My Run8 Journal

[Ezra]

A Selkirk Revision

The Selkirk Update includes several revisions as stated by Run8,

"The east end of Selkirk yard has been completely relaid as well as the classification bowl"--Run8 Press Release.

Pic 2 and 3 are from V1. Pics 1,4 and 5 are V2 Selkirk Update.

Note: Notice how Run8 is progressively updating and improving in more ways than one.

[Ezra]

Manual Dispatching

As you can see one has to get out of the cab now and again to keep the traffic flowing.

[Ezra]

Pecan Yard

This is Pecan Yard south of Rice Creek. As you can see it is not well maintained. I had to hold over here for some time until dusk. Furthermore, I had to manually divert the SB intermodal through Pecan Yard as you will see in the next set of pics.

[Ezra]

Return to A-Line

OK. Back to Screen Shots of A-Line. Overtaking a mixed container in the Amtrak south of Jacksonville.

[SurvivorSean]

Didn't notice the readme as I didn't see the newer files until you mentioned it. Lots of good stuff in there that has been updated.

Thanks

Sean

[Ezra]

Selkirk Dispatcher

I have deviated from A-Line briefly since the long awaited update for Selkirk/Mohawk has been released.

The main issues were signals and DS. They seem to have been addressed so far.

The Amtrak Trains depart without issue from the station and the two platforms in succession, provided the block is clear up ahead. All the signals appear to be working. The read-me explains the issues with interpretation.

[Ezra]

A well received update for the Run8 fan for sure.

[NoClue48]

OK. Much to my surprise when I checked the Run8 site is the release of the much anticipated Selkirk/Mohawk update. I am all in now because I just purchased the Mohawk Sub to go with it.

First things first. By all appearances the new two page DS screen appears to be working fine along with numerous fixes as well.

Note: Apparently the east end of the yard has been re-laid.

Oh Boy!! Another world in which to get hopelessly lost--and then find one's way home! Helped immensely by the revamped DS screen. I can actually watch my progress through the world now.

Plus, they included a "world" with some prefab trains! I'll just pick one and go for a drive...

[Ezra]

New Spawn Points. . .

. . . and a functioning [multiple car] Hump Yard. This a beautiful route for those who want to sit back in the arm chair and dispatch the big eastern railroad. Lots to see here.

[Ezra]

The Selkirk/Mohawk Update

OK. Much to my surprise when I checked the Run8 site is the release of the much anticipated Selkirk/Mohawk update. I am all in now because I just purchased the Mohawk Sub to go with it.

First things first. By all appearances the new two page DS screen appears to be working fine along with numerous fixes as well.

Note: Apparently the east end of the yard has been re-laid.

[Ezra]

Local Industries Revisited

How should I model industries in a manageable fashion?

Immediately south of Orlando Station Yard there are three empty industries. When you fly there with CTRL-WASD you can line up close to the existing track and select in the (CTRL-I) "Industry Editor" window. Select "Search Using The Closest Track" to pull up the industry. . .if the Industry exists. . .which in two cases they do not.

I named the first two (empty) Industries the following:

1. Scully Scrap Metal (SSM)
2. Larry Lumber (LLR)
3. TRADEMARK METALS RECYCLING TAFT (TMR). Actually this one already exists as a default industry.

***Notice the close proximity (in the second and fifth pic) of the three industries to the sorting yard. Imagine the modelling possibilities with an N or Z scale shelf Diorama.

The processed tags (destination after being loaded), for all three, will be "Moncrief Yard." Feel free to name the destination in full text if you choose until you become familiar with the acronyms. In this way a small tap on CTRL-F8 (twice) will remind you where the freight is going.

Note: Do you remember how I described this procedure earlier at Kaiser Steel? When you edit the track (blue to red), name the Industry (Scully Scrap Metal), designate the "Local Freight Symbol" (in this case L-777), set the "Industry Tag" (TMR), "Process cars in blocks" (if you want), the "Processed Tags To Choose" (Moncrief Yard), the "Capacity" (the amount of cars you designate and physically add to the track), the "Hours" (1), the "Produces" (in this case loads (L) loads, then (do not forget) "Add This Industry" and "Save." If the "Add This Industry" is "greyed out" you missed something like "Local Freight Symbol" which should be (L-777). Keep at it and the things you fear to do will disappear. Crush the learning curve through practice, trial and error.

Now go back to your Local switchers in Orlando Yard. Did you remember to relinquish the last freight cars you made up for the Industries? If you overlooked this you won`t be able to select the Local 777. Select the Local, then Right CTRL-L. Now you should see the industries menu with the way-bills you created that are assigned to this local. If you set the process time for 1 hour go dispatch for awhile, come back in a few hours and your industry cars should be processed and ready for pick-up listed as (Moncrief Yard). Who said you cannot run ops and dispatch at the same time? Furthermore, when editing and spawning trains become second nature, you can AI a train into the yard with all the required empties you need to shove back into the industries while you block-up and switch the outbound manifest. Things can get busy real fast.

You just made your railroad functional by creating local industries and spawning in some traffic. Remember the yard at Orlando? You can also spawn in some empties to switch out as in-bounds to the local industries after you pick up the loads. Lots of action here when you really get into it.

***Not much track is required to create a busy local--or a small functional model railroad diorama. This is the philosophy mature "model railroaders" apply when they build small shelf dioramas that are functional, easy to manage, and fun to operate and work on. Off-world (virtual) staging can be whatever you want it to be. Focus on the "stage" of operations and the railroad will take care of itself--or just Run8.

Who knows, while your switching the industry, maybe several unexpected AI trains will roll-by in the changing afternoon light.

[Ezra]

The Functional Sand Box

Time to notch up. Let us have another look at local operations.

How do I designate a specific switcher to a particular set of jobs?

1. Find a yard (A-Line) by clicking on the brown dot (and then space-bar) below Orlando (Amtrak') on the [D]ispatch [S]creen (F3). This will transport you to the yard.

2. Click CTRL-F1 to pull up the train builder. Choose "Freight locos" in the "Available Units" menu. Everything available to you is highlighted in orange. The selection available depends on the train sets you have purchased and installed. In this case I have chosen two CSX GP40`s (CSX01/CSX02). If you Right-Click on the second one (CSX02) it will reverse its direction.

3. Now click "Place Train" and locate it where you want in the yard. V2 made a significant improvement regarding this feature.

4. [Esc]ape the window and "tag" both units as Local (L-777). It should look like (L-777) when you CTRL F8 to display the tags above the units. When you attempt to select the units and the "acquire" menu refuses to come up, but rather the "set brakes" one (which often happens), go to options (F1) and hit the highlighted "relinquish" button. As long as you have an acquired unit (rolling stock or loco) you won`t be able to acquire and edit another unit. This is a common issue that I am sure many are familiar with.

5. Now you have a pair of GP40`s sitting in a yard that require local work to be assigned. Upon selecting the switchers and then mouse clicking Right CTRL-L, the "pick-up" window will open. It should be empty. However, in this case, it has a list that I have already created in the industry menu ahead of time for the purposes of this tutorial. If you are conducting this lesson systematically from scratch it should be empty.

Note: The three [two] industries you see listed in the fourth pic are not "default" industries. I made them up. Lets go there now.

[Ezra]

In answer to dejoh,

Exactly my point.

"It`s definitely a full time job to keep everything in tip-top shape"

This is why the "model train" sim is so convenient and manageable for those of us who do have full time jobs. However, you do make a good argument for "cleaning" the track. I prefer to do it with switchers and "save." :-)

Note: When I say "model train" sim, I mean all the train sims to a certain degree. Everyone has personal preferences in the hobby which is fine. It just so happens that I prefer Run8 because it reminds of what I wanted in MSTS long ago without being an "eye-candy" junkie. This explains why I am somewhat of an apologist for Run8. I prefer a train sim that is not solely "event" driven but more of a user created functional sandbox.

[dejoh]

Don't forget the constant cleaning of ALL track and dusting off the accumulated grunge that is forever falling on your layout.
Its definitely a full time job to keep everything in tip top shape.

[Ezra]

The Dysfunctional Model Railroad

Here is something a little different.

Model trains are more than just running trains through a dysfunctional lens.

Let me share a non-fiction story (although it sounds like one) that is analogous to model railroads and Sims alike. Please don`t take it personal as it is directed towards a specific individual who I admire, but also find to be quite humorous.

A single model railroader, who always dreams of the big model railroad, wakes up in the morning, grabs his microwave coffee, then saunters out to his garage, and then proceeds to run his one hundred car intermodal train in circles around his layout. He giggles like a nine-year old boy as his four Canadian National Dash 9`s strain at full throttle over inconsistent grades. He wonders why he needs more than an on-off switch on his dated transformer. Furthermore, the grinding wheels and the smell of burning armatures add to what he thinks is scale effect. The very mention of DCC as a remedy causes him to stutter. Nevertheless, he gets off on it—which is fine—but this is where the dysfunction begins.

As he lights up a joint, he wonders if his legendary layout will ever see the light of day. He begs me to validate all the tangent track, tunnels and curves that protrude from random holes in the plaster wall. He points out the big rail yard that begs for a carpenter’s level, filled with mega thousand dollar collections of rolling stock covered in grimy soot with no purpose. A ten dollar backdrop with a quart of blue acrylic would be well spent here instead of a broken window that now serves as the only means to ventilate the stuffy environment. Furthermore, the garage carries the aroma of THC, toxic paint thinner and burnt rafters, offering clues as to why he lost the last layout in a super-heated bench fire because he forgot the meaning of turning off the soldering iron.

Every now and again he calls me up; begging me to come fix the perpetual electrical short that keep causing his brain (I mean his train) to slow down; I keep telling him it’s the marijuana. Benignly, he looks at me with a Cheshire grin and glazed eyes through his steamed up coke-bottle glasses. He is really quite a likeable guy, despite the lens in which he views reality. I haven`t the heart to tell him to start from scratch. Therefore, I keep dodging his appeals by citing the rare “Illinois Central” SD70 I witnessed running through town, which quickly has him parroting me verbatim as if it was his own experience. It must be the “dysfunctional” railroad thing—or the marijuana.

Suddenly, he is distracted by the “clickity-click” of another incessant derailment while cursing the obvious defect on his layout. Again, I haven`t the heart to tell him to shorten his trains, let alone trying to educate him on the meaning of a sound mind and local operations. He certainly has the room and the track to accommodate a decent railroad but simply defers the wherewithal to consider what it all means. All of his expensive and well-intentioned trains and industries are meaningless props animated by an altered consciousness. But hey—it`s his railroad.

Without a clear-headed purpose model railroads are failure. The dysfunctional model railroad is inevitable.