New route - grime & dirt with a tang of salt spray - the Port Switching Company

I've just uploaded my submission for the 2007 Route Building Contest.

It's an extremely compact route that combines all the industrial grime and dirt of my former routes with the refreshing taste and aroma of salt spray.

The town of Lys has a very busy but congested port area. Rail freight into and out of this area includes containers, Trailers on Flat Cars (TOFC), manufactured products, automobiles, bulk products, timber products, petrochemicals, plastics, scrap metal, aggregates and minerals.

The Port Switching Company moves freight cars around the port on behalf of the large Class 1 railroad which leaves and picks up the freight cars at the Transfer Yard.

In the port there are many interactive industries, permitting the use of most types of interactive freight cars. There is a small locomotive depot for both diesel and steam locomotives.

AI trainz can be configured to operate on two separated tracks at 3 minute headways. The AI routes interact with Player trains at three squeeze points.

Despite the high level of detail, frame rates are excellent on a mid-range P3.2 computer with a 256MB video card.

The Port Switching Company should appeal to those who like driving locomotives in either Cab or DCC mode, those who enjoy switching operations in a relatively confined but realistically portrayed environment, those who like interactive industries and fright cars, or those who just want to try a new item of rolling stock.

All assets required by this route are available from the Trainz Download Station and will be installed when the route is downloaded.

As with all my routes and sessions, an extensive readme and detailed maps are included in the folder containing the route. The readme contains information about setting up the AI trainz and the interactive industries.

For those who may be interested in trying this route the maps are:







Screen shots follow.

Screen shots:

Lys Loco. It supports both steam and diesel locomotives, with a small workshop for running repairs:



The minerals loading and unloading wharf:



The heavy lift terminal, with the scrap metal wharf in the background:



The container wharf:



(continues)

(continued)

The Teamster Yard in the foreground for TOFC (Trailer on Flat Car), with the Container Depot behind and Frigid Storage in the background:



Tyco Plastics:



The auto dispatch and receival area:



The local station (note that the concrete sleepered track is for use only by AI trainz):



If this route appeals to you, look for this thumbnail on the Download Station:



I will also by uploading sessions for this route.

Phil

Another Brain Twisting Puzzle for us Phil

WOW!

Looks like many hours of fun.

Good work Phil, thanks.

Dennis

dreddman, Dennis --

Conceptually it not a complex route, but even I, as the creator, find it a bit confusing sometimes. It may be small in size, but there is a lot packed into a small area. It's one of those routes where the 4-key view comes in very handy.

I've now uploaded the first session:

"This session is for PortSwitchingCo 1a. All the items of rolling stock needed by the session will be downloaded from the Download Station when the session is installed. You have the choice of driving one of three locomotives - a North American diesel, a British diesel or an Australian steamer.

Chuck and Joe, this is the Dispatcher - welcome aboard Port Switching. I would like you two guys to go out and familiarise yourself with our little operation. Feel free to explore where you will, just make sure to keep in contact with me about other train movements. Just press your M-key if you need to find out what is going on.

You will find that our Class 1 Railroad partner is running a very intensive schedule at the moment. You should expect to see their trainz thundering past every three minutes or so. Be very careful where we share their tracks and keep off the track with concrete sleepers.

Fuel up your loco at the depot and then head out. Feel free to explore where you want to. One task though - you will find a loaded tank car out down by the minerals gantry. Bring that back up to loco and spot it so that we can refill our diesel storage tank.

You might find the maps useful as you explore. These and our SOPs will be found in the folder."

(SOPs = Standard Operating Procedures.)

Thumbnail:



Phil

Very nice Phil. I'd like to download it very much..... (scoots off to DLS)
Please note that your route has come under question in the registration thread.

Matt

hey! you stole my idea! i was gonna make one just like it, with the same name.
but i stopped to work on a new project.
nice route bTW phil.
PS i have tried some of your secnarios, and their quite tough, do you think you could add like on-screen help for the few of us who are instruction-impaired?

Cheers,
Sean

Hi Sean --

" ... do you think you could add like on-screen help for the few of us who are instruction-impaired?"

I thought about this a while back. It works with sessions that are prescriptive, but most of mine are open-ended - most tasks can be competed in several different ways.

Have you been able to access the maps in the folder that contains the sessions? These should help considerably.

I have just uploaded a second session for Port Switching which is relatively easy, apart from navigating a path through the AI trainz on the upper section of the route. The session should take about 40 to 50 minutes to complete.

"This session is for PortSwitchingCo 1a. All the items of rolling stock needed by the session will be downloaded from the Download Station when the session is installed.

Note: Three yellow markers represent a LARS section of track; two ProtoLARS. Freight cars will load or unload when stationary on a LARS section. If one car in the consist has been stationary on a ProtoLARS section for one minute, all freight cars in the consist will load or unload in sequence.

Chuck, Joe - Dispatcher here.
Take those container flats down to the container wharf. Unload the 20 footers on the track next to the water; the 40 footers on the middle track (both ProtoLARS).
Take the empty flats to the container depot and load with tank containers (LARS).
Fill the tank containers at Conoco (they actually will not load).
Leave five of the flats in the transfer yard. Unload and leave one flat at Tyco Plastics (ProtoLARS).
Class 1 railroad trains will be running at 3 minute intervals. They have priority at all times.
Report to me when completed. It should take about 50 minutes.

Maps and a readme are included in the folder containing the session."

The thumbnail on the Download Station should be:



Phil

Hi Phil,

Looks great, I am in for some more downloading when it becomes available of course...

My apologies to all those who have downloaded this session.

I used a version of the flat cars that is not on the Download Station. An earlier version is there, but unfortunately this is not recognized by the session.

I have uploaded a revised version that corrects this error. It will obsolete the first version of the session; better still, remove it using TrainzObjectz or CMP.

Phil

Or we can even remove it from the DLS alltogether if you prefer.

Nice screenshots, good luck with the layout in the comp.

Alan

Hi Alan --

Remove it please. I think that's the best option.

Did you see my note about adding the "*** All assets in this layout ... ***" to PortSwitchingCo?

Thanks,
Phil

just to confirm please it's kuid 69871:12785:2 (PSC 1a TankContainers)

Nah, i haven't looked at thread all week, will do so this afternoon.

Alan

Alan --

Yes, that's the one. It's :2

I've just uploaded :3

Phil

Wish you all the best and luck Phil!!!!
Ishie

Hi Phil

I was thinking of mentioning this. I fiddled it by changing the kuid of the flatcar but if you are going to upload a new version I'll put it back the way it was.

Cheers
Roy

Out of curiosity young fella, do you propel or pull the wagons back to the transfer yard?

If you pull (which would be normal operating practice) you'll have fun trying to work out how to get the loco onto the head end. That adds to the fun! :hehe:

Also out of curiosity do you Americans have the bell operating the whole time you're shunting... sorry, switching?



Cheers

Nix

the bell is used for backing up, the don't used it for goning forward, unless it is a grade crossing, then they use it for that going forward with the horn, if there is people or anything around then they may use it for that too,

The SOPs for this little railroad state "All movements are classified as switching operations."

So it doesn't matter which end of the consist the locomotive is located. Otherwise the crews would spend more time changing ends than moving the freight cars.