Finally, after two years of RailControl Pro, version two is out with support for Central Station 2. But that’s not all. Also for CS3 users, there are new features to enjoy in version 2.

Admittedly, it took a bit longer than I hoped for. I bought my CS2 all the way back in spring with a single goal: to bring support for it to RailControl Pro.

To do so, I had to rewrite the communication logic to talk to Märklin CAN, instead of the CS3 websocket. For those unaware of how Märklin CAN-bus works, let’s say that it’s not a walk in the park, and implementing it involves navigating through numerous edge cases. Oftentimes not documented. Furthermore, certain features available for CS3 users, such as shutting down Central Station or viewing details about connected devices, remain inaccessible for CS2 users. Despite these challenges, I’m very pleased with the result.

What’s New?

For CS2 users, everything old is new: locs, articles, and even track diagrams can now be controlled from RailControl Pro.

But also for CS3 users, there are some nice new things in version 2:

Starting Events

A feature absent from RailControl Pro for much longer than it should have been. Finally, it’s possible to start events from RailControl Pro, and not just observe their status.

Turntables

Another long-missing and often asked-for feature. Turntables are now supported as well, with an optimized layout for mfx turntables on CS3.

Overall Improved Reliability

The status of articles and locs should now always be up-to-date with your Central Station. This wasn’t always the case in the past, especially for articles with more than two states, such as some signals.

What’s Next?

In my previous post, I laid out a roadmap for the rest of 2023. Obviously, this first update arrived with a bit of a delay (we’re in the train business after all). Let’s see how the rest comes along, but it looks like early 2024 will be more realistic for the next big update.

---

To everyone trying RailControl Pro with a CS2: please let me know what you think about it. And as always, for everyone: thanks for your overwhelming support! All your ideas, suggestions, or bug reports are more than welcome.