I build the electronics that run your railroad.

Arduino
Raspberry Pi
ESP32
DCC-EX

I design and build premium custom electronics for your model railroad layout. Let's work together to discover your needs and plan the perfect Digital Dispatcher to bring your layout to life. I use reliable, premium products, and I bring 25 years of software engineering experience to the software that connects Arduinos, DCC, and more to your layout. I implement DEJA.js, the free software I wrote to run my own railroad, so you can run yours from any phone, tablet, or computer. My products are customized for you — they offer more flexibility and more possibilities than off-the-shelf products, and they often cost less. And I can build any interface you want. Interfaces are my specialty.

Book a free call See the products

15 minutes, no obligation, nothing to prepare. You'll get a fixed written quote.

What is DEJA.js

One system handles it all — DCC-EX + DEJA.js

DEJA.js is the software I wrote to run my own railroad, and it's free. DCC-EX puts DCC on your rails; DEJA.js is how you run your railroad from any device. Anyone can install it — and I'm here to help if you want it.

I use DEJA.js in my Digital Dispatcher builds whenever it makes sense and supports what you need. It's very flexible — and if you need something more, I'm excited to take on that challenge.

Questions about DEJA.js or your layout? Ask in the Discord (opens in a new tab) — I'm there.

Throttle — the app
One web app for your roster, throttles, turnouts, signals, sensors, automations, and routes. It runs on any phone, tablet, or computer at throttle.dejajs.com.
DEJA Server — on your layout
Runs on your layout and connects the app to your DCC-EX command station and the devices on your railroad.

Introducing the Digital Dispatcher

A Digital Dispatcher is the control system for your railroad, built as one finished unit.

Instead of separate devices, loose boards, and wiring spread all over the underside of your layout, I design and build your layout's electronics into one custom enclosure — command station, power, turnout control, signals, detection, relays, and device nodes — wired, configured, and tested before it ships. Mount it where you can reach it: the front of the layout, the wall, the fascia, the module, or the benchwork. Underneath, you only connect your track and devices to the labeled wiring harness it provides. Build one for your whole railroad, or start with the one section that needs help — a yard, staging, a power district.

Example: Medium Layout

Start with the Digital Dispatcher RTR

$499

EX-CSB1 command station, a Raspberry Pi running the DEJA Server, 12V power, a 16-channel PWM driver, and open GPIO. Power it up and run trains from your phone.

See the Digital Dispatcher RTR

How it works

My part

1
Design
Free discovery call first (15 min): we spec your Digital Dispatcher for your layout, then you get a plan and a fixed written quote. No surprises later.
2
Build
I build, wire, configure, and test it in my shop. You get photo updates as it comes together.
3
Ship
It ships to you labeled, with a wiring diagram.

Your part

4
Mount
You mount the enclosure on the front of your layout.
5
Plug in
Land your track bus and accessories on the labeled harness — premium snap-in connectors, no soldering.
6
Run Trains
Power up and run trains. If you get stuck, a troubleshooting session is one booking away.

Enterprise Grade Standards

On the bench

DIN rail connectors: reliable, industrial-strength connections.
WAGO connectors: quick, reliable, strong.
ESP32 nodes: WiFi, MQTT, and WebSocket built in. Real protocols, not hobby guesswork.
Extruded aluminum enclosures: perfectly sized, custom structure for mounting electronics — DIN rail or panel.
EZ-Access Enclosures: my Digital Dispatchers are designed to be mounted where you can easily access every connection and device. Mount it to the wall, the fascia, the module, or the benchwork — no more troubleshooting underneath your layout.
Weatherproof cabinets: keeps dust and the elements away from your electronics.
Fuses & protection: built in throughout, on every circuit.
Quality wire, expert soldering: reliable connections, start to finish.

In the software

Usability: interfaces a non-technical operator can run.
Accessibility: designed to be usable by everyone.
Custom design: every interface designed for the job. Not AI slop.
Enterprise-level data integrity: your layout's data treated like it matters — because it does.
Authentication: real accounts and sign-in, done properly.
Reliability: tested before it ships; it works when you power up.
Scalability: start with one section; the system grows with your layout.
Availability: your railroad runs when you want it to, on your layout.

Interfaces are my specialty. Any way you want to run your railroad:

Software interfacesphone, tablet, and desktop
Physical control panels and button boards
Touch screens
Game controllers

See the control options

Where your money goes

The parts are cheap. The complexity is the expensive part — so have someone else do it.

Retail control systems charge you hundreds per module for electronics that cost a fraction of that to build. The components in my Digital Dispatchers — DCC-EX, Arduino-class boards, DIN-rail power and terminals — are inexpensive, proven, and off-the-shelf. That changes the math: instead of your budget disappearing into marked-up hardware, it stretches into the part that's actually hard — design, wiring, code, configuration, and testing, done for you. You end up with a more capable system than the retail boxes, wired better, for money that went to work instead of markup.