Surfliner Training

LAST EDITED ON Aug-26-03 AT 02:07 PM (EDT)

It was decided to move one of the Surfliner Trainsets to El Centro to train new engineers on less busy tracks.
The train was parked at the El Centro stations when we got there:
After A walkaround and equipment checks, we headed out onto the SD&A wye. Because these were long cars, we moved through the wye slowly to check clearances:
Then Westbound at 25mph through town, getting a feel for the train and tracks.

We kept it fairly slow, as we weren't sure if the signals were operating properly at the grade crossings. Once we got clear of Plaster City, where there weren't any crossings or competing traffic, we opened it up a little:
Soon enough we arrived at Coyote Wells:
We stopped and reset to East switch to the main and took off again:
As we crossed over I-8, I took a quick headout to look for railfans - I guess the word hasn't gotten out yet:
Continuing West, running across some rough track, I did another headout to make sure everything was still "steel-to-steel"
"Next Station, Dos Cabezas!" This is as far West as the track has been inspected and tested - we'll tie up here for beans then head East this afternoon:

(And I hope the color comes out better on your system than it is on my laptop)(Corrected spelling and grammar during edit)

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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Will the owner of the Surfliner, Please move it. Your B, P42number1, Aug-26-03, 04:37 PM, (1) RE: Will the owner of the Surfliner, Please move it. Yo, ATF1224, Aug-26-03, 07:38 PM, (2) RE: Will the owner of the Surfliner, Please move it. Yo, AEM7AC 920, Aug-27-03, 00:21 AM, (3) RE: Will the owner of the Surfliner, Please move it. Yo, IcyFire, Aug-27-03, 00:26 AM, (4) RE: Will the owner of the Surfliner, Please move it. Yo, oldrailfan, Aug-27-03, 07:59 AM, (5) RE: Surfliner Training, gatewaycityca, Aug-28-03, 04:13 AM, (6) RE: Surfliner Training, Hack, Aug-28-03, 04:19 AM, (7) RE: Surfliner Training, oldrailfan, Aug-28-03, 08:15 AM, (8) RE: Surfliner Training, Hack, Aug-28-03, 08:21 AM, (9) RE: Surfliner Training, P42number1, Aug-28-03, 01:00 PM, (10) RE: Surfliner Training, oldrailfan, Aug-29-03, 08:38 AM, (11) RE: Surfliner Training, gatewaycityca, Aug-29-03, 07:32 PM, (18) RE: Surfliner Training, oldrailfan, Aug-30-03, 08:26 AM, (19) RE: Surfliner Training, ajwtcb, Aug-29-03, 09:39 AM, (12) RE: Surfliner Training, oldrailfan, Aug-29-03, 02:45 PM, (13) RE: Surfliner Training, Hack, Aug-29-03, 02:49 PM, (14) RE: Surfliner Training, ajwtcb, Aug-29-03, 05:51 PM, (15) RE: Surfliner Training, ajwtcb, Aug-29-03, 05:52 PM, (16) RE: Surfliner Training, Koziolean, Aug-29-03, 06:25 PM, (17) RE: Surfliner Training, sawblade5, Aug-31-03, 01:09 PM, (20)

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Woah! That track is blurry! And you better not block that crossing!

Stand Clear of the Biting Doors.

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They are also testing a trainset here at the WI&I. One of the bridge operators took this shot of the Amtrak accelerating out of the 20 MPH restriction (account curvature and trestle) at the bridge approach...

The Norfolk Southern Winston-Salem District

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Yuck what are you running for a video card

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LOL____________________________________________
Shawn K, shawnssk@yahoo.com
Texture dude for TKW & YLW, Forum Mod. Feel free to e-mail me.

READ the forum rules!
Have a general question? Try Google
Looking for an answer to a Train-Sim Question? Search the Forum Archive First
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LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-03 AT 08:04 AM (EDT)

Yeah - when I figure out how to meet the requirements of the forum (800x600,under 100kb) the scenes will probably improve...the originals look great on my desktop; I am, however, using only the 'factory' video. Upgrades are in the near future as time and finances allow.ADDED: Anyone that's been to Dos Cabezas knows that's (really) an exempt crossing - disconnected from any roads in use, the crossbucks taken down, so on.

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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Okay, I HAVE to ask about that Amtrak Surfliner set! I loved that view from the cab car! Is this available in the File Library, or was this a set you had made yourself?Don't worry about the image quality in the screen shots. Because of the very low size limits, I think most attached pictures in posts do end up looking pretty blurry and pixely. Really, a .JPG is just about the absolute worst type of image file you can use because of its crappy image quality (bitmap is MUCH better and clearer, but also results in HUGE files), but we don't really have much choice because most sites will only allow you to upload .JPG or .GIF file types. The actual scenes in the simulator always look way better than what we are limited to using to post screen shots.Chris T.

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http://www.facingpoint.comCheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.comPro Series SuperPacks

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>Okay, I HAVE to ask about that Amtrak Surfliner set! I
>loved that view from the cab car! Is this available in the
>File Library, or was this a set you had made yourself?
>Chris T. Marc has already answered this, but...Don't I wish I was such a "skinner," designer, whatever - this is a bought set. See the link in Hack's response.
What are you doing up that time of morning... You a nightowl like me??
(Just ending my workday, heading for bed)

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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To wired on coffee to sleep, so I thought I would forum-lurk and work on models. Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.comPro Series SuperPacks

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They're great models! Marc-Thank you for helping me find the download area. Can't belive I missed it...

Stand Clear of the Biting Doors.

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Actually Marc, I know (and know why) you're a nightowl, we've 'talked' several times thru late night exchanges on the 3DTrains forums. (I'm the 'oldrailfan' there, also)
I meant Chris. Are you a night worker, too, Chris? Or just insomnia that night?

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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John, I'm a major nighowl! It's typical for me to be up until 2 or 3am, especially if I don't have school the next day (I'm in college). I think that night...well not sure. I think I've been to the Facing Point Media website before, now that I think about it. I found a bunch of Amtrak locomotive cab videos one night, and that might have been the site I got them from. It seems familiar. Those are great videos, by the way! I have taken the Amtrak to Del Mar before, so it was cool to see the line from a different perspective! I love that one video from when the train is departing the San Diego station. You can hear the engines reving and the turbochargers spooling up and really feel the power of the locomotive. It's great.Chris

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Figgered you might be like me - I work 12hr shifts from 6pm-6am. On the nights I'm off, I "play" all night, and always sleep during the day.
'Course, this weekend, I gotta shift gears; I have daytime training all next week, so I'll use the long weekend to rotate to diurnal, then back to nocturnal next weekend. I only seem to be able to do that by losing sleep...aargh!

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-29-03 AT 09:42 AM (EDT)

Actually, the key to JPEG format is in the compression - the less compression, the better the quality. Here is a JPEG that is 800x600 with a little compression (80% quality). Sometimes it is better to sacrifice a little size overall in order to retain a high quality for forum posting. When used properly, JPEG format offers a lot of control over your images, and far surpasses bitmaps for balanced file size and quality.Edited: John, I would think that you used a little too much compression with your images. Try scaling down to 640x480 ( I think) and using a little less compression. The file size on the image I posted is 84.2 KB.

Andy Whitcomb

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I know about that, but when I change the compression setting by only a slight amount, say from 70%(where I normally start) to 65%, I've seen a file drop from 136kb to 48, and then I can't get it back!
THe other thing I've seen happen is make a considerable percentage change and nothing happen to the file size. Maybe it's the editor I'm using...

JOhn
Oldrailfan
Railfan means anything on rails! Trains Trolleys Rollercoasters - you name it.

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>Maybe it's the editor I'm using... I personally use Photoshop for JPG's, as I feel it has the best file compressions in the industry. It also allows you to view the final file size based on the selected compression before saving. Very handy IMHO.Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.comPro Series SuperPacks

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I use Photoshop frequently, but when I'm working on the train-sim screenshots I use Microsoft Photo Editor - much quicker to load the image, rescale, and manage compression. I also make my first save in the highest quality and without scaling the image down. Here is a quick step by step list of how I convert a screenshot ...1) Move all of the scrgrb**.pcx files from my train sim directory to a temporary folder. The "**" would represent a sequential number that is added.
2) Open a .pcx file in Microsoft Photo Editor (or other image program)
3) Go to File > Save As
4) Select JPEG for the format.
5) Click the "More" button to display the compression ratio - set it to full
6) Create a name for the image and click save
7) Close the image
8) Repeat 2-7 until finished
9) Delete the *.pcx files
10) Organize the *.jpg files into folders (I do them by route).So, when I want to upload an image, I open the original, re-size it and adjust the compression (again, the one I previously posted was 800x600 at 80% quality). I save this file with a different name (like photo_sml.jpg) and then upload it to the forum. Sometimes I delete this scaled down image, sometimes I keep them.Also, if you are worried about your originals, check your Recycle Bin" or "Trash Can" and see if they are in there. If so, you can move them back out and start over with the original image.Once you get the hang of it, this is really easy to do. Just don't be intimidated - stick with it and you will ba able to convert screenshots in no time flat.Good Luck, and feel free to post or send me a private message if you need more help.

Andy Whitcomb

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By the way, sacrifice a little size instead of compression. Try 640 x 480 and see if you have a little more luck.

Andy Whitcomb

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Irfanview works well + freeKoz

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I have gotta get the Surfliner route. I am always Drooling all over when I see screenshots of the Consist. I bet it is really worth that $34.99 that they're charging for it. I have gotta get this route and trainsets. Unless someone wants to by me one for my Birthday which was on the 26th.

Chris Knight
Kansas City, KS

Coal Trains Rule

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