A real DCC-style throttle
Select locos by number, set direction and speed, throw points with ACCY, run macros and build consists, just like on a Power Cab. Trains ease up to speed and coast to a stop.
Free while in early access
Your model railroad, in your browser.
Drive locomotives with a throttle modelled on a real DCC handset. Set the points, couple and uncouple cars, and work a train the way you would on the layout. Take on the classic switching puzzles, run freely on full layouts, or design your own track plan with the AI.
No download. Works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox on a computer or tablet.
4layouts built in
2classic switching puzzles
N & H0scales, to the millimetre
0things to install
Features
Everything you love about operating, none of the track cleaning.
modelrailsim is built by modellers, for modellers. Track geometry comes from real sectional track, cars are real lengths, and trains behave like trains.
Classic switching puzzles
The Inglenook Sidings and John Allen's Timesaver, with their proper rules: limit of shunt, locked points, capacities. Every move and second counts.
Free play on full layouts
Run the main line, work the yards and serve the industries. Add locos and cars of standard lengths, turn locos, and save your session to pick up later.
Design layouts with AI
Describe the railroad you want ("an oval with five spurs, an engine yard and an industry"), and the AI lays it out with real Kato Unitrack pieces, checks every joint, and gives you the parts list.
An AI coach
Finish a puzzle and get a short, honest review of your run: how close you came to the fewest moves, and one tip for next time. Stuck? Watch the AI solve it, then replay it yourself.
Your layouts, as files
Export any layout to a file, share it, and add layouts from files, in N, H0 or other scales. Layouts you design are saved as playable layouts.
Driving
Hands on the throttle.
The cab works like the handset you know. Watch the display, roll the speed up, and let the train find its own pace.
- SELECT LOCO, RECALL, DIR, ACCY, MACRO, CONSIST, BRAKE and E-STOP
- Points that stop (or derail) a train run through them the wrong way
- Gentle couplings, and rough ones counted against you
- Keyboard shortcuts for everything, if you prefer
Puzzles
Make up the train. Fewest moves wins.
Each puzzle explains its objective and rules before you start, and the cards across the top show exactly what you're aiming for.
- Inglenook: 5-3-3 sidings, Loco + 3 or Loco + 5 rules
- Timesaver: spot cars at five industries, with traffic-flow rules
- A finish summary with your score, efficiency and an AI review
- Replay any puzzle from the start to beat your best
Design
Describe it. Watch it get built.
The layout designer is a conversation. Tell it what you want; it asks the questions a good layout designer would, then builds it piece by piece.
- Real Kato Unitrack geometry, so the plan can be bought and built
- Checks for gaps, clashes and track off the board
- Track capacities in cars, and an honest list of compromises
- Save the result and run trains on it straight away
Layouts
Four layouts to start, and room for yours.
Every built-in layout is modelled from a real track plan, piece by piece.
Inglenook Puzzle
The classic 5-3-3 sidings: a headshunt and three dead-end tracks. Simple to look at, surprisingly deep to solve.
Inglenook with Industry Spur Puzzle
A complete 24″ × 60″ N-scale Kato Unitrack layout: a main loop, two yards, an industry spur, and the Inglenook puzzle built in.
Timesaver Puzzle
John Allen's famous switching puzzle, sized in whole car lengths as he designed it. Spot five cars at five industries.
Märklin C-Track 260×180 Free play
A large H0 plan with two loops, three double slips and seven sidings, made for running trains.
Getting started
On the rails in two minutes.
Create your free account
With a username and password, or in one click with Google or Apple.
Take the tour
A short guided tour shows you the screen, the throttle and the puzzles, with a few things to try on the way.
Pick a layout and go
Start a puzzle with its rules explained, or run freely. Save your session and pick it up next time.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is it free?
Yes. modelrailsim.com is free while it's in early access. If that ever changes, we'll tell you clearly beforehand.
Why do I need an account?
An account is how you get into the simulator, and it's free. It keeps modelrailsim running for real modellers rather than bots. Signing in with Google or Apple takes one click.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in a modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox) on a computer or a tablet. It works on phones too, though a bigger screen is more fun.
I've never used DCC. Will I manage?
Yes. The tour walks you through driving, the points and coupling in about two minutes, and there's help for every control and keyboard shortcut in Settings. Hover over anything on the layout to see what it is.
What are the Inglenook and the Timesaver?
Two classic shunting (switching) puzzles. In the Inglenook you make up a train of five cars, in order, from eight scattered across three short sidings, with a headshunt that only holds a few cars at a time. In John Allen's Timesaver you deliver cars to five industries on a deliberately awkward little layout. Both reward planning more than speed.
What scale are the layouts?
The built-in layouts are N scale (1:160) on Kato Unitrack, plus an H0 Märklin C-Track plan. Layout files can use other scales, and everything is drawn to the millimetre.
Who makes modelrailsim?
modelrailsim.com is made by Iron Rod Systems LLC in Salt Lake City, Utah. Questions or ideas? Write to support@ironrodsystems.com.
The layout's ready when you are.
Create a free account and run your first train in minutes.