Modernizing a Landmark Model Railway Exhibit

Project Overview
The Chemins de Fer du Kaeserberg museum near Fribourg showcases one of Switzerland’s most extensive model railway installations. Built at a scale of 1:87, it includes several kilometers of track, 300 locomotives, and over 1,600 wagons—delighting more than 200’000 visitors since opening. Over time, however, the museum’s MS-DOS-based control software became increasingly difficult to maintain, prompting the need for a modern replacement.

Challenges
The museum’s model railway operates using analog electrical systems for powering and controlling the trains. This has been the long-standing setup at Chemins de Fer du Kaeserberg, and previous analysis intended to keep this established infrastructure intact. Therefore, the core challenge was to rewrite the train supervision software, without altering the physical wiring or hardware of the model railway.

Our Approach
In partnership with the Haute École d’Ingénierie et d’Architecture de Fribourg, we developed a flexible and resilient solution:

1. Rust-Based Server

   • Oversees train tracking, scheduling, and coordination tasks with a strong focus on efficiency and reliability.

2. C++ Edge Devices

   • Control the analog rails through PWM signals, regulating voltage to start, stop, or vary train speed as needed.

3. VueJS Frontend

   • Simplifies daily operations by providing staff with a user-friendly, web-based management interface.

4. Kubernetes Deployment

   • Hosts the server application, a sharded Redis database, and an MQTT broker, ensuring high availability and system redundancy.

Results

• Streamlined Maintenance: Transitioning away from MS-DOS reduces risk and simplifies system upkeep, allowing museum staff to focus on the visitor experience.
• Preserved Infrastructure: The original analog wiring remains unaltered, eliminating the need for costly hardware overhauls.
• Scalability: Modular components let the museum easily add new tracks or incorporate fresh features, confident that the control layer can be extended.
• User-Friendly Interface: Staff now have an updated, intuitive way to monitor and adjust train operations in real time.

Looking Ahead
With modern software under the hood, the Chemins de Fer du Kaeserberg can continue delighting model railway enthusiasts while maintaining the analog foundation they’ve cultivated over the years. This upgrade highlights how thoughtful collaboration and strategic engineering can enhance an existing setup — without losing any of its unique character.

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