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TrainSIM 1.0 by Ron Balewski Please note: TrainSIM is being distributed as Shareware. You are permitted to try TrainSIM before purchasing it. If you continue to use TrainSIM beyond the 30-day trial period, you are expected to become a registered user by sending the $20 registration fee to the author. Whether you register or not, however, you are encouraged to pass copies of TrainSIM along for others to try. Index What is TrainSIM ....................... 4 About This Manual ...................... 4 Hardware Requirements .................. 4 Let's Run a Train ...................... 5 Detailed Instructions .................. 6 Diesel Locomotive Theory ............. 6 Running a Train ...................... 8 Initial Set-Up WIndow ................ 8 Engines section .................... 8 Cars section ....................... 8 Line FIle section .................. 8 Start button ....................... 8 Build button ....................... 8 Primary Control window ............... 8 File menu ................. ........ 8 Speed menu ......................... 9 Window menu ........................ 9 Help menu .......................... 9 Brake Pressure gauge ............... 9 Reserve Pressure gauge ............. 9 Air Flow gauge ..................... 10 Current gauge ...................... 10 Train Brake section ................ 10 Engine Brake section ............... 10 Throttle section ................... 11 Direction section .................. 11 Power button ....................... 11 Time section ....................... 11 Horn button ........................ 11 Bell button ........................ 12 Telemetry section .................. 12 Sand button ........................ 12 Slip light ......................... 12 Temp light ......................... 12 Oil light .......................... 12 Load light ......................... 12 OL light ........................... 12 Stall light ........................ 13 No Sound button .................... 13 Emergency button ................... 13 Speedometer window ................... 13 Speedometer gauge .................. 13 Mileage section .................... 13 Page 2 Clear section ...................... 13 Engine Satus window (Analog) ......... 14 Fuel gauge ......................... 14 Current gauge ...................... 14 Oil Pressure gauge ................. 14 Temperature - Engine gauge ......... 14 Temperature - Traction gauge ....... 14 On Line button ..................... 14 Traction Motor Cutout section ...... 14 1-10 Locomotive Selector buttons ... 14 "D" Digital button ................. 15 Engine Status Window (Digital) ....... 15 Gauges ............................. 15 Traction Motor Cutout section ...... 15 1-10 Locomotive Selector buttons ... 15 "A" Analog button .................. 15 Path window .......................... 15 Scenery WIndow ....................... 17 Building a Track ....................... 18 Overview ............................. 18 Initial Set-up Window ................ 18 Build Window ......................... 18 File menu .......................... 18 Start section ...................... 18 Control section .................... 19 Auto section ....................... 20 Vert Inc display ................... 20 Currents -- Horiz and Vert sections 20 SL section ......................... 20 MP section ......................... 20 Goodies section .................... 21 Length display ..................... 21 Checkpoint display ................. 21 Append button ...................... 21 Delete button ...................... 22 Goodies button ..................... 22 Map window ........................... 22 Helpful Hints .......................... 22 How to Register ........................ 23 What comes with Registration ........... 23 Add-Ons ................................ 24 Future Enhancements .................... 24 Permission to Distribute ............... 25 Attention Shareware Vendors ............ 25 Appendix A: Track File Information .... 26 Appendix b: System Resources ........... 26 Page 3 What Is TrainSIM ================ TrainSIM is a simulation of operating a freight train along a point-to-point route. I've tried to mathematically model the "physics" (acceleration and braking on hills and curves based on train weight, etc.) and the controls of a train as accurately as possible. Please remember that this is a "simulation" and not a "game." It can indeed get boring sometimes (like when you've got to pull up a steep grade at ten miles an hour because you don't have enough power). However, nobody ever said that reality must always be exciting -- and with this version, I'm trying for reality!! About This Manual ================= This manual is divided into three parts. The first will give you just enough information to get a train moving. You should read this part of the manual while running TrainSIM, since it'll include a lot of "push this button now" simplicity just to get you going. The second part will go into great detail about each control on each window visible while operating the train. It's laid out on a window-by-window basis, so it'll be a handy reference as you learn TrainSIM. The third section will take you through building your own track with the track layout section included in TrainSIM. Hardware Requirements ===================== Being a Windows application, TrainSIM requires Windows -- version 3.1, to be exact. You MUST also have SHARE.EXE loaded. If you get an Init error the first time you run TrainSIM, it's probably because you dodm't load SHARE! TrainSIM will work with virtually any graphics display that Windows will support. However, there are a lot of windows available in TrainSIM. To keep them all open with a minimum amount of overlap, you should have a high resolution (1024x768 or better) display system. For this version, the sixteen-color setting will be adequate. However, a future version may prefer 256-color mode when I improve the scenery window. Page 4 I'd also recommend as fast a processor as possible. The current version of TrainSIM works fine in real-time on a 25 MHz '386, which is as slow as I'd recommend. A slower machine, although it will work, will run the simulation slower than real-time. Let's Run a Train ================= OK, let's put on that striped engineer's cap and get our eastbound freight moving! We've got a schedule to keep! To start TrainSIM, just double-click its icon from the program manager. If you're not registered, you'll see a shareware notice box. For now, just press the "I'm still testing!" button. You're now at the Train Set-up panel. You can add or remove engines or cars by clicking the up/down spinners. You can also choose another line file by pressing the F button in the Line File section and selecting a new line file. For now, let's use the defaults of 4 engines, 80 cars, and MAINLINE.DB. So, to get underway, press the Start button. You'll now see two windows, the Primary Control window and the Speed window. There are others available, but they're not displayed yet to reduce clutter. You'll also notice some activity in the Brake Pressure, Reserve Pressure, Air Flow, and Telemetry indicators. This is good -- it means your air tanks are charging up. I'll give you more details on this in section 2. To get moving, you'll need the Direction and Throttle levers. The Direction lever is represented by three buttons - Reverse, Neutral, and Forward. In Version 1.0, Reverse isn't supported yet -- going into reverse is the same as going into forward. The Throttle lever is represented by nine buttons. An engine has eight power settings and an Idle setting. The left-most button is Idle (it's now red to show that it's selected). The right-most button is throttle position 8 -- full throttle. The buttons in between, of course, represent throttle 1 thru throttle 7. The window to the right of the buttons will display the current power setting (since we're in Idle, IDLE is currently displayed there). Press the F button and then the Throttle position 1 button. Page 5 OK, we're moving! You'll notice the Current meter go up, indicating that electric current is being delivered to the traction motors. You'll also notice the speed gradually climb to about 9 MPH if you used the default engine/car settings. Let's speed up a bit. Take 'er up to throttle 4. You'll see that we're delivering more current and we're accelerating. We should level out at about 68 MPH. Notice how few engines and how low a throttle setting is needed to move so many cars at a good speed on the straight-and-level. What does the track look like? Good question! Select Map under the Windows menu on the Primary Control panel. A Map window will open up. The black/green/red line indicates the track. Black is level, red is an up-hill grade, and green is a down-hill grade. The yellow grid is in square-miles. The blue dot is the front of your train. The white dot is the back of your train. Section 2 will go into more detail on what you can do with this map window. What's ahead of us? Another good question. Very few engineers operate their trains while blind-folded. They might miss some rather important information -- like speed limit markers! Select Scenery from the Windows menu and let's have a look around. All we'll usually see is track. Keep an eye out for mileposts on the right-hand side -- there's one every mile. We should see a speed-limit sign whenever we come into a curve, too. It'll also be on the right-hand side. Pay attention to those speed-limit signs. They tell us the maximum safe speed around the curve. If we go too fast, we may just derail -- and I'd hate to explain that one to the Trainmaster! What about fuel? Temperature? And other engine controls? I'm glad you asked! Select Engine from the Windows menu. This window will show you the "vital signs" of any engine in your consist. You'll also be able to take an engine off-line or bypass groups of traction motors. Page 6 Detailed Instructions ===================== Diesel Locomotive Theory ------------------------ Most modern diesel locomotives are really Diesel-Electrics. The diesel engine drives an electrical generator which produces 600 volts of DC electrical power. The electricity is then passed to a set of traction motors - one per axle - which provide power to the wheels. Locomotives today generally produce 3000 - 4000 horsepower. Most are either four-axle or six-axle. They can be assembled into any necessary multiple-unit (MU) combinations all under the control of one engineer. Because each axle is connected to an electric traction motor, today's locomotives can provide "dynamic braking" which can assist stops to reduce friction on the brake shoes. When a locomotive is put into dynamic braking mode, the traction motors are disconnected from the generator and connected to a resistance grid. The traction motors, driven by the wheels, act as generators which take their power from the moving train. The resulting power is dissipated as heat in a resistance grid, thus slowing the train. Train braking is accomplished with air brakes. However, a reverse action fail-safe method based on George Westinghouse's 1872 invention is used. The brake pipe is held at high pressure when the brakes are released. Applying the brakes will reduce the brake pipe pressure. Each car contains its own air reserve cannister and pressure monitoring valve. When the pressure monitoring valve sees the pipe pressure go down, it routes air from the local reserve cannister to the brake cylinders. WHen the pipe pressure comes back up, the brakes are released and the reserve cannister is re-charged. With this method, if an air hose were to break, the brake pipe pressure would quickly drop and the brakes would apply. Before leaving, the brake system is charged with air to between 70 (lower legal limit) and 110 pounds per square inch (PSI) of pressure. Federal law further mandates that the train cannot leave unless the pressure difference between the front and back of the train is less than 15 PSI and air flow into the brake pipe from the locomotive's Page 7 compressor is less than 60 cubic feet per minute (CFM). Many trains today use an end-of train (EOT) telemetry device. The EOT continuously radios the brake pipe pressure at the back of the train to a receiver at the engineer's console. This information can also aid the engineer in confirming that brake applications and releases happened properly. Running A Train ---------------- Initial Set-up Window: Engines section The up/down spinner allows you to choose how many engines you wish to have in your traib. You need at least one. The maximum number is ten. Cars section The up/down spinner allows you to choose how many cars you want in your train. The maximum number is 200. Line File section The text window displays the currently selected line file. The default is MAINLINE.DB. To choose another line file, press the F button and choose a line file from the list. Start button Starts the simulation with the chosen line file, engine, and car values. Build button Puts you into the Build Line mode. See the Building a Track section for complete details. Primary Control Window: File menu / Save simulation Saves the current simulation to a disk file. File menu / Load simulation Loads a saved simulation back into the simulator. File menu / Restart Re-starts the current simulation from the beginning. File menu / Exit Exits TrainSIM. Page 8 Speed menu / Pause Pauses the simulation. Speed menu / Slow Sets TrainSIM to run at half of real-time speed. Speed menu / Real-Time Sets TrainSIM to run at real-time speed where one simulated second is one real second. Speed menu / Fast Sets TraiNSIM to run at four times faster than real-time -- or as fast as your computer will allow it to. It takes a very fast PC to get up to four-times speed. Window menu / Speed Hides or displays the Speedometer window Window menu / Engine Hides or displays the Engine Status window. Window menu / Scenery Hides or displays the Scenery window. Window menu / Map Hides or displays the Map window. Window menu / Cascade Arranges all open TrainSIM neatly one atop the other in the upper left corner of your screen. Very useful if you "lose" one of your windows underneath another or on a virtual screen. Help menu / About TrainSIM Displays a TrainSIM About dialog box. Help menu / About TrainDLL Displays the version information of the TrainDLL train simulation DLL used by TrainSIM. Brake Pressure gauge Indicates the current brake pipe pressure at the engine. Federal law mandates that this be at least 70 PSI with brakess released. Reserve Pressure Gauge Pressure in the locomotive's air compressor reserve tank. Page 9 Air Flow gauge Amount of air flowing from the compressor's reserve tank into the brake pipe. Federal law mandates that this must be less than 60 CFM before a train is allowed to leave. Current gauge This gauge indicates the amount of current flowing through the locomotive's traction motors. When dynamic braking is applied, the meter will deflect downward into the black region. When power is being applied, the meter will move up into the green or red sections. The more current flowing into the traction motors, the more heat they'll accumulate. You can safely operate in the green range indefinitely. However, if you go into the red section, you should monitor your traction motor temperature and cut down power if they start to heat up too much. Note that this gauge only indicates the current flow for the head engine. Unless engines are off-line, all currents can be assumed to be equal. However, you can double-check things with the Engine Status window. Train Brake section The up/down spinner arrows will apply and release the train brakes. The gray bar will turn red as the brakes are applied with the Up spinner and will indicate the percentage of braking. Clicking the Down spinner arrow will release the brakes and return the bar to gray. As you apply brakes, you'll notice the Brake Pressure drop. You should also soon notice the pressure coming back from the Telemetry device drop. Releasing the brakes will cause both pressures to go back up. Engine Brake section The Engine Brake controls work just like the Train Brake controls. However, the Engine Brake only applies friction braking to the engines and NOT to the entire train. Brake pipe pressure is NOT affected by applying the engine brakes. Page 10 Throttle section All locomotives have a nine-poition throttle lever with an idle position and eight power positions. The nine push buttons represent the nine possible throttle settings. The button on the left side of the row is for the Idle positon. THe right-most button is for the throttle 8 position (full throttle). The buttons in between represent (of course) throttle positions 1 thru 7. The display window to the right of the buttons will indicate which throttle setting is active. Likewise, the active throttle button will be red. On this particular locomotive, the throttle lever also doubles as the dynamic brake lever. When in Braking mode, Throttle positions 1 thru 8 are braking levels 1 thru 8 where 8 is the most braking. The Idle position causes no braking at all. This lever will control the throttle positions of all locomotives in the train. All will supply power equally except for those that are off-line (they supply no power) or have tracton motor banks by-passed (they supply reduced power). Direction section The locomotive direction is set by a three-position lever. The three buttons in the Direction section simulate this lever. F is forward, N is neutral, and R is reverse. Currently, Reverse is inoperative. Shifting into Reverse is the same as shifting into Forward. The selected direction button will be red. Power button This button shifts you between Power and Dynamic Braking mode. Pressing the button will cause it to toggle between Power and Brake. You should NOT press this button unless the throttle lever is set to Idle!! This button will control the power mode for all locomotives in the consist. Off-line locomotives will NOT contribute to braking. Time section Displays the current time. Horn mutton Blows the locomotive's horn! Page 11 Bell button Rings the locomotive's bell! Telemetry section Brake pipe pressure at the back of the train received from the EOT telemetry device. Sand button The Sand button will toggle the sander on & off. If your wheels start to slip due to a steep grade and a large load, you may be able to alleviate the problem by turning on the sander. Sand is dropped onto the track in frontof your wheels to increase traction. Slip light When ANY locomotive in the train experiences "wheel slip", this light comes on and the alarm sounds. Wheel slip means that the drive wheels of the locomotive are slipping on the track rather than providing power. To alleviate slippage, you can turn on the sander and / or reduce your throttle setting until the Slip light goes out. Temp light When the engine or traction motor temperature of any locomotive in the consist approaches a dangerous level, this light will come on and the alarm will sound. The light will go off when all temperatures drop below the danger level. Oil light Whenever the oil pressure of any locomotive engine drops below the danger point, this light will come on and the alarm will sound. Load light Whenever any locomotive isn't "loading" properly, this light will come on and the alarm will sound. The term "loading" means that electrical power is getting from the generator to the traction motors. OL light Whenever any engine is off-line -- regardless of whether you took it off-line or it went off-line because of a problem -- this light will come on and the alert will sound. Page 12 Stall light Whenever the train's speed drops below more than 3 MPH for more than a few seconds with power being applied, this warning light will come on and the alarm will sound. It means that you are very likely to stall (stop moving, but still have power applied) soon unless action is taken. The most common cause for stalling is climbing a hill with insufficient power for the load. No Sound button Whenever an alert light is turned on, an alarm sound will also start. The alarm sound will continue until it's reset with this button. Emergency button Puts the train into "emergency" by setting the throttle to Idle and setting the brakes to absolute maximum. Speedometer Window Speedometer Gauge This is about what you'd expect -- a speedometer gauge in miles per hour (MPH). The small digital window on the bottom of the gauge will display your speed digitally. Mileage section This is a re-settable odometer. As you move, it will count upward. Pressing the R will reset it to 0. Clear section This handy device is used to let you know when your train is clear of a point. Normally, it displays "Ready ---". When you press the Ready button, the Ready changes to RUN and the window displays the length of your train in feet. As you move, the display window counts down. When it hits zero, an alarm sounds and the control returns to its "Ready ---" state. I often use this device to tell me when I'm totally clear of a speed restriction. You CANNOT speed up until your entire train is clear of the speed restricted area. As soon as I pass the higher speed marker, I hit the Ready button. When the alarm sounds, I know its safe to speed up. Page 13 Engine Status Window (Analog) Fuel gauge Displays how much fuel is left in the selected locomotive, of course. Current gauge Displays the current going to the traction motors in the selected locomotive. Oil Pressure gauge Displays the oil pressure in the engine of the selected locomotive. Temperature - Engine gauge Displays the engine coolant temperature of the selected locomotive. Temperature - Traction gauge Displays the traction motor temperature of the selected locomotive. This gauge is really three gauges in one. The Top section is for traction motor pair 1 and 6, the center section is for traction motor pair 2 and 4, and the bottom section is for traction motor pair 3 and 5. On Line button The ON Line button indicates whether or not the current locomotive is on line and will toggle between on line and off line pressed. If the locomotive was taken off line automatically due to high temperature, etc. this button will reflect the change. To put it back on line, you must manually press this button. Traction Motor Cutout section The six traction motors are arranged in three groups of two. Any one group can be taken out of service due to problems without having to take the entire engine off line. Of course, when you cut out a traction motor pair, the locomotive's horsepower output is reduced by one third. 1-10 Locomotive Selector buttons These buttons will select which lococomotive's status is being displayed. There'll be only as many numbered buttons as you have locomotives. All others will be greyed. Page 14 "D" Digital button Press the D button to change the Engine Status window gauges from analog to digital. Engine Status WIndow (Digital) Fuel gauge Same as on analog gauge panel. Traction Current gauge Same as on analog gauge panel Oil Pressure gauge Same as on analog gauge panel Engine Temperature gauge Same as on analog gauge panel Traction Temperature gauge Same as on analog gauge panel Traction Motor Cutout section Same as on analog gauge panel 1-10 Locomotive Selector buttons Same as on analog gauge panel "A" Analog button Press the A button to change the Engine Status window gauges from digital to analog. Path Window Zoom In Zooms the view in 50%. The window scroll positions are automatically changed to put the front of the train as close to the center of the window s possible. Zoom Out Zooms the view out 50%. The window scroll positions are automatically changed to put the front of the train as close to the center of the window s possible. Page 15 Zoom Full Out Zooms the view completely out to see teh entire track. Zoom Reposition Re-positions the scroll settings so the front of the train is at the center of the window like Zoom in/out functions do, but doesn't affect the magnification. Zoom Redraw Re-draws the current screen without changing the magnification or scroll settings. Scenery Window There's nothing to do in the Scenery window -- it's for display only. However, it does provide some useful information. The cab view section occupies most of the window. You'll see the track, speed markers, checkpoint markers, and various other track-related objects. In a later version, this window will also provide real, full-color scenery -- trees, stations, buildings, bridges, and whatever else I can think of putting in). The Track Information section displays the current grade and curve of the track, along with the last milepost and checkpoint detected. Note that the detectors aren't perfect. If you're going too fast, you could go right by a milepost or checkpoint without the detector updating the window. Don't rely on them when making important decisions! Watch the track yourself!! The two gray bars on the bottom of the Scenery window are "danger detectors." Curves and possibly rundown sections of straight track have maximum safe speeds. The faster you go beyond the safe limit, the more chance of a derailment. Likewise, the more cars within the train that are exceeding the speed limit, the greater the chance of a derailment. The detector on the right shows the overspeed danger level of the worst car in the train by turning red from left to right. The detector on the left shows your train's overall overspeed danger level, again by turning red from left to right. Page 16 A couple of examples may help this explanation. First, let's assume that you'e on a long straightaway with only one car-length section of track restricted to 30 MPH and your 80-car train is travelling at 50 MPH. As soon as you hit that section, the right-hand danger detector will turn partially red because at least one car is exceeding the speed limit by 20 MPH. The detector on the left, though will, at worst, only display a slight bit of red -- and probably none at all. This is because at any time, only one of your cars is in danger of derailing. The rest are completely safe. You could probably get through this small problem area safely at 50 MPH because the overall danger is so low -- but there is the chance that a car will derail. Next, let's assume that you're travelling at 50 MPH into a curve rated at 30 MPH. As soon as your first locomotive hits the curve, the right detector will turn red. The left one will stay grey. As more locomotives and cars enter the curve, though, the left detector will gradually fill with red. In this case, since more of your train is at risk at all times, something will probably derail when you get a ways into the curve unless you slow down. Yes, I realize that real trains don't have anything like this to warn the engineers of impending disaster. I added these while working on the derailment algorithms to see what was going on -- and liked them. So I left them in! If enough purists complain about them, though, I'll include a way to hide them in a future release! Page 17 Building a Track ---------------- Overview TrainSIM track sections are 66 feet each (the same length that TrainSIM uses as an average car length -- how about that!!). Each section can have a grade and curve value associated with it, along with some number of track or scenery objects. The track must be single track point-to-point. Switches and sidings are not allowed in this version. Initial Set-Up Window Press the Build button to enter the track builder. The line file selection in the set-up window is NOT used. When you press Build, you'll be asked for the name of the line you wish to build. If that line already exests, you'll be so informed and asked if you wish to continue editing it. If you select YES, the line will be loaded and you'll be at the end ready to add more track. If you select NO, the old line will be deleted and you'll start from the beginning. The track editor is, admittedly, quite complicated to use. I tried to simplify it as much as possible (in fact, I'm still trying), but haven't been as successful as I'd like. There's so much versatility available in the track format that whenever I simplify the designer I find that it limits what I can do to the track. For this release, I decided to keep the power and put up with the complexity Build window File menu / Exit Exit will quit TrainSIM. There's no need to save your new line file before selecting Exit. TrainSIM builds and maintains the line file on disk as you work. Start section When you start a new track file, this array of buttons determines where the track will start on the Map screen. Initially, the top button will be red. This means the track will start from the top and proceed downward. If you press the left butotn, the track will start from the left side of the map and proceed to the right. You can select these buttons freely until the first piece of track is laid. As soon as you put down the first section, all the Start buttons become black and cannot be pressed Page 18 Control section This is where most of the action takes place. These buttons control the slope, direction, and advance of the track. The center up and down arrows raise and lower the Vertical Increment by .01 percent grade (NOTE: This does not translate directly into grade -- I'll get back to it in a moment). The left and right arrows control curve in 1 degree increments from left 15 to right 15. The gradiant up arrow in the center (I hope it looks more like "forward" than "up") lays one or more sections of track with the current horizontal curve and vertical slope attributes (info in the Currents section). The spinner and number in the lower left corner of the Control box will let you lay from 1 to 30 sections of track with each press of the Forward button. The number indicates the current lay size. This is very useful for laying long straightaways. The INC button in the lower right corner is where the confusion will start. Remember I said the up and down arrows control the Vertical Increment and NOT the current vertical grade directly? What happens is this -- Whenever you press the Forward button, the Vertical Increment is added to the Current Vertical Grade before the first section of track is laid. This lets you easily create nice, smooth grades that graduallly build up to the maximum grade, then gradually taper off to level. Ihe INC button lets you decide if you want the increment to take place only once for each press of the Forward button (INC button will be black) or for each track section laid (INC button will be red). For instance, if you set that lower-left sections indicator to 30, set the Vertical Increment to .01, turn on the INC (Red), and press Forward, you'll get 30 sections of track. The first will have a .01% grade, the second a .02% grade, the third a .03% grade, etc. After the operation, the Current Vertical grade indicator will indicate a .3% grade. I'll admit it's confusing -- but it's easier than laying one section of track at a time and having to manually increase the grade each time! Page 19 Auto section Automatically places certain goodies along the track as follows: Speed: When Auto Speed is turned on, changing the curve will post a speed limit sign containing the recommended speed for the curve installed. Use of this feature is highly recommended! Drager / Wayside: A dragging equipment detectors and / or waysides are placed a fixed distance apart along the length of the track. Each time either of these is turned on, a dialog box comes up containing a mileage display and a spinner. Use the spinner to set the distance between items and press OK. Vert Inc display Displays the current vertical increment value as described above. Currents - Horiz and Vert section Displays the current settings for horizontal curve and vertical grade for new track. SL section The SL section works together with the Speed Marker object in the Goodies section. When you place a Speed Marker, this box sets the speed limit value to be placed in the marker. The display window shows the current setting. The up/down spinner will change it in 5mph increments. Note that turning on Autp Speed marker and changing the curve with the Control left/right arrows will also change this setting to what's correct for the selected curve degree. MP section Whenever a track is built, it'll always have milepost markings. This section controls the FIRST milepost marker on the line. By default it's 100 -- which is fine most of the time. If you'd like to start at some other value, though, change it here with the up/down spinner. Note that this MUST be changed BEFORE any track is laid! Once a track is laid, the milepost designations for the line are finalized and CANNOT be changed! Page 20 Goodies section To manually place a piece of trackside scenery, choose the object to be placed before clicking the Forward control button. On a multiple-section forward command, the object is placed on the FIRST section laid in the group. Each Forward command will also return the selected Goodie to None! Most Goodies are self-contained. Only the Speed Marker and Checkpoint need extra information. The Speed Marker will take its maximum speed display from the current SL (Speed Limit) section setting. The Checkpoint object will get the name of the checkpoint from the current Checkpoint section value. Length display This is simply a running total current line length in miles. Checkpoint display This section is used along with the Checkpoint object in the Goodies section. When you place a Checkpoint, you must gove it a name. Simply click in the white edit box and type in the checkpoint name. Append button Whenever you start a new line or edit an existing line, you're initially in the append mode -- placing track on the end of the current line. To insert some new track in the middle of the line, click on where you'd like the insert to start on the Map window. The Append will change to a red Insert to let you know your insertion point was successfully found. Now, as you lay track, it'll look like you're laying a branch line -- the track will start from your insertion point. THIS IS NOT A BRANCH LINE!!! THe rest of the track will be added to the end of what you've inserted when you're done inserting!!! When you're done inserting, press the red Insert button. The line will be re-built and re-displayed with the rest of the track tacked onto the end of the new insert, the red Insert button will return to Append, and you're back in Append mode where additions are put at the end of the track. Page 21 Delete button To delete a section of track, first click the starting point in the Map window. The Append button will change to Insert, as described above. Next, press the Delete button. Both the Append/Insert and Delete buttons will display a red "Delete". Now, click on the end point of the deleted section in the Map window. The track will be re-built and re-displayed without the deleted section and both the Append and Delete buttons will return to normal. Goodies button The Goodies button will let you place an object (speed sign, etc.) at any point along an already-completed track. First, press teh Goodies button. It will turn red. THen, click anywhere on the track in the Map window. If your click is close enough to the track to be meaningful, a dialog box will appear. Select the object you wish to place and press OK. The object will be placed and the Goodies button will return to black. Note that the Speed Marker and Checkpoint objects require that you also fill in either the SL seting or Checkpoint name respectively. Map window The Zoom menu works just like it does while running a train. Clicking in the Map window during Build mode will put you in Insert mode if you click close enough to the existing track. All other clicks are ignored. Helpful Hints ============= Probably the best advice I can give on running the train is to take it nice and easy! Like other electric motors, the locomotive's traction motors can only put out so much torque. After a certain point, more energy is dissipated as heat than is used to turn the motor. This of course causes the traction motors to heat up considerably, while not increasing your speed too much. If the traction motor current is in the red, try dropping the throttle down a notch. You may be able to save fuel and take a large heat load off the traction motors with very little loss of speed. Page 22 Plan ahead. If you've got a long hill coming up, keep things nice and cool before starting up it -- long hills really take their toll on engine and traction motor temperature. Starting out cool will let you apply over-power for a longer time to make it up the hill. If you've got no problem areas coming up, pushing the engines for some extra speed on the level will be safe. How do I register? ================== To register TrainSIM, just press the Let's Prepare the Registration Form button on the opening screen and fill in the blanks. Then, print the form and mail it with the $20 registration fee to the address on the form. You'll soon recieve a registration code number. Type the number EXACTLY as given into the Registration Number window on the opening screen and press the Here's My Code button. If all's OK, you'll never see the opening non-registered screen again. If the code's invalid, you'll be so told. What do I get when I register? ============================== Registered users are entitled to updates for a greatly reduced cost -- usually just a few dollars to cover my duplication & shipping costs. At some point, the registered version of TrainSIM may be more advanced than the Shareware version. I often keep the registered version a version or two ahead of the shareware one. More importantly, you'll receive a code to get rid of that annoying UNREGISTERED opening screen!! Registered users of any of my products are also allowed to register other products at a discount -- usually 30 percent off the normal registration fee. Please note that I DO NOT regularly send upgrade notices to all registered users whenever I release an upgrade. Doing so would be quite expensive. I'd have to either raise my registration fee or charge more for upgrades to cover the expense -- or simply not release upgrades as often as I'd like. If you're a registered user interested in upgrading, though, you can feel free to inquire about the current version at any time. If you disagree with this policy and would rather pay more for each upgrade and recieve a notification card, let me know. If enough people are intersted in a notice and enough don't complain about a higher upgrade fee, I'll consider starting the service. Page 23 What else is available? ======================= I hope to create and collect track lines and make them available on high-density disks for registered users. If you build a fun rail line, please send me a copy. I'll add it to the library and send you a disk or two (depending on what I have) of new rail lines. I'll probably charge $3 per disk to cover my time and expenses. I also hope to put together a printed and bound version of this manual and make it available to registered users. I don't have any idea what the price would be -- it would depend entirely on how much the book would cost to produce. I also have two versions of Mah Jongg available -- Mah Jongg VGA and Mah Jongg for Windows. Sample disks are available to registered TrainSIM usere for $3 per disk. All others should be able to find these games on a local BBS or a national service like Compuserve or America Online. Future Enhancements =================== This version of TrainSIM is definitely not the last release. There are a LOT of things I'd like to add. I just wanted to get something reasonable out the door to generate some feedback on what can be done to make the simulator "feel" more realistic. I'm hoping that people in the railroad industry especially will be intrigued enough by TrainSIM to send me their thoughts, observations, and suggestions. So, here's what I see in the future so far: A much improved scenery window that includes "real" scenery (trees, buildings, whatever else) and working signal lights. All in 256 colors! Talking dragging equipment detectors! Simulated dispatch operations, complete with Form D's from the dispatcher! Sections of double-track with traffic coming in the other direction! More realistic-looking controls (for example, a throttle lever that looks like a lever)! A choice of engines! A choice of freight cars, both loaded and unloaded! Occasional breakdowns of both the train and the track equipment (signal lights, etc.)! The ability to get "helper service" on certain grades! If you have any ideas to add to this list, I'd love to hear them! Page 24 Permission to Distribute ======================== Individuals, BBS's, clubs, and shareware distributors are permitted to copy and distribute TrainSIM provided that they charge no more than $5 for their disk copying service, charge nothing for the software itself, and make all recipients aware that they are receiving un-registered Shareware which will require a registration fee if they use the product for more than 30 days. Attention Shareware Vendors =========================== You have my permission to distribute this copy of TrainSIM. If you'd like a copy of the latest shareware version directly from me, please be sure to include a stamped, self-addressed return mailer and a pre-formatted high-density disk. A $4 check to cover my time and expenses can be substituted if more convenient (please specify whether you'd like 5.25" or 3.5" disk format). Your request must also be on your company letterhead. If you fail to comply with these requirements, your request WILL NOT BE FULFILLED! I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT send copies to shareware vendors at my expense!!!! Page 25 Appendix A: Track File Information ================================== The track line file is a Paradox database file. If you need the exact data specifications for the fields, please write and request a current TrainSIM line database spec sheet. Note that I expect the database to change as TrainSIM evolves. I'll have to add a LOT of new objects and scenery object positions as the scenery window develops, for instance. If enough people build track lines for TrainSIM, I'll write conversion routines as necessary. Whether or not a conversion routine is available, though, the format will NOT change so drastically that the track line files can't be quickly fixed up in Paradox by adding the appropriate fields. I intend to keep the exact format of the line files public to both allow for this type of modification and to allow other developers to produce add-on tools and utilities for use with TrainSIM track files. Appendix B: System resources ============================= TrainSIM requires a large amount of system resources. Basically, the system resource memory is used by Windows to keep track of windows, tools, and controls on the screen. SInce TrainSIM uses a lot of windows and controls, it requires Windows to use a lot if its resource storage section. If TrainSIM behaves strangely (controls re-draw very slowly, screens incompletely re-draw, etc.), try closing down all other applications to free up some resources. You should also try exiting and re-starting Windows, because Windows resources are often gradually "used up" by software that doesn't release them. Re-starting Windows will free the unused resources. Page 26