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Amtrak Philadelphia to Baltimore on the NEC
This activity is still on the drawing board, so to speak. Or more accurately, web•TrainSim has yet to force the MSTS AI dispatcher/train controller into doing the right thing so the traffic obeys the signalling rules. The aim is/was to take a local Amtrak service from Philadelphia to Baltimore, stopping at the Amtrak stations and incorporating SEPTA Philadelphia-Newark and Newark-Philadelphia traffic, MARC Perryville-Baltimore and Baltimore-Perryville traffic, and Amtrak express services stopping only at Wilmington. Read on for all the excitement. The idea
Having sorted out which platforms to use at Philadelphia Union for possible services, web•TrainSim saw possibilities of running three different services: an Amtrak Acela Express or Metroliner, Amtrak stop-at-stations service, and a SEPTA stop-all-stations service as far as Newark. The Amtrak stop-at-stations service would be the Player service, using NALW's Amtrak E60C #620. Once Philadelphia Union is cleared, there are four tracks, so the SEPTA service, which stops at stations between Philadelphia and Wilmington, could use the outer track. Our Amtrak service has its first stop at Wilmington, so it could take the inner track until the Holly Interlocking at Claymont (that's us sitting there in the pic above). With this arrrangement, we could set a couple of SEPTA services to start earlier than our departure time, and we'd be passing them. Since we'd be making stops at Edgemoor, Wilmington, Newark, Aberdeen, and finally Baltimore Penn, it would be clever to start an Acela Express after us. This train would be running on any inner track where possible and it would pass us eventually once we started making our stops. Once we reached Perryville, we could use the inner track where available and pass MARC stop-all-station services running from Perryville to Baltimore. Looking from the Baltimore end, similar thinking went into creating paths for MARC Baltimore to Perryville services, SEPTA Newark to Philadelphia, and Amtrak expresses and stop-at-station services. The problemsweb•TrainSim had earlier tried setting up some busy traffic in an activity in NEC 2 without much success, the main problem being that the MSTS AI dispatcher/train controller just doesn't like working long hours. That is, to have a train depart Baltimore and arrive at Philadelphia as we depart, requires a departure time far ahead of our departure time, about two hours or so (from memory). Those memories were put aside - NEC 4 will be better. Another lesson learnt by web•TrainSim is that setting up paths that cross from one track to another against the traffic, no matter how short, can cause grief (that is, the AI dispatcher goes into convulsions, can't make up its mind and doesn't give either train a clear road). So paths into and out of Philadelphia (and Washington, too) were constructed with the least amount of crossing against the traffic. Not very realistic, but... So away we go for our first trial. Would you believe that the SEPTA service got a clear road ahead of us? web•TrainSim was so surprised he didn't get a screenshot to prove it - it never happened again! We pass a couple of SEPTA services, as we'd hoped for, and come to a red at the Holly Interlocking (Claymont). Watching the signal for the outer track and knowing what to expect, we see this signal go to yellow and eventually the SEPTA service arrives, stops and departs. After a couple of minutes, we get a green to follow the SEPTA, taking the outside track as it did. Then wham... Activity terminated - derailment. Uh?? Where?? What?? Oh well, another test run. Perhaps while we're sitting at Claymont we'd better do something constructive instead of having a doze in the cab. Let's see what's going on outside. Then we see the cause for the derailment - that Acela Express hasn't obeyed any signalling and comes up behind us at full speed - oh. Back into the Activity Editor and take out the Acela Express service that starts alongside us and was supposed to follow at a safe distance. Another test. We get through Wilmington and another Activity terminated - derailment. That might be caused by a service coming onto the main from the West Yard... Into the Activity Editor, edit, save, test... another Activity terminated - derailment. web•TrainSim had noticed some of the oncoming services from Baltimore running close together, even though their departure times were fifteen minutes apart. Back to the Activity Editor and all Baltimore departures increased to thirty minutes. Now we'll be right. Test run number 987,450,157 - pass the SEPTA services, wait a bit at Holly Interlocking to get a clear, get through Wilmington, do our stop at Newark. As we depart Newark, an Amtrak Metroliner from Baltimore rushes past - good. A minute later, another one. What?? They're supposed to be separated by thirty minutes... Then, guess... Activity terminated - derailment. So that's where web•TrainSim is up to with his Philadelphia - Baltimore Amtrak service. Rolling stockAll the following is available from Train-sim.com, unless otherwise stated. Because there are no loose consists, you can use ConBuilder to substitute your choice of rolling stock.
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