Train Simulation System for Wayside Equipment Testing

Our design offers CP Rail to test rail wayside equipment in a lab environment rather than on live freight rail. Currently, in order to conduct wayside testing, the equipment would be needed to connect directly to rail which would require workers to shut down rail sites and prepare testing procedures. This process can be time-consuming and expensive. By transferring the electrical properties of freight rail and train movement onto a PCB, CP Rail can eliminate these problems and allow for testing at any time within a lab environment.

We were able to effectively simulate both rail and a moving train onto a significantly smaller system. By implementing rail onto a PCB, we were able to convert 500 feet of rail to under 1 square foot of PCB. Additionally, train movement was implemented with Arduino microcontrollers. These microcontrollers allow for adjustable capabilities such as train speed, movement, direction, etc. 

Our design is modular, expandable, and easy to use. With each PCB representing 500 feet of rail, expandability is achieved by adding more PCBs in series. The user interface we implemented accounts for variable adjustments, allowing the user to set the simulation to their desired conditions in a straightforward manner. This innovative design meets all the deliverables required to simulate freight rail in a lab environment.

There are three major aspects that make our design solution effective: modularity, expandability, and ease of use.

Modularity

To assemble our design, PCB segments, representing 500 feet of rail, are attached in series with a master Arduino being at the start/end of the loop. PCB segments are not addressed to a single location on the track. This means that segments can be swapped and replaced easily.

Adjustable ballast resistance (resistance between rail) was a requirement that our design achieved. To meet this deliverable, 50-foot segments would route to connectors located on our boards. These connectors would attach to a predesigned resistor board (10 resistors each routing to a 50-foot segment). To adjust the ballast resistance, users can simply replace the resistors on the board with their desired ballast resistance. The resistor board then has plug-and-play functionality.

Expandability

One of our major deliverables was to prove that our design was expandable for up to 8 miles. This is easily achieved by combining as many desired PCBs in series (85 PCBs for 8 miles). The Arduino is also designed to locate all PCBs and their position making train movement/shunting effective the whole way through.

Ease of Use

To make our project user-friendly, our team implemented a user interface with the master Arduino. It utilizes a 20*4 LCD screen and 4 buttons to navigate the interface. Users can adjust train speed, length, and direction (east or west). The train can also loop through the track with a variable time setting between loops. PCBs are also designed to connect in series with a short connector. Inputs and outputs are designed for all pins to line up from board to board allowing for quick and easy connections.

Hardware Validation

The final validation tests that we decided on for the PCB included testing impedance and inductance values, confirming voltages at various points during powered operation, and ensuring that the board performed as expected by CP Rail’s ElectroLogIXS equipment. Additionally, since our design is modular, we had to ensure that we measured expected values across multiple boards when connected together.

Software Validation

Software validation tests included timing train shunting, communications testing, and user input edge case testing. We first perform all tests on a breadboard to prove the functionality of our design and then finally validate by testing on the PCB. To test modularity and expandability, we had to ensure all tests apply across multiple connected Arduinos.

We designed our system to be modular, expandable, and easy to use so that the people at CP Rail can benefit from our system as much as possible. Here is a list of features we implemented to meet this requirement:

• Physical hardware is small and compact making it portable and expandable. 
• Test connectors provide node access every 50 feet for a high variety of testing locations. 
• Input and output connectors are set for easy plug-and-play operation. 

• The user interface is easy-to-follow, and it accommodates for human error.
• Simulation code is scalable, allowing the possibility to incorporate more functionality if needed.