NEC2 activities documentation

This is some documentation for any web•TrainSim activities on the Northeast Corridor route, V2. This route is one of the world's busiest so there'd better be plenty of traffic! As usual, paths are created with the thought in mind that any path could later form the basis for a player service, that is, it could form the basis of an activity in its own right.

web•TrainSim has now settled on these steps for path creation:

• determine arrival and departure platforms at major stations: centre platforms reserved for express services, outside platforms for slower, local services;

Although this is Philadelphia Union on NEC 4, you can see arrival and departure platforms assigned.

• compose 2-letter abbreviations for place names (unusual ones can be longer); we've got to do some pen and paper work so anything to save the old writing hand;
• the NEC route has a mixture of 2-, 3- and 4-track sections so paths will have to cross from one to the other at various locations so scroll through the route and sketch all the cross-overs and points (switches) at various mileposts (this job may as well be done before paths are made - tedious but necessary otherwise you can't be sure you're creating a clear path for a particular service and standoffs can arise later which are hard to find and you probably won't remember where a bottleneck may occur); there are sketch maps for some routes at Train-sim.com so a printout and colour textas could be used (web•TrainSim, get that printer connected and see if it works!);
• following the above, determine tracks for local and express services; web•TrainSim has divided/intends to divide express and local passenger paths into morning and afternoon services for more efficient use of the 3-track sections;
• having made definite decisions about paths, that is, departure and arrival platforms, crossover locations, express or local (stop-all-stations), it's time to write up small cards or pieces of paper, one for each path - each will have information like this:
• PA5 --> BA4 - exp
• express service
• at Ragan Interlock, trk1 to 2 & keep it until when only 3 trks, etc.
• will use Metroliner or Acela in the corresponding service

Details for path PA5 --> BA4 - exp. A number of notes were made as the path was traced in the AE to note where tracks would be changed so can stop at or miss certain stations.

• now you can start up the Activity Editor:
• from the File menu, choose New for a new activity, choose the route from the drop-down list, and give any name you like to this activity - we're not going to save it so a name like dummy or junk or foobar, or just simply z;
• under Player service, click New - we're not going to save this either so when the Service editor window comes up, enter any name you like - aa is quick to type;
• in the Service editor, under Path, click New;
• move the Path editor window over to the right with just a bit of it over the route schematic screen (otherwise you can't get it back if you click the wrong part of the AE);
• from your prepared card enter the Path name and Path display name: web•TrainSim keeps both of these the same to make life easier - type in the Path name, highlight it, copy it with CTRL-C, click OK, and paste it with CTRL-V into the Path display name;
• in the Path editor, enter the Starting location and Ending location; you can use descriptions such as Baltimore Platform 6; note, that because you're making a path in a Player service, MSTS will designate this path as a player path so it shows up in Explore Mode in MSTS itself;
• also in the Path editor click the Mouse checkbox at the bottom left to help you focus on where your path is going;
• right-click on the destination to place the start point - if need be, use the right-click popup menu to change the direction of the path;
• trace your path along the line - use the right-mouse click popup menu on nodes to Take other exit to cross to another track;
• as you go along, check against your pen-and-paper sketches or route schematic printout that you're taking the correct path at cross-overs;
• you should eventually finish your path at the destination platform as written on your card;
• click on Leave path editor and answer Yes to the prompt Do you want to save path changes? to save your new path;
• in the Service editor click Cancel if you don't have another path to make, otherwise it's back to New under Path to create the next one.
• paths are much easier to create when you know you've made definite decisions about which sort of service is going to use which path and which services get priority on 3- and 4-track sections;
• here are web•TrainSim's rules for paths:
• through platforms are never, ever start or end path points (use a nearby dead-end siding if you want a train starting/ending at a station along the route);
• when possible, use two different departure platforms for services that you want leaving, say, every ten or fifteen minutes - just in case the AI dispatcher gets overwhelmed; this saves that dreaded Error: placed a service on another...blah...; what happens in Play mode in the Activity Editor and how your organisation pans out in the actual simulation are quite different because you're driving your train in MSTS;
• one destination platform works out ok because the AI dispatcher controls the signalling into the station platforms but two or three is better to avoid congestion;
• don't get fancy and have trains crossing all the tracks to go to a siding on the other side: assuming there's lots of traffic, the AI dispatcher will more than likely not cope and there'll be a standoff with nobody going anywhere;
• unlike reality, the MSTS AI dispatcher can only deal with what is happening in a particular activity and once it starts running, we can't intervene in real-time to change a service's path (when we get path scripting we'll be able to handle that sort of scenario but for the time being, the AI dispatcher has a limited set of rules to work by);
• make allowances for how the route developer originally envisaged trains operating on his/her route - you've probably got different ideas and want a crossover here and a crossover there, but there isn't, so work with the route as is;
• after tracing out two or three paths, you should be getting to know the route and be thinking of new possibilities for services (that is, paths);
• forget about loose consists - they're just scenery and at the moment you have to concentrate on trains that are working and operating on a route.
• when you get to creating an activity, the first time you'll have to make a service for each path but after that you'll have the majority of services you want to run;
• the next time-consuming part of creating an activity is to trial it; what looks ok in Play mode in the Activity Editor won't be the same in MSTS itself because the AI dispatcher has to adapt the operations to how you're driving your train but, in the main, it'll be the extra services you want appearing at certain times that will need checking; of course, as you're driving along, ideas for improvement pop into the head, and then it's back to AE for changes and more testing; when it's a long activity, such as Washington to Philadelphia, it all takes time - but worthwhile.

Platforms

Once web•TrainSim got himself thinking of "driving on the wrong side", he was able to set departure and arrival platforms at Washington and Philadelphia. That was a fairly simple job. However, looking at Baltimore, possibilities were restricted for services departing to Philadelphia as there's no way to cross from some platforms.

So the platforms decided on appear in the path names below.

Paths

These are the paths created at time of writing for a Washington to Philadelphia afternoon activity; an activity in the reverse direction would probably prompt ideas for two or three more.

All these paths were created as described above.

Services

Each path above has its own corresponding service. In some cases, a service was used as a template to create one to use the same path but a different consist.

web•TrainSim names all his services with the same name as the path being used and sometimes may add the consist as a reminder or if he wants two similar services with different consists. For example, a local Philadelphia - Perryville service using a Metroliner trainset would be named wDTS-PH1-PV1-lcl (Metroliner) while an Acela HHP-8 service would be named wDTS-PH1-PV1-lcl (HHP-8).