What activities do you consider most prototypical?

LAST EDITED ON Jun-18-03 AT 03:03 AM (EDT)

(ie most prototypically correct when it comes to following real timetables, having a realistic amount of traffic, the most prototypical consists, etc.)(mainly thinking of activities for NEC/NEC4 and Marias Pass/MP30/MP31)

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RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, kevarc, Jun-18-03, 09:05 AM, (1) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, ssw_96, Jun-18-03, 09:51 PM, (2) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, TrainFreak, Jun-19-03, 02:46 AM, (3) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, Bing, Jun-19-03, 11:10 AM, (4) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, Coonskin, Jun-19-03, 12:02 PM, (5) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, wrr20891, Jun-19-03, 01:00 PM, (6) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, Coonskin, Jun-19-03, 02:14 PM, (7) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, Bing, Jun-19-03, 02:24 PM, (8) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, kevarc, Jun-19-03, 05:55 PM, (9) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, sniper297, Jun-19-03, 08:54 PM, (10) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, raytuck, Jun-20-03, 00:11 AM, (11) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, bootednancy, Jun-20-03, 07:17 AM, (12) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, lnghairedwizard, Jun-20-03, 12:30 PM, (13) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, bootednancy, Jun-21-03, 04:16 AM, (14) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, lnghairedwizard, Jun-21-03, 01:13 PM, (15) RE: What activities do you consider most prototypical?, jlucero4, Jun-22-03, 12:40 PM, (16)

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?Kevin Arceneaux
DEFAULT IS FOR DUMMIES
Lone Wolf Activities Forum on www.3DTrains.com

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I beleive that it would be kinda complicated to do a act. with pinpoint accuracy. but LHW's MOW Rescue is pretty accurate to me.

member of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SP_MSTS

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Of the activities people have made for download, or the ones included with the game - which ones would people consider to be most 'true to life' (as far as it is possible with the limitations in the game) when it comes to consists (ie lengt of trains, number of locos etc.), amount of AI traffic and so on

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I think what Kevin might be askingis: How would we know what happened precisely in "real life"? Over a large rail system there would be dozens of trains running any time of day or night, there would be hundreds of incidents, some small and of no interest, some important, but we don't have any idea what "acutally" happened. We're doing a simulation, which has to leave out something, the idea is to get as much into the sim as we can. There are limitations, boy are there ever limitations with MSTS. If it "feels" prototypical to you, then it IS prototypical. Not everyone will agree on what this amounts to. I don't really worry about it. If the trains run reasonably on time, without Mussolini, stay on the tracks and don't get trapped by an inflexible red signal, don't run into each other (I've had it happen in commercial activities because I left the yard early) - then for me the activity is successful. To get some idea of what REALLY goes on with a major rail system, you can read the operations manuals for the BNSF divisions. After a time they get to be boring, unless you are an absolute detail freak. Almost none of it will have the slightest impact on how I run a train over MP31.Don't get me wrong: I enjoy reading this stuff now and then. But its the milepost table that gets printed out (they are not "timetables" and I wonder who thought they were).Bing

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"But its the milepost table that gets printed out (they are not "timetables" and I wonder who thought they were)."Why, silly me, I just can't believe anything the railroads have taught me all these years.

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LAST EDITED ON Jun-19-03 AT 01:02 PM (EDT)

I think Bing is talking about the fact that scheduled trains are no longer listed in the timetable, like they were in the days of timetable and train order operations.Holding to railroad traditions, the RR still calls them timetables. Of course they always had more information than just scheduled trains, such as speeds, track numbers, capacity, etc.I know most of y'all know this, but maybe someone hasn't seen one before.Also, Coonskin, who did you have to kill for the KCS timetable? I looked for a couple of years before I found one. They are pretty hard to find, at least they were a few years ago.And just for you SLSF FOREVER!David

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"I think Bing is talking about the fact that scheduled trains are no longer listed in the timetable..."Still couldn't resist the urge to heckle. "Also, Coonskin, who did you have to kill for the KCS timetable?"No employees were harmed in the reception of the KCS Timetable. "And just for you SLSF FOREVER!"And it 'twas appreciated. Thank'yuh much.Andre "Coonskin" Ming

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To me a timetable will show the time a train starts from the depot, the stops it makes at stations, the time of those stops, and the time it arrives at its destination. That is what timetables used to do, that is what the Burlington METRA timetables still do, that is what timetables for other lines including Amtrak do. None of the manuals to which I refer do this. Accuracy in language has not bothered the authors, I guess it isn't supposed to bother us either. I see an operational manual. I don't see a timetable. Perhaps the word "timetable" has become meaningless, if so I will continue to be old fashioned, preferring to call a timetable a timetable when I see one. If I don't see a timetable, I will call it something else. Hopelessly old fashioned, I know. No apologies for being that way. Language used to mean something. Bing

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I try to do as much reasearch on the line before I start doing activities. Some have more than others. I try to base them on real trains as much as possible. That is far easier for a through train or one that stops at only a couple of yard, than a local. Locals, you are really on your own.As far as reality, the ones for Crawford were are real as it gets, they were all based on actual trains and typical makeup. CR Indy, they were close as I had quite a lot of info on the trains, but none on the makeup of them. Others are simply a guess as I have little or no info. I was lucky for the LV as a book I had had good info on the through or single stop trains.Most activities have more AI traffic than there really is. I know a lot of mine do as it some lines only see a couple of trains in a day or you may only pass a couple of trains. I add more to keep it from getting boring. The exception to this are the Indy acts. I created a generic traffic file that had a full 24 hours on the line. Some I had to delete due to the AI refusing to pass a tab signal.Kevin Arceneaux
DEFAULT IS FOR DUMMIES
Lone Wolf Activities Forum on www.3DTrains.com

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MINE!

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No point in beating about the bush ............ LOL

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I think the most realistic in terms of having my activities follow an accurate time schedule (Notice after the last 6 posts, I evaded TIMETABLE) and an accurate consists.I am working on a few activities for NECv4 for myself backdating to PRR/PC era (enough with this Acela crap) which is when I started working. Part of that accuracy is the scheduiles at the time, and the rest is the consist. A number of trains along the NY-Wash route had terminal delay time to cut off the head end and pick up mail, express or connecting through coaches/sleepers from other routes.That's what I'm trying to design into the activities besides just train running. Activity traffic trains can be "patched" in as needed to fill the segment, but not overly important, as long as it's not a blasted BNSF dash9 passing a PC MP-54 train or a New Haven flyer.DougThe wolf is right : DEFAULT IS FOR DUMMIES

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RE:"I am working on a few activities for NECv4 for myself backdating to PRR/PC era (enough with this Acela crap) which is when I started working. Part of that accuracy is the scheduiles at the time, and the rest is the consist. "I, too, am working on some PC activities for the NEC. Mine will be based around 1970. Any timetables or other prototype info you could share would be very apprecicated!!Longhairedwizard

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Dear Wizard:I do have a number of PC timetables from when I started in the early 70's and a few NY-Washington Consists books for the late 60-early 70 PC era.If you contact me off line I'll share this stuff with you, but it may be a few weeks till I can get at it to dig out the info, though you can pick my brain for what I do remember from those days.Thanks
Doug

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RE: "If you contact me off line I'll share this stuff with you, but it may be a few weeks till I can get at it to dig out the info, though you can pick my brain for what I do remember from those days."Cool, I'm in no major hurry anyways as I am still working on Northeastern themed rollings stock reskins and packages to be used for PRR, PC and CR themed activities so it'll still be some months before I release my first PC activity pack.when you say offline, do you mean via email or over the phone?You'll have to get me your info so I can do this...My email addy is: bbzak@msn.comBill Bzak aka Longhairedwizardmember of "The Keystone Works"

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I have found Bob Pickering's Raton Pass and CR Indy activity packs to be the most accurate with regards to realistic operations and actual timing.Jordan L.
http://home.earthlink.net/~bnsfjordan/

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