JMRI Operations Help

[clsn]

Hey everyone.

I've just started using JMRI operations and ran into a small issue that I can't seem to work through. I am building a small switching layout with a Main town in the middle and two staging extensions representing the major yards at the end of the run. 

The problem I'm having is that because the staging extensions are fiddle yards the car could be in "both" places. For example I switch the layout and deliver "Boxcar A" to "Staging 1". In the next session "Boxcar A" could then be fiddled to "Staging 2" and re-enter from the other direction.

My thoughts are 1 of 2 things:

Create a "fake" train to run cars between staging yards. I'm worried this would limit my moves due to certain cars being split between the 2 yards.

OR

Create a middle yarde called Staging/Shelving where all cars start. Then they'd run from SHELVING to STAGING1 to LAYOUT to STAGING2 to SHELVING. That way all cars are always stored in shelving and can go in either direction and return to shelving. 

I'm just wondering everyones thoughts? Are one of these work arounds the best way or is there a feature I'm missing where I can say the cars in Staging 2 are the same as Staging 1? Thanks as always.

Josh

[jrbernier]

Josh,

  JMRI Operations has a steep learning curve.  You have to 'think' like a real railroad.  If you have a car that is unloaded for example at one of your Main Town industries, the next move would be a MTY to off-stage.  Which off-stage could be Eastern(NS, CSX) or Western(UP or BNSF).    One way to handle this is to bill it to an Eastern customer for loading and start the L/E cycle again.  Just moving it to the other Staging really makes little business sense.  If I sent a NS car back to Staging A, why would it show up on Staging B the next day?

  I have found that creating car orders in JMRI for each move really helps.  For example, I have a CSX coiled steel car move empty to someplace East for loading, and another move with it loaded moving back West to an industry on my layout.

  I still have a car card/waybill system that I came from, and after two years I am starting to understand how to use JMRI Operations.  Have you joined the JMRI Yahoo Group and read through some of their documentation in the 'files' section?  It is always a help for me when something does not generate the movement I expect.  I am still working through moving my Swift meat reefers from the pre-cool' track to the 'meat dock' track for loading.  And this is just two tracks in the same industry!

Jim

[jrbernier]

Josh,

  There is a private message for you...

Jim

[dehusman]

jrbernier

JMRI Operations has a steep learning curve. You have to 'think' like a real railroad. If you have a car that is unloaded for example at one of your Main Town industries, the next move would be a MTY to off-stage. Which off-stage could be Eastern(NS, CSX) or Western(UP or BNSF). One way to handle this is to bill it to an Eastern customer for loading and start the L/E cycle again. Just moving it to the other Staging really makes little business sense. If I sent a NS car back to Staging A, why would it show up on Staging B the next day?

Actually, that's how real railroad systems work.  When a car goes off line there is no expectation in the computer system it will return from that direction.  If I give a car to the BNSF at Chicago, it could show up next in LA or Seattle.  The only requirement is that while on the railroad, it make a series of connected trips A to B, B to C, C to D, D to A.  At any given yard, unless you are sending a car out on a branch with no other connections, there is no expectation that the car is guaranteed return to the yard by the opposite route (if in fact it ever returns).

Two possible options, both variations of what Jim said, run dummy trains between staging A to Staging B or create a dummy yard for the rest of the world and run dummy trains between staging and the dummy yard.  As Jim recommended, I found the JMRI Yahoo group helpful back when I tried JMRI Ops. 

[Robert Frey]

Josh, try this.

 

In one direction, they run from SHELVING: to STAGING1 to LAYOUT to STAGING2 to SHELVING;

 

In the other direction, then run from SHELVING; to STAGING2 to LAYOUT to STAGING1 to SHELVING:

 

The user thinks of SHELVING as one place, but to the JMRI program it is two.

 

Bob Frey