May 20 CSX After Action Thread

[BlakeTyner]

Was a fun night, but some rough spots:

With a route like the M&M sub, it's very important to keep our train length down. The sidings just will not accomodate long trains, and with so many people trying to get down the road it really can become a headache for the DS. 4,000 to 5,000 ft should really be the limit. Anything above 5,000 feet is just too long.

To keep things prototypical, we really should choose our trains from the list posted in the call-up thread. Prototypical trains from the bullsheet are fine, but a lot of effort went into compiling information to choose from. Really, there's enough there for us all.

I dug the computer voiced hotbox detectors. When radio traffic is light I think that adds a lot to it. There's a list of detectors, their milepost and CP location, in the CSX M&M Timetable posted at our yahoo group. That'll let you know where they are.

All in all it's fun, but a few kinks to work out. MOST IMPORTANTLY: PLEASE read the entire post Lee makes, it explains the few rules. This is supposed to be fun for us all...and a lot of effort has gone into it.

Tbanks to all for a fun session!

[ssw]

>Was a fun night, but some rough spots:
>
>With a route like the M&M sub, it's very important to keep
>our train length down. The sidings just will not accomodate
>long trains, and with so many people trying to get down the
>road it really can become a headache for the DS. 4,000 to
>5,000 ft should really be the limit. Anything above 5,000
>feet is just too long.

Yeah, there are several sidings that aren't to CSX Spec in length that create a lot of fun for the DS. Having DS'ed this and ended up having to have a sawby between two trains, it's not fun.. Big headache.

>To keep things prototypical, we really should choose our
>trains from the list posted in the call-up thread.
>Prototypical trains from the bullsheet are fine, but a lot
>of effort went into compiling information to choose from.
>Really, there's enough there for us all.

Agreed. It adds a lot to the experience to have prototypical trains running.

>I dug the computer voiced hotbox detectors. When radio
>traffic is light I think that adds a lot to it. There's a
>list of detectors, their milepost and CP location, in the
>CSX M&M Timetable posted at our yahoo group. That'll let
>you know where they are.

Yeah those are kinda neat.. Someone that's not running a train but has mic capabilities might volunteer to randomly play tones or repeaters going off, or the odd bit of squelch somewhere.

>All in all it's fun, but a few kinks to work out. MOST
>IMPORTANTLY: PLEASE read the entire post Lee makes, it
>explains the few rules. This is supposed to be fun for us
>all...and a lot of effort has gone into it.
>>Tbanks to all for a fun session!

Yep, like not causing random problems.. Usually Lee PM's someone who he wants to have problems. Amtrak 2 was made over an hour and a half later tonight because of this, on top of being 10 hours late to start with,and not being able to leave Mobile station, the train was annuled and passengers bussed. Okay, so my connection cratered while I was still sitting there after an hour and a half waiting for all the problems to resolve .


On another note, I think we may need to have a radio rules/courtesy class one day in the next month.

[cnw8717]

Ill volunteer for detector sounds and some squelch since M&M bores me a lot.

cnw8717

[kinnamon]

Thanks Blake,

I agree with your observations.

1. It is easier to keep things moving if we stick to a reasonable train length for this route.

2. Also, let's continue to use ch. 2 for non-prototypical chatter and questions and try to limit the chatter on ch. 1.

3. While I want to be flexible about things, I would recommend sticking to a prototypical consist. Before improvising, make a choice from the thread. Then, if you want to, go to www.bullsheet.com for other possibilities.

4. Make sure you have adequate power for your train and that you are able to maintain maximum authorized track speed. Dragging along is a problem for others when you clog the mainline because you are under-powered. Yes, I know this happens from time to time on the real railroad, but not as ofetn as it seems to happen in msts multiplayer events.

A good night overall. Thanks for coming in.

Lee

"CSX AG, Out. . ."

[SVTS]

Last nights session seemed to have a few new people, and some of the chatter was a bit much considering how many trains Lee had to dispatch and all. I heard a few trains call for the dispatcher only to give off thier location, which you don't need to do. Simply call off your train ID and location, and that usually is good enough. Most of the times the dispatcher will not acknowledge you, but he still heard you and marks you on his board.

I think the player that called in and said he had lost his last car in the water was a bit too much, and fairly unrealistic. A car doesn't just fall off a train into the water.

As mentioned before by many, it is for fun, but we need to read the rules that Lee has posted, and stick to them. If you can do better, than make up your own session. I saw quite a few "odd-ball" units and symbols from a few folks, and while it is not uncommon to see foriegn power on other roads, we should try to keep to running CSX trains on the CSX route as posted by the dispatcher running the show.

All in all, it sounded like a good time. I was a bit late joining in, and having a MOW train, I never saw any action becasue the mainline was just oo busy, which in a multiplayer, is never a bad thing. You can never have too many trains.

Hope to see some of you Sunday for the TP II session.

CSX 8261...Out