Trains
Locomotives, model railroading, and the engineering that makes it all work. Some interests don't need justification.
What I'm Building
RailMind
iPad-first 2D track planner with an AI proposal engine. N scale, Kato Unitrack. The AI understands signaling, accessory decoders, route logic, and DCC terminology.
RailThrottle
WiThrottle iOS client for controlling locomotives directly from your phone. Connects to JMRI over Wi-Fi for real DCC throttle control.
Conductor LoRA
Custom-trained language model adapter focused on model railroad operations. Understands signal aspects, block detection, turnout control, and layout planning.
JMRI MCP Server
Model Context Protocol server bridging AI agents to JMRI. Natural language control of locomotives, turnouts, sensors, and block detection.
The Hobby
N Scale
Kato Unitrack. Compact, detailed, and endlessly configurable.
DCC
Digital Command Control. Sound decoders, consisting, and programming on the main.
Signaling
Block detection, signal aspects, and automated route logic via JMRI.
Operations
Car cards, switch lists, and realistic freight operations.
Layout Design
Track planning, grades, curves, and making the most of limited space.
Why trains?
Model railroading sits at the intersection of everything I care about: systems design, spatial planning, real-time control, and building physical things that actually work. It's the same engineering mindset I bring to software—just with locomotives instead of microservices.
I run N scale on a compact layout with DCC, JMRI-based automation, and AI-assisted operations. The same Mac Mini that runs my homelab also runs my railroad.