, etc. Tips to designing a model railway control panel model. Control panel design and materials model railroad hobbyist. Our interactive control panel puts you in charge at a centralized traffic. Currently the layout is setup with 34 switches and will require 2 atmegas to control those with capabilities to go to 44 or so. You can manage your locomotive rosters and easily program your decoders.
Control panel lighting the following figure depicts a model railroad control panel whereupon red and green leds are used to show model train turnout position. No boosters, command stations, additional wiring, computers, proprietary throttles or any cv programming required. Dec 8, 2015 model railroadcontrol panel images tys model railroad. With scarm you can easily create the layout of your dreams. Control panels can have a great impact on the overall success of any model railroad. Powerful software features the key to userfriendly computer control.
Model railroad computer control with traincontroller. Their locations can determine where people will tend to congregate and how well traffic will move throughout the layout room. Simply as a dispatcher panel for manually operating an analog or digital train. Well designed control panels will ultimately improve the operators experiences, while poor ones will increase their frustrations. All this using existing infrastructure found in every home or club setting.
It presents the layout as a computer screen panel inspired by digicon. Adding new components is easy with the builtin editor. The three most popular model railroad control software products today are. Finally, the system includes all the components to be used across the entire spectrum from single turnout layout to large computercontrolled systems. You can dispatch trains, configure routes, and assign blocks, all with a single click of the mouse.
Dec 11, 2017 how to make a model railroad control panel from acrylic sheet and a printed track diagram. How to build a model railroad control panel youtube. One of the easier model railroad software programs to master that doesnt cost much its free, is the track planning software available for download from the website as freeware and works fairly well for simple layout designs. Dec 02, 2014 if your layout is small, one control panel may be all you need. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Enjoy designing your layout anyrail ensures everything fits. Walthers layout control system railroad model craftsman. The control panel editor works like panel editor but provides an alternative interface.
The layout editor builds a layout which is a logical description of your entire layout. Cats computer automated traffic system is an integrated suite of open source programs that provide signal logic and operations support on a model railroad. On a layout multiple instances of these user interfaces can be. Model railroad manager endorses the use of and contributes to the jmri open software initiative. Tangled wires and overcrowded control panels are a thing of the past. The next generation of model railroad computer control the cti system is a new approach to model railroading that makes controlling your layout fast, easy, and most of all, fun. The panel editor lets you graphically draw a panel exactly the way you want it, and then animate parts of it to show the status of your layout and let you click to control it. This page introduces the application, and how to use it. You only have a single layout, otherwise it is not possible for the software to. Mrrm and jmri software dominate my layout operation. Acrylic sheet available at your local hardware store or home. If you layout is large, you will want to build a control panel for each townarea of the railroad.
Panelpro, an application for making control panels jmri. Xtrackcad is a great, free tool for designing your layout, developed by a group of model railroaders. With traincontroller, we offer worldclass software for model railroad computer control. Nov 18, 2019 secondly, it includes a microcontroller for control and to manage a wide variety of input controls. Jmri is intended as a jumpingoff point for hobbyists to build their own layout controls. Xtrackcad is a cad program for designing model railroad layouts. Control panel designs model railway control panels custom. With the help of these tips from allen keller, you will be equipped with the knowledge to create your very own.
We offer open source hardware and software to help you operate your railroad as prototypically as you like. You dont want the panel to be so small that every thing is pushed together and you cant understand it, nor do you. Add great detail to your diorama or model train layout with affordable modeling software from evan designs. For more information, see the control panel editor help page. The following is a block diagram of the layout control showing what is in now solid lines and what is proposed dashed lines.
Anyrail the easiest model railroad design software. Physical control panel mounted on layout with optional mounting bracket. Track diagram software model railroader magazine model. If your control board is angled or vertical in orientation, you may have to set up the transformer on a small shelf separate from. The pacific southern model railway psry has over 600 feet of mainline on a two and a half time around basement layout. How to make control panels and diagrams for scarm track plans. Model railroader is the worlds largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. Even the creation of track images for very large layouts is done with the builtin pen function in almost no time. Control software cti model railroad computer control. Radio control modelers have used servos for years to control aircraft, vehicles and boats. Hobby enthusiasts use our custom made physical control panels, an ipad app, or both, to control the turnouts, track power and uncouplers on their layout. Scarm the leading design software for model railroad layouts. These notes attempt to describe custom hardware and software designed and built by geoff green and other members of the psry used to control the railroad. The crandic automated traffic system cats is a jmribased application by rodney black for controlling and operating a model railroad.
Scarm means simple computer aided railway modeller software for easy and precise design of model train layouts and railroad track plans. Cats uses jmri for accessing the layout hardware and provides the logic for tying the hardware pieces together. Anyrail makes model railroad design so easy, its fun. Ctis powerful, userfriendly software makes it easy to control every aspect of your model railroad from your pc. Using the planning software can provide you with the fun of at least. With cti, you can interface your entire model railroad to any windows compatible computer. Model railroad software building your model railroad. We want it to be usable to as many people as possible, so were building it in java to run anywhere, and were trying to make it independent of specific hardware systems. The layout is ho gauge and will be the old dc, cab control system. Our cpnode system is an updated, completely open, layout control system based on the popular and proven cmri system introduced by dr. Layout command control lcc is a peertopeer computing device to any other computing device on the network system for controlling all of the functions on your layout unrelated to how fast the locomotive is moving things like signals, turnout control, or layout lighting. Here is an up close view of model railroad manager mrrm.
We offer easytouse software for designing paper model buildings, printing custom signs, creating window designs and more, all compatible with windows 7, 8 and 10. Mrrm interfaces to jmri include realtime commanding of turnouts and signals, realtime feedback of turnouts, signals, sensors, and digitrax transponders, loco and roster xml file exchanges with decoder pro, generation of jmri automation scripts. The jmri libraries contain the panelpro application for creating panels to control or follow your virtual model railroad. Review the technology used to build the keystone division. Using arduinos for total layout control operation model. Control panel designs model railway control panels. Train brain the first fully integrated computerized model railroad control system. Java applications to control a model railroad layout. With the help of these tips from allen keller, you will be equipped with the knowledge to create your very own model railway control panel. Libraries for many brands, scales and gauges of track and turnoutspoints and model structures are included. We design and manufacture control panels for the model railway hobby. It is an easy and straightforward alternative to using a ctc board.
You can build control panels and control your layout using panelpro to set up signaling. Mar 15, 2018 download jmri model railroad interface for free. A model railroad control panel is a central place where all or most of the electrical control of your layout occurs. Anyrail is probably the easiesttouse model railway design tool around. My layout is large, and i have 11 control panels around the layout. Run your trains on dc or dcc track power or even battery. This panel will usually include your main transformers, or controls to your transformers, for turning the power to your layout on or off. How to build a control panel for your model railroad model. This is an extremely basic model railway control panel, but it still allows your railroad to operate seamlessly.