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5:15 pm
December 23, 2014
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The Update just posted implements ~some of the 35 items discussed two weeks ago at the ProTrak Weekend held here. Each day attendees discussed possible changes/additions and as a result there were a large number of good ideas developed over the Weekend.
Some of the items are:
1) the "Standard Clock: when running the clock background is now "green". When paused the background is "yellow".
2) When operating in "Daily Mode" a warning message appears at 11:51 pm (actually between 11:51 and 11:59 pm). The warning allows you to optionally pause the clock.
3) As requested the Yardmaster/Yard Operations window is larger to eliminate scrolling.
4) Your main yard now can have more tracks for "push-to" data using the secondary Yd yard function. Up to an additional 15 tracks, for a total of up to 30 tracks. This will take some additional explanation.
~~~
Tomorrow I will try to mention the other changes included in this Update.
Jim
8:49 pm
May 11, 2015
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2
Excellent, Jim, thanks so much!! Â I look forward to working with the updates. Best, AndyÂ
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Fri, Nov 4, 2016 at 6:15 PM, ProTrak.org wrote:
Best, Andy Keeney
Look out for #1 but don't step in #2!!
8:29 am
May 8, 2015
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Hi Jim,
I've started a new op session with the #330 installed part way thru the session.\
I like what I've seen so far, but have a few comments
1. Please check the Wolverine #17/8 which comes out of New York in the early morning, drops two sleepers in Detroit, while picking up a parlor car and an observation for the trip to Chicago staging where it turns and returns in early evening the same day. The sleepers, which are wb'd to run between Detroit and NY are not coming on/off the train in Detroit. They actually show up on the consist list as being WB'd to the coach yard in Detroit, but never come off. I have to go to Exceptions to move them correctly. All other cars on the train do not have WBs as they are assigned to that train permanently. Also, the WBs did not change automatically in the coach yard, so I had to manually change them to the next CIT wb, then move them to the 01 station, then assign them to the train via the StationMaster function, before finally getting them back on the train for the return to NY.
2. I'm not sure that I brought up the issue of "out of fuel/boom out of water" in Baden, but my printer spewed paper with one sheet for each engine in the past. I lost about 15 pages before I was able to stop the printer. Also, I'm not sure that trains coming out of staging should run out of fuel so quickly, surely they were fuelled there before starting their trip. By the late thirties, main line steamers ran continuously from Chicago to NY with one stop near Buffalo for coaling and watering due to the use of track pans every 40 miles on the main line. Mind you, the engines operating locally on my 125 mile share of the 950 mile trip from NY to Chicago should certainly be forced to fuel and water regularly. Its something I'll have to train my engineer/PT operator to check before starting his assignment. How long would a yard switcher last, about one shift?? And a local, about one trip of 100 miles??
Kudos for all your efforts Jim,
John
8:30 am
May 8, 2015
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Hi Jim,
That should be #339, not #330
John
7:31 pm
January 3, 2015
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On item #2
Steam locals should be able to make the 100 mile run with at most 1 fuel stop, many may make the retire run without refueling.
Water is a different story. Depending on load and terrain, water stops every 20 - 50 miles.
Switch jobs? I would think that they could last at least one shift. Most were only used for one shift before returning to the engine facility for service/crew change anyway.
Howard Garner
3:54 pm
May 8, 2015
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Thanks Howard,
I guess I'll add a stand pipe at one of the towns. I do have a water tower in the other town that the local services. Plus one at Windsor, which I have modeled as very small yard and turnaround point for the NYC and C&O locals. Also, make sure that the switcher in St. Thomas gets serviced every 8 hours. On the prototype, there was a water trough every 40 miles (two in the interval between two major yards at Windsor and St. Thomas 120 miles apart). I know that the Hudsons, Mohawks, Pacifics and Niagaras on mainline service had large tenders with a very large coal load (42 tons for the Mohawk), which allowed them to space out the fuel stops and keep them on the move while picking up water on the fly as necessary.
I'm not sure if the Mikados on the locals had the same capability to pick up water from the trough. They certainly had the regular small tender from the 1910's. I'll check with my Caso experts. By the mid-fifties, only two of the locals still used steamers, instead of the new GP-7s.
Makes sense
John
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