SAR Scenarios Tutorial

 The Tutorial Scenario 

The scenario used in this tutorial is  Gladstone-Peterborough Depot Fuel which has the consist already fully assembled with its locomotive (T 258) on the  Goods Loop . This tutorial will follow the scenario until the consist arrives at Jamestown.

 Driving From Gladstone to Caltowie 

There is a minor location, Yangya, between Gladstone and Caltowie but it has minimal yard infrastructure, no visible signals and its switches are set for the main line through to Caltowie

You have two options for driving to Caltowie - Manual and AI control.

  Manual Control 

You can manually drive the train through to Caltowie without using the AI Driver Commands. This requires that all the switches along the path are correctly set. You can do this by manually using the information on the Gladstone  page (link via - link will open in this window).

Part of this page is shown left with only those switches relevant to this tutorial scenario. The red dots indicate the yard Start and Exit positions for the train path. Also shown left below is the Switch Set data, taken from the same page, for the path Gladstone  Goods Loop  to  Broken Hill . The switch directions, L or R are the directions when facing the junction fork i.e. the L and R that determine which direction a train will take when passing over the junction. Switch  20  does not need to be set as the consist is beyond the switch.

You can now use the Driver Speed Dial or the keyboard controls (W, S, X) to drive the train out of Gladstone Yard to Caltowie. Alternatively, for those with advanced steam loco driving skills, you can take control of the throttle, brake and other various devices in the loco cab.

Locations that do not have visible Home signals (and many of the locations do not) then a visible Caution track sign has been placed alongside the track at the position of the Approach Track Mark (see   AI Control  below) as a stopping guide when you are driving manually

When using the manual driving controls (either the keyboard or on-screen cab controls) it is a good idea to test the train direction first by clicking the Train Direction Button in the lower right of the screen. This will set and reveal the red and green direction arrows on the consist and establish the forward direction of travel.

  AI Control 

You can also drive by adding AI Driver Commands directly into the Driver Command Bar on the bottom right of the screen. The commands will automatically set all the switches along your path in the route. A large number of track marks and some industies have been added to provide destinations for these commands.

The approach to every location in the route has  Track Marks added to allow you to let the AI do most of the driving work.

Apart from the standard commands (Drive To, Load, Unload, Couple, Wait For, etc), additional commands have been added to the session. Specifically:-

• Instant Load Command - to instantly load all wagons (except locos) with the first item in their product queues
• InstantLoadLocos - to instantly load all locos (or their tenders) with water and either coal or bunker c oil
• InstantUnload - to instantly unload all wagons (except locos)

The Track Marks are shown on the Caltowie  page (link via - link will open in this window).

All locations in the route have Approach Track Marks placed a short distance ahead of the approach or Home signals, both visible and invisible, that protect the yard entry point

Caltowie does not have a coal stage or a fuel oil store in need of a refill so the consist will not be stopping here. A through path is the best option.

  Manual Control 

To manually drive the train through Caltowie to Jamestown you will have to manually set all the switches yourself using the information on the Caltowie  page (link via - link will open in this window).

Because Caltowie is a fairly simple yard, the switch sets are not complex.  Port Pirie to Broken Hill  via  Main  -  1 -R  2 -L  6 -R  7 -L  Port Pirie to Broken Hill  via Station -  1 -L  7 -R Once the switches have been set, use the Driver Speed Dial, the keyboard controls (W, S, X), advanced on screen controls, or the AI to drive the train through Caltowie.

 Catchpoints 

Notice that the Switch Track Diagram above shows three switches in red with letters as IDs -  A    B    C .

These special switches are identified on the Caltowie  page as Catch Points which are also known as Derails. They are designed to derail runaway wagons and prevent them from fouling the running lines. Most yards in the route have at least one Catch Point.

The information above shows that the default position of the Catch Points, the first direction setting shown as an (L) or an (R), is set to  Catchpoint  which is the Derail position.

	If you are manually driving through a yard, then you MUST correctly set each  Catchpoint  on your path yourself otherwise your train will DERAIL
	If you are using the AI Drive commands to navigate through a yard, then any  Catchpoints  along the path of your train will be automatically set to allow the train to safely pass.

The Catchpoints used in major yards have mechanical indicators. Smaller yards use a simplier version with a static sign. The Catchpoint switch green arrow MUST point to the opposite side of the track from the Catchpoint Rail for the Catchpoint to be safe to cross.

  AI Control 

After reaching Caltowie you can use the Track Marks placed in the yard to navigate your way through. The track marks are shown on the Caltowie  page (link via - link will open in this window) with a section containing a few that are relevant to this tutorial reproduced below with a secion of the Track Mark details from the same page.

All stations on the route have track marks, including the passenger enabled stations. This allows you to use the Drive To Trackmark command to reach any passenger station. The track marks are named using the name of the station (e.g. Caltowie), the word Station and the direction of travel, Up or Dn. So Caltowie has the station track marks Caltowie Station Dn and Caltowie Station Up (not shown above).

	Most stations on the route are NOT passenger enabled which reflects the level of passenger traffic that existed at those locations. The Drive To Trackmark command has to be used to bring a train alongside these stations when using the AI
	The  page at each location () will show the status of each station

You have a number of options for using the AI to navigate through the yard to the other side:-

•  Drive To Trackmark  Jamestown Main Approach Dn which will ignore the Caltowie track marks and the AI will select its own logical route through the yard on its way to Jamestown
•  Drive To Trackmark  Caltowie Station Loop Dn will force the train to travel via the Station to the end of the Station  Loop . This should be followed by a  Drive To Trackmark  Jamestown Main Approach Dn to reach Jamestown
•  Drive To Trackmark  Caltowie Main Dn will force the train to travel to the end of the  Main  Line. This should be followed by a  Drive To Trackmark  Jamestown Main Approach Dn to reach Jamestown
• The two options above could also use  Drive Via Trackmark  for their first command.

Jamestown is the final destination of this tutorial but the Gladstone-Peterborough Depot Fuel Scenario continues on to Peterborough. We will be using the  Loop  road as the destination in Jamestown.

  Manual Control 

As at Gladstone and Caltowie, all the switches will have to be set manually. The Jamestown  page (link via - link will open in this window) shows all the switches into Jamestown and their settings.

The required Switch Set is identified on the Jamestown  page as Use the Driver Speed Dial, the keyboard controls (W, S, X) or the advanced on screen controls to drive the train into Jamestown  Loop  and halt at the end of the loop.

  AI Control 

The Jamestown  page (link via - link will open in this window) shows all the Jamestown track marks.

The important Track Marks for this tutorial scenario are identified on the Jamestown  page as From the open Driver Command Menu select the  Drive To Trackmark  command which will open up a long alphabetical list of track marks. Find and select the track mark  Jamestown Loop Dn .

This ends the tutorial but you can continue the Gladstone-Peterborough Depot Fuel Scenario.