Rocrail & Rocview configuration

For those who have followed the previous articles, you must have read that I want to do a digital network to be able to control it via a computer, a phone or a tablet.

The interest is to have an interface as user friendly as possible and especially to overcome the limitations of a central (in my case to the ecos ESU).

Eventually, my network must be fully automated or not. Either the computer controls the trains following a schedule table, or there is no assurance that network security by avoiding collisions … But we’re not there yet!

To control the train via a computer, there are several software solutions. I am only interested in solutions free and open and running on Linux. Therefore the choice is simple, the software Rocrail !

Rocrail consists of two programs : an application server and a client application.

The server application is the part that will be linked to the network via the control panel. It interprets the signals sent and received from the plant.

The client application is the GUI. You can have multiple clients for a server. We note immediately the interest of this architecture, I have a client on a client PC and phone, or both at the same time!

Rocrail is documented through a wiki available in multiple languages.

You can download Rocrail here.

I’m using at the moment the 2404 revision. Choose the file appropriate for your platform and operating system. (The higher the revision number, the greater your version is newer).

The installation is specific to your environment, I will not spend time on it. On Linux, just install the package.

Before starting Rocrail, we will configure the network interface of our central (if not already).

We can then start the game server “rocraild”.

Next run the client “rocview” (which is already configured in my case) :

On my diagram, you can see the tracks, curves and knockers, needles ; contacts overhead lights (small round), Townships (rectangles).

You’ll notice that my train parked into “platform 2 ‘(the contacts are activated). This is consistent with what gives the ecos :

We’ll see how to configure Rocrail. For the server side, there is nothing to do, everything is done via the client.

First, I define the interface in French :

In the “File” menu, we will configure the properties of “Rocrail” :

then, the properties of “rocview” :

In the following sections, we will :
– How to declare a new locomotive / train
– How to report a needle
– How to report the contact points (reverse signaling)
– How to declare blocks and districts

And of course we will try to explain the meaning of each parameter seen here.