Train Simulator Controller

For over three years, I have been building a physical train simulator in my apartment, modeled on the UK Class 80x (Class 800/801/802/805/810) passenger train. I’ve been trying to replicate the instruments and controls in the real cab as closely as possible, in many cases managing to acquire real components, and in others building my own replicas. I’ve gone down rabbit holes of design, from a custom CAN bus transceiver board and a variety of daughterboards to tie the simulator together, to the actual panels on which all of the constrols and instruments are mounted. I usually wait until I complete a component or step before I write a blog post, but over the last half-year, I’ve instead made forward progress on several different aspects of the project. Therefore, this blog post is a status update on these many aspects, each of which will hopefully earn its own dedicated blog post when it is completed. Headlights One of the more complex panels on the Class 800 dashboard that doesn’t use an existing instrument or control is the headlight control panel. The real trains have a six-position knob that controls what the head lights (and tail lights) display, a push-on, push-off button to set flashing hazard lights, and a set of LEDs on a diagram of the front of the train that show how the headlights are currently configured. I decided to make my own PCB holding white and red surface-mount LEDs that also acts as a daughterboard for one of the CAN bus transceivers, and breaks out terminals for connecting the selector switch and hazard button. For the PCB, I tested out three options each for the white and the red LEDs, trying to find versions that would have visually similar brightness (and not be too bright). I went through two iterations of the PCB before I landed on the right size, layout, and dimensions, and I also used my current PCB manufacturer of choice, JLC, to make frosted white diffusers for the LEDs connected into one spidery web. Unexpectedly, the hardest part was finding the right selector switch: I knew the manufacturer and even the part number for what I need, but the only way to get it new is to spend hundreds of dollars buying multiples. Therefore, after a few incorrect guesses at eBay listings, I collected all the right parts to cobble together my own six-position selector switch that I believe is exactly what the prototype uses. Of course, I also tested it out with Train Simulator and Train Sim World, although still slightly stymied by Train Sim World not exposing the current output state of LEDs and indicators on trains’ dashboards. In the eventual dedicated blog post about this panel, I’ll show the PCB iterations, the diffuser, and how the final version works with Train Simulator. Headlight control panel on a Class 800 EMU Selecting the best LEDs to use for the headlight position preview Performing an integration test of the (bright) LEDs in a hardboard version of their panel Sheet Metal Panels and Labels Last November, I posted about a hardboard prototype of the center panel of my train simulator, then at the end of December, the full four-section setup that replicates the driver’s controls in a Class 80x EMU. The hardboard version, especially when mounted on the custom table I built, has validated the dashboard concept, but is too fragile to be used long-term. In addition, it doe