Project Blog on Christopher Mitchell, Ph.D.

From January to July 2026, I have continued to work on my UK Class 800-inspired train simulator.

I volunteer at a train, trolley, and subway museum.

I volunteer at a train, trolley, and subway museum, including working on restoration of full-sized rail vehicles and maintaining railway infrastructure.

GSM-R is the latest secure way for UK train drivers to communicate with signallers (dispatchers) and other drivers.

With the center console of my train simulator built, I rapidly modeled and fabricated prototypes of the four other panels.

With the center console of my train simulator built, I rapidly modeled and fabricated prototypes of the four other panels.

After a cardboard prototype of the center console of my Class 80x simulator, I created a functional hardboard version and took it for a spin.

TPWS is a key safety system in UK trains, so my Class 80x cab needed a precisely replicated TPWS control panel.

My cardboard prototype of the central portion of a Class 80x dashboard allowed me to iterate to a laser-cut hardboard prototype.

After sourcing rough measurements of the dashboard of a Class 80x train, I began creating a cardboard prototype, plus associated CAD designs to get the design fabricated.

Graph3CE is a 3D graphing application for the TI-84 Plus CE.

My several iterations over a CAN bus controller for my Train Simulator physical dashboard has made it simple to add new controls.

In my ongoing quest to build a physical cab dashboard to control Train Simulator, an important set of components are the gauges that tell me what’s going on with the train.

Having sporadically built controls and gauges to interface with Train Simulator over the course of a year, in April 2024 I began to figure out how to design the dashboard they would all fit into.

The core of a train simulator setup could be considered its throttle and brake.

The core of a train simulator setup could be considered its throttle and brake.

The core of a train simulator setup could be considered its throttle and brake, the control or controls that make a train go and stop.

As the different pieces of my Train Simulator controller come together, a bite-sized first task of building the physical dashboard is the door controls placed at each side of the cab.

As I add more instruments to my realistic physical dashboard for Train Simulator, I have prioritized a speedometer, one of the most vital tools a driver/engineer uses to safely operate a train.

I’m building a physical cab dashboard to control Train Simulator, replicating the controls present in UK trains such as the Class 80x.

I’m building a physical cab dashboard to control Train Simulator, and to tie it all together as robustly as possible, I am use CAN.

In my ongoing quest to build a physical cab dashboard to control Train Simulator, an important set of components are the gauges that tell me what’s going on with the train.

I’m building a physical cab dashboard to control Train Simulator, from master controller to an AWS sunflower to a speedometer, and everything in between.

Train Simulator has for many years given me an easy, accessible outlet for my love of trains, including operating trains.

In my first post about the Train Simulator Controller project, I introduced the Automated Warning System (AWS) on most of the UK trains that I drive in Train Simulator.

I have long played Train Simulator, and have wanted something a bit more realistic to control the game.

Can AI run on a calculator?

For quite a few years now, I have been an avid Train Simulator player, operating virtual trains from the United States, the UK, and beyond.