I have, an idea

Hey guys. I know i know. I don't come in here much...if ever. But I've been working on something for operating sessions IRL, and thought maybe you all could use them to a degree here.With the little group we have, we have something called the "incident deck"basically, it's a deck of cards broken down into 3 main types. Incident Cards,
Accident Cards,
and Blank Cards.In our ops sessions, what happens is every operator randomly draws a card, and then waits until instructed to turn it over. That card, of course remains a random factor until used. Here, we usually flip the cards whenever we feel like it (or annoy the dispatcher too much.) Then we have to react accordingly, and notify dispatch of the "incident" or "accident."
I thought, that since the MP sessions were similar to our OS's that maybe you could use the Incident Decks.Here's how it might work. Since your Operating sessions may run as long as a couple hours, and is divided through out several thousand miles (internet that is) each player would create their own deck Identical to the others.This deck would contain: 10 Incident Cards, 10 Accident Cards, and 30 Blank cards.Users could then draw a card at a random time, and react accordingly. Perfect times would be when passing a hotbox detector, or at predetermined locations for each train.Now, what do the Incident cards say? Well, one I have here reads:Incident: Your train has a hot box half way back. The detector warns you of this and advises restricticted speed. Stop, and wait instructions.Another, one of the Accident cards reads:Accident: A smouldering fire in the fans of your second locomotive has caught fire. While your crews can contain it, it will get out of hand unless you can get help soon. Notifiy dispatch and request fire departmant assistance.My favorite accident card though, has to be:Accident: A few moments ago, your EOT device fell from the last car and has been dragged for over two miles. It is no longer working and scattered in pieces. Notify dispatch and procede at 15 mph until you reach a safe siding, or a passing train can offer a spare.The basics are simple. The incident cards are just minor things. Like a hot box detector picking up a hot bearing, or a car whose brakes keep locking up. OR, it could be something about the track like maintenence finding a split rail and you having to restrict your speed.Accident cards, are things that COULD potentially cause a problem and get you called on the carpet so to speak. Anything can go wrong there, and is typically of a serious nature. For example, if you can't get the fire out, you may have to shunt the engine off into a siding and just let it burn. Or, it could be something along the lines of a derailment which makes you wait X ammount of time while the crews fix the problem.
so, That's basically it. If you're interested, I can post all 10 Incident and Accident card instructions here. If nothing else to test.

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I've used a similar on one of the model railroads I routinely dispatch but the cards are only used by the car knockers in the yard. Might be best served by someone who's not running a train noting the passage of a train over a detector, rolling a pair of dice, with a specific number agreed to secretly between the DS and the Detector "Dude" (or "dudette" as the case may be!). If and when the number comes up the DD throws the dice again and multiplies the number thrown by some other number to give an axle number for the defect, another roll (1-12) for the fault, etc. Random number generator programs are another good source for this type of random occurence production.Defects aren't that common but you never know when the detector itself may fail or give false readings! Case in point: Amtrak trains were stopped daily at the UP detector just east of here for several days. It always occured on the same car in the same trainset which was repeatedly inspected by the crew AND the carmen at the end of the run and given a clean bill of health. UP eventually got someone out there to inspect the detector....It's a good idea. Leave it up to the person calling the session as to whether to use it or not and how they want to implement the randomization.I like it a lot!JBD

Jim Duncan
Midwest Rail Group

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One of the Incident cards was designed to frustrate the crews since it took a second one to cancel it. I always suspected the guy who created it had a perverse sense of humor. Basically it reads:The detector you just passed is broken and reports your train to have something between five and fifteen hotboxes. Because of this, you must stop and check each car manually, and then procede forward at no more than 15 miles per hour. Notifiy dispatch.
I got that once, running a MOW train of all things. The sad part, is we were dispatched to repair the blinking thing

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