Bruno "Fuddl" Kleinert

Email: <<fuddl AT debian DOT org>>

I use Debian stable and unstable on my desktop PCs, laptops, servers and Raspberries for home automation. I'm also using Debian to control my model railway, a hobby I revived in 2023.

Howto Model Railway with Debian

Layout Planning

Install XTrackCAD (as root): 

apt install xtrkcad

Its user interface may look and feel slightly aged but the program does the job.

Run Trains Automatically and Manually

RailControl is the package that allows you define routes and feedbacks and it will control your locomotives, switches and signals. Have a look at the package description of railcontrol to check if your digital command station is supported! I use RailControl with a märklin CS3 Plus and can tell that works fine.

Debian 13 Trixie

Install RailControl (as root): 

apt install railcontrol

Prepare a configuration file for RailControl in your home directory: 

cp /usr/share/doc/railcontrol/railcontrol.conf.dist ~/railcontrol.conf

The default configuration file is good enough to go.

Start railcontrol from a shell (as root): 

railcontrol --config=railcontrol.conf

IMPORTANT: Now, railcontrol listens on all network interfaces, i.e., anyone in the same network can fully control - and break! - your layout.

Open a web browser either on the same computer and navigate it to http://localhost:8083 or use another computer in the same network and navigate the browser to http://HOST:8083. HOST is either the IP address or a resolvable hostname of the computer that runs railcontrol.

If you intend to keep railcontrol permanently running, say, because you have a server at home, follow the instructions in /usr/share/doc/railcontrol/README.Debian.

Debian post trixie

Install RailControl (as root): 

apt install railcontrol

Edit as root /etc/railcontrol.conf or leave it as is. Run railcontrol as soon as the computer boots in the background (as root): 

systemctl enable --now railcontrol.service

IMPORTANT: Now, railcontrol listens on all network interfaces, i.e., anyone in the same network can fully control - and break! - your layout.

Open a web browser either on the same computer and navigate it to http://localhost:8083 or use another computer in the same network and navigate the browser to http://HOST:8083. HOST is either the IP address or a resolvable hostname of the computer that runs railcontrol.

Once, railcontrol is running, read the short but helpful upstream documentation.

Have fun!

Known to work really well

Just as a reference, that's the hardware I use to run fully automatically a IIm layout:

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