Colin McLaren
Professional Work
I started as a graduate engineer in 2002 with Jarvis Rail, after a prior year industry placement with ADTranz in Plymouth (now Alstom). I eventually specialised in signalling design. Over the years I have worked for a range of organisations within the sector, including Colas, Atkins, Babcock, and now Network Rail.
Throughout my career I have worked on a wide range of projects including West Coast Route Modernisation, Northern Hub (producing the initial design for the Hope Valley line resignalling), North West Electrification (Phase 5), experience in VAMOS MSL (Miniature Stop Lights) systems , and detailed design of MCB-OD (Manually Controlled Barriers with Obstacle Detection) systems.
My degree in automation has always driven an interest in efficiency and innovation. I have developed a number of systems to improve my workflow. The development of Large Language Models (LLMs) has opened up new possibilities for automating routine tasks, generating documentation, and even assisting in design verification.
LogFusion
LogFusion takes a forest of hourly relay datalogger (SA380) text files and converts them into a single tidy dataset (TSV, with optional Excel export), with simple filtering by Function name.
It’s designed to cope with very large logs without excessive memory use, processing files chronologically to preserve event order. The tool is available both as a command-line application and a lightweight Tkinter GUI.
Repository: github.com/drkknight1978/LogFusion
Voltage Drop Calculator
Voltage Drop Calculator calculates voltage drop in electrical systems using iterative precision, aimed at practical use in railway power distribution and signal circuits.
Features:
- CSV-based conductor data upload (supports proprietary data protection workflows)
- Iterative voltage drop calculation algorithm
- Support for custom conductor sizes and resistances
- Real-time calculation results including:
- Voltage at load
- Current drawn by load
- Voltage drop (absolute and percentage)
- Iteration count
- Input validation and error handling
Disclaimer: This application is provided for information and exploratory purposes only. Results must be independently verified and must not be relied upon for safety-critical, operational, or certified design decisions. Use at your own risk; no liability is accepted for any outcomes arising from its use.
TD Data
TD Data is a tool that uses freely available Train Describer data proved by Network Rail public datafeeds and details can be found atOpenRailData. The collects daily data and stores each day's data in a sqlite database for later analysis.
Auto Sheet
Auto Sheet turns spreadsheet-friendly index work into a fast, repeatable workflow. Skip the Microstation grind, fill out your sheet, and let VBA handle the heavy lifting in minutes instead of hours.
Click the image to watch it in action.