Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc

Yarders,I've begun thinking about how to do the re-fueling in the game. Here is how I see it working:Basically, I am planning on making the two narrow lines on the engines indicate its fuel status. They will blink to indicate that the engine needs service, and the engine will become inoperable if it is not fuelled.It is easy enough to calculate distance between maps. An engine will carry its cumulative distance travelled between maps since last being fuelled. So say an engine can travel 1000 miles on a full tank. When the engine gets to 750 miles, one of the lines will blink, indicating that it is low on fuel. At 1000 miles, both lines will blink and the engine will essentially be dead. (It's horsepower will not contribute to the engine consist, thereby decreasing acceleration) This will force you to periodically cut off engines from trains and send them to a fuelling station, just like the prototype. I guess the first question is "How far should an engine be able to travel on a full tank. Is 1000 miles reasonable?"Let me know what you think, because I get motivated by your enthusasm.Jim

Yard Duty, The National Freight Yard Simulation - http://groups.msn.com/YardDuty

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RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., DaveHonan, Jan-03-03, 05:59 PM, (1) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., pwm33, Jan-03-03, 06:58 PM, (2) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., Davecr0, Jan-04-03, 01:42 AM, (6) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., KingJPW, Jan-04-03, 04:27 AM, (7) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., Davecr0, Jan-06-03, 11:00 AM, (10) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., leesome1226, Jan-14-03, 09:23 PM, (12) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., KingJPW, Jan-14-03, 10:37 PM, (13) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., ADaigle, Jan-03-03, 07:35 PM, (3) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., leesome1226, Jan-04-03, 00:29 AM, (4) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., KingJPW, Jan-04-03, 00:51 AM, (5) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., pwm33, Jan-04-03, 09:01 AM, (8) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., esprrfan, Jan-05-03, 05:04 PM, (9) RE: Fuel, Mileage, Repair, etc..., CannonballJDB, Jan-11-03, 12:00 PM, (11)

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GREAT idea! All (real) engines are required to undergo a thousand-mile inspection; this would go a ways towards replicating that, although I'm not entirely sure how you'd do the "inspecion" part. Maybe a required trip over the repair pad?Anyone with more knowledge know the range of various engines? My SD80MAC operator's manual isn't readily available (read: I have no stinkin' clue where it is), else I'd see what it has to say.-Dave
QG 14.32, CSXT Selkirk Sub
http://www.davehonan.gcdranet.com/

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I also think that is a great idea. I'll look around to see if I have any statistics on fuel consumption and fuel tank capacity.Paul Metzger
NS Team
Northern Region

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Over here in the UK a rough consumption guide is 1 mile per gallon of diesel, so the mileage would depend on the size of the fuel tanks. We have US built locos so they are probably similar.

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LAST EDITED ON Jan-04-03 AT 04:35 AM (EST)

Nice to hear from you Dave. I was starting to wonder what happened to you. Anyway, there are only two types of engines, so I'm just going to pick a typical value like 1000 or maybe 2000 miles. The actual value isn't as important. The important thing is to force players to refuel every so often instead of letting them roam free forever. It's the operational aspect that I think adds to the gameplay enjoyment.Maybe I'm just lazy, but I never repair or wash cars because these features are really optional. I mostly enjoy switching cars and building trains, and I tend to do it very non-prototypically, like on the mainline and with excessive impacts, etc... I disregard 'safety rules', because after all it's a simulation, which to me means there is room for fantasy. haha. Jim

Yard Duty, The National Freight Yard Simulation - http://groups.msn.com/YardDuty

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>Nice to hear from you Dave. I was starting to wonder what
>happened to you.
>
>Jim Nope still here, happilly running coal trains from Belle/Chinook to Krannert. (Thats when I can get to the computer)

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Jim,Did you change the fuel value? I'm at 2525 miles and still going strong??Chris Lee
Train Artisan

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Oh yeah, the warning is at 2500 miles. Empty is at 3000 miles. Jim

Yard Duty, The National Freight Yard Simulation - http://groups.msn.com/YardDuty

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I think it would be a good idea. Will the engines proformance be effected when or as it breaks down. Meaning loss of hp if its not maintained.andrew Gilford Team

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I think its a great idea, I do that currently on trains that enter Allentown. All power is cutoff and "serviced" while new power is put on the train.Here is the link to Al Krugs fuel usage, it might not be relevant to YD as it is gal per hour however you can do the math
http://www.vcn.com/~alkrug/rrfacts/fueluse.htmA note: Most Dash9's have fuel tanks from 4500-5000 gals of fuel, while the Yard switchers have from 600 up to 3000 for SD40's.I'm looking forward to this
Chris Lee
Train Artisan

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Chris, You may be interested to know that I sent Krug an email inviting him to play YD. He said he doesn't play ANY games due to his busy schedule, but if he did, Yard Duty would be the one. Jim

Yard Duty, The National Freight Yard Simulation - http://groups.msn.com/YardDuty

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Based on Chris' numbers, maybe 2000 miles would be a good figure for running out of fuel.Paul Metzger
NS Team
Northern Region

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I too like this addition, however the only concern I have is the limited number of fueling pits. I generally run on the west coast and the only refueling pit i know of is at Barstow. Perhaps pits need to be added like at Eugene and W Colton. (Besides BNSF may mark up costs to fuel my UP units) Duane

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Just a point as now use to fuel opperation with locomotives
most of my expenses are by crasahing main line train which wipes away half of money but is not shown on financial statement
but there is line for fuel expenses but does not seem to be in use John

CannonballJDB

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