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I'm trying to set up a simple activity for the Conrail Indianapolis Line, involving a westbound intermodal meeting a variety of eastbounds.Here's where the problem lies. My train leaves Marion, OH at 3:30 AM. At the same time, the first of the AI trains is passing Ingalls, IN (MP 260). I don't meet the first AI train until Selma, IN (MP 220). Track speed on the route is 60 MPH, and I strictly observe the speed limit.The player performance on the AI train is 100, with starting and ending speeds of 60 MPH. How, then, do I travel 119 miles in the same time the AI train travels 40 miles?Bruce Bridges
Bruce, the deal with setting up meets between AI traffic trains and your player train is a matter of trail and error on the part of your player train and its arivial time at a certain point. However you can depend on the VCR tool to show you a very close time of a traffic train reaching a certain point. And you can adjust it's arival at a certain point, by adjusting any or all of the following. It's start point, start time, start speed, player performance, Locomotive power to train load (Power to weight ratio). When setting up a meet, I first check the AI traffic train on the VCR tool, in the Activity Editor. To see what time it takes it to run from its starting point to its meeting point with my player train. If the traffic train doesnt arive when I want it to, then I adjust the things I can adjust to make it on time. Then I check by running the route on MSTS what time my player train arives at the meeting point. Then I see how close the VCR tool was in predicting when the AI traffic train arives. Make notes to yourself, and adjust everything untill it is to your likeing. Another thing you can do to allow some error time in when the player train arrives at a meeting point, if two passing tracks are close in distance. Because everybody will not drive the player train like you do. Is you can set up several possible passing points, or meeting places on two close together passing tracks. Just let them meet where they do. And with luck it will work. However this leaves more of a chance of being stuck at a red signal, for you or the traffic train it seems. The bottom line is set up your activity and test it several times to check for problems. When using the Activity Editor, you have to expect problems. I hope this helped out. Good luck.Phil Senteraka
Do not trust the VCR, it is very unreliable. If you watch the AI trains they go to full speed way to fast and slow to quickly. The best thing you can do is adjust the performance of the AI trains to a lower number, I use 50 - 60%. You also need to run the activity BEFORE you add any AI trains. Keep track of your time as you pass certain things. This will assist you in setting up your traffic pattern.Kevin Arceneaux It is time for Amtrak to become a fallen flag!
Sounds good, except I want to speed the AI trains up...They're hotshot intermodals, and should be doing 60. Instead, they creep along at 15-20 mph with player performance maxed out.Any suggestions?
AI trains can be slowed down by a number of factors. Any signals which can display a Restricting Aspect will slow an AI train down to 15 MPH and it will never then speed up,if the AI train passes such a signal whilst its displaying the Restricting aspect. Permissives which can display Stop & proceed will also slow AI trains down , usually to speeds between 20 - 30 MPH ,(and they wont speed up again.) On my routes I edit the signal scripts to get rid of these indications and dont have any probs with slow AI trains. MD
In the .con file of your AI train there is a line like MaxTrainSpeed (I can't recall it's correct name). This has two parameters. The first is the consists max speed in metres per second, the second is it's accelaration in metres per second per second. The AE sets these parameters based on the consists contents when the consist if made. You can manually alter them to get different performance.
