3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training

Just for informational sake, I think a couple bugs may have crept in, in the dialog boxes that pop up from time to time on the BNSF Engineer Training activity.When heading east out of Caliente, a box pops up mentioning that Tunnel 2 is approaching and Tunnel 1 was daylighted. The tunnel approaching IS Tunnel 1, the tunnel that was daylighted was Tunnel 1/2 back around MP 334.Then when heading through Bealville, the box popping up mentioned "approaching Tunnel 4". Actually, you're approaching Tunnel 3; Tunnel 4 is no longer used. Trains travel right next to the sealed up remains; it was heavily damaged in the 1952 earthquake. It now looks like a huge odd-shaped concrete mass between the rails and the hillside.

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RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, brucek, Jun-26-03, 05:19 AM, (1) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, obo, Jun-26-03, 07:53 AM, (2) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, GP15Dash1, Jun-26-03, 12:13 PM, (4) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, bray235, Jun-26-03, 03:17 PM, (5) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, judge, Jun-26-03, 03:18 PM, (6) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, GP15Dash1, Jun-26-03, 07:07 PM, (8) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, judge, Jun-26-03, 09:36 AM, (3) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, shoskins, Jun-26-03, 06:09 PM, (7) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, brucek, Jun-27-03, 05:54 PM, (9) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, wrr20891, Jun-27-03, 07:09 PM, (10) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, obo, Jun-27-03, 08:55 PM, (11) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, bnsf4794, Jun-28-03, 00:08 AM, (12) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, shoskins, Jun-28-03, 12:38 PM, (13) RE: 3DTS tehachapi: BNSF Engineer Training, bnsf4794, Jun-28-03, 02:36 PM, (14)

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>Just for informational sake, I think a couple bugs may have
>crept in, in the dialog boxes .......I'll be pedantic by stating that, if it is simply incorrect information, then it's not a "bug".
"Inaccuracies", maybe, but not "bugs"; Let's keep that term for programming or technical errors, please. And whilst we are on the subject of the TPII and Engineer Training, may I say that this format of introduction to a route is of greater value - to those unfamiliar with the real-life route, particularly - than the default "Explore" mode.My thanks to 3DTrainStuff for introducing this activity.Bruce.

AustRail

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>>Just for informational sake, I think a couple bugs may have
>>crept in, in the dialog boxes .......
>
>I'll be pedantic by stating that, if it is simply incorrect
>information, then it's not a "bug".
>"Inaccuracies", maybe, but not "bugs"; Let's keep
>that term for programming or technical errors,
>please. Hey, a pedantic argument...where do I sign up?I'll disagree - I think that an error in a piece of software can be described as a "bug" regardless of how it manifests itself. Users certainly don't care what part of an application caused a problem, nor should they - something is either right or wrong, and that's all there is to it. In addition, the term "bug" is in common use among the general public where, like it or not, it is a simple synonym for "error" (see for example the entry for bug at http://www.m-w.com/). Finally, the report of an error in a text string would in fact be handled/tracked in much the same way as any other problem type in just about formal software project. For these reasons I'd consider the description of the incorrect text as a "bug" to be perfectly acceptable in this context.My two cents, YMMV, not trying to start nuthin', etc.Rob.

Obo's MSTS Locomotive Catalog: http://msts.banal.net

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A little history: The term "bug" was first applied to computers by Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, USN when she was with the Sperry UNIVAC project. She had spent an entire night shift troubleshooting and found an intermittent contact in a relay (they used analog relays in those days) which was caused by an insect that had somehow gotten mashed between the relay's contacts. She cleaned the relay and put the remains of the insect in the troubleshooting log with the entry, "I FOUND THE BUG!" (Those remains are sealed in plastic and are probably still on display at the Grace Hopper Museum at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA.)So, the term originated as a means of describing a HARDWARE problem and not a software problem...as with many such words (kleenex, for example), the usage has gotten blurred over time.Kurt

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Quote < It's not a bug, it's a feature > UnQuote

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"Amazing Grace" also has a ship named after her, the first US Navy destroyer named after a woman. She also coined the phrase, "It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission." She retired from the Navy at age 80 and then went to work as a consultant for some computer company.Noel

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Noel,That's affirmative...I was fortunate to be selected to be a member of USS HOPPER's first crew, then circumstances took over and prevented me from going to sea in her. She's homeported in Hawaii, these days, and is just home from the war.I was, however, one of the folks wielding the 90 pound sledge hammers used to drive out the wedges holding HOPPER on the ways...we launched her on January 6th, 1995...a very, very cold day, even by Maine standards.Admiral Hopper was also fond of giving people pieces of wire about 4 inches long to illustrate just how far a signal goes in a nanosecond.Kurt

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If this is bothersome it's not that difficult to open the activity file in Wordpad and correct the text messages. I do it all the time to correct my favorite annoyance...misspelled words.Noel

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I'm with you, judge....I did just what you mentioned...especially the spelling and run-on words errors.

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Which is the reason for my initial post; it's not a "bug" in the regular sense.
At worst, it's advisory misinformation and little more than the equivalent of printed typos.I, too, did exactly what you've just mentioned.
And I wouldn't have been able to do that if it were either a software programming error or a hardware malfunction! Bruce.

AustRail

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LAST EDITED ON Jun-27-03 AT 07:12 PM (EDT)

Never mind, wrong message!!!
David

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>Which is the reason for my initial post; it's
>not a "bug" in the regular sense. And I still disagree. Nyah. You're asking that the user allow for the manner in which output is generated when deciding whether to label incorrect output a bug.Such a distinction:1. Is beyond the capabilities of the average user, for whom the typical program is a "black box".2. Contradicts the standard usage of the term among the general population. Again, check the m-w site.3. Contradicts the standard usage of the term as experienced by at least one programmer.>At worst, it's advisory misinformation and little more than
>the equivalent of printed typos. The severity doesn't matter. If, say, the tunnel numbers were automatically generated each time the program ran, I suspect that you would agree that this was a bug.Rob.

Obo's MSTS Locomotive Catalog: http://msts.banal.net

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LAST EDITED ON Jun-28-03 AT 00:08 AM (EDT)

Well, it's a good thing I admitted to not remembering the numbers up in Cable... LOLI made that activity, so I hope you'll forgive my errant tunnel-numbering. Shame on me! John G
3DTS Route Guy

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Don't feel bad, I had to stop and think (wow, did THAT cause some smoke out of the ears) what those tunnel numbers were too. Have to admit, I cheated and looked into one of those railfan timetable books to find the answer..... The railfan timetable book and the maps in John Signor's "Tehachapi" book don't agree. The timetable book shows tunnels 14-15-16-17. The "Tehachapi" book shows them as 13-14-15-16, and also shows 11-12 which don't appear in the timetable book.

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According to my latest genuine data (unfortunately, I have to protect my source, but it is authentic up-to-date RR data), the tunnels go like this:-Tunnel 1/2 (0.5) was between Ilmon and Caliente, and was daylit many moons ago.
-Tunnel 1 is actually not shown on my data, but does indeed exist and is the first one out of Caliente eastbound.
-Tunnel 2 is the one on the curve at Allard (these days it's the west end of Bealeville).
-Tunnel 3 is the one just RR east of Bealeville, which I misnamed as Tunnel 4.
-Tunnel 4 is the "tomb" and no longer exists as a tunnel
-Tunnel 5 is at the west end of Cliff
-Tunnel 6 no longer exists
-Tunnels 7 and 8 are between Cliff and Rowen
-Tunnel 9 is the Loop
-Tunnel 10 is RR-east and above the Loop
-Tunnels 11, 12 and 13 no longer exist
-That leaves us with Tunnels 14, 15, 16, and 17 between Marcel and Cable.Unfortunately, I didn't have this particular diagram when I built the route. My track data (again, actual genuine RR data) does not show tunnel numbers, so that explains my error on number 4.John G
3DTS Route Guy

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