Model Railway
a. Layout
b. Locomotives
c. Cars
d. Operating
e. Summaries
Photos
Daley Train Log
Page 97
I continued to have problems with the 100 ton quad coal cars tracking properly.
I was able to make a few small adjustments to the track where the difficulty was most apparent but that didn't help. But at least I now know that the track is in better shape than it was before, so the effort is not totally wasted.
I then very carefully watched the cars travel over the problem area and finally realized that the trucks were too stiff and the wheels were not able to follow the tiny differences in height of the two rails. I loosened the trucks and now everything is working fine for the two cars with the Proto2000 wheels.
I now need to purchase another package or two of Proto2000 wheels to replace the wheels on the remaining 4 cars (16 wheel sets).
I have begun setting up the trains within the Ship It! program. I envisage 2 passenger trains (one going east, the other west) between Jasper and Coaldale. Actually it is one train going to and fro between the two towns. Similarly there will be 2 coal unit-trains travelling between Black Diamond and Coaldale. There will be 6 more trains (3 each way). Two will be a local freight that stops at all towns except Distillery Row. Two will be a local freight that stops at Distillery Row plus Jasper and Coaldale. And two will be a local freight that stops at Distillery Row plus all other towns except Black Diamond.
There is a fair amount of detail to be filled in in order for this to be set up within Ship It!. I fully expect that it will take a few attempts before I get it all working properly.
For example, I noticed that one of the Ship It! Rules of Thumb (#14) states, "Set all shipper and consignee durations to 1. I have now reviewed all my shipper and consignee records and made sure that they were all set to 1.
I do not yet feel I understand the significance of the train timetable data, or of the possible use of a program called the Scheduler.