Basic Operation

Operation relies on goods being brought in from and sent off to points beyond the module. This can be accomplished by using the provided Portals or iPortals (figure 3), singly or in combination. The essential difference between the two is that Portals are used here to receive and generate trains while iPortals are used to send/receive trains to/from another player. The use of iPortals this way requires an Internet connection and a registered Trainz ID for each player, since the transfer of a train from one player’s terminal to another player’s terminal must go through Auran. The use of iPortals suggests there is another module as part of the layout. This is not strictly required as one player could send a train to iPortal Coal, for instance, and have it appear in the other player’s iPortal EB. The session provided here does not make use of iPortals and assumes a single player.


Figure 3. Portals and iPortals on the Grand River Junction module.

As set up in the session, Portal WB generates and consumes trains. Portal Coal only receives trains whereas Portal EB receives trains and returns them two minutes later in opposite loaded/unloaded condition from when they were received.

Generated trains are AI in nature, but pause at designated points to enable you to take control of them for dropping off or picking up cars, or for delaying their schedule till a track becomes clear.

The switcher at the station yard is available for switching the industries and is responsible for picking up dropped cars and setting out cars to be picked up by the local freights.

The RDC is available for your use whenever you feel like sending it off somewhere. You will need to give it some commands in advance.

I’ve used a variety of rolling stock in the trains, but do not expect that all cars will be suitable for use by the industries. That way a passing train can drop off cars, but still have some to continue with. Cars that I don’t expect to be interchanged are boxcars, reefers and gondolas. The hoppers begin by being empty, but when they pass through Portal EB they become loaded with coal.

The array of trackmarks (figure 4) may at first be bewildering. I’ve color-coded and named them by similar functions. Their use will make sense when I describe the sample run.


Figure 4. Trackmarks.

A Sample Run

The following table maps out the sequence of a sample run. Times are approximate at best. By the time the second train is issued, things may become a bit hectic. You can always let a train run through without taking action on it or you can send a new train off to Portal Coal, never to be heard from again. The one area where you will need to be careful is the section of track leading into/from a portal. It’s possible to have a train emitted just in time to collide with an incoming train. The Wait trackmarks give you an easy chance to take control of a train and stop it for a while, though you can do this to a moving train as well. As always, it's a good idea to save a session from time to time just in case you have an accident. That way you can avoid having to restart at the beginning.


Cars being set out by switcher at IC-WB.

With cars set out at IC-EB, loco is given the Continue Schedule command.

This describes the beginning of the session. From here on it becomes less predictable and more dependent on timing and your own decisions. If you clear out enough trains to give yourself time to switch the industries, you may find you have time on your hands. This is a good time to send the RDC off to Portal EB and have it return to trackmark Station Siding. You would be well advised to have it stop at trackmark Wait-WB and then wait a minute. You may even want to study the relevant portion of command sequence given under Setting Up AI Trains.

It’s tempting to save the session at minute 12:40, after the switcher has completed its set-out, with the idea of starting future session from this point. In my testing I found that starting anew at this point canceled out the new train that was to be emitted from Portal WB at minute 13. It appears that the timer for emitting trains is reset, at least for the next train. If you want some variety at the outset, I suggest you set up the yards with different cars, perhaps omitting some. Then save the session to a variant of the original name, thus giving you future starting choices.

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Article and screen shots ©2007 Alfred Barten. All rights reserved.