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Is "last reported status" prototypical?

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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 06:49 #45747
maxand
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I am starting to make more use of this value displayed on the Show Timetable window to plan ahead the sequence of arriving trains. But for the sake of realism I do not know whether such a service is provided to signallers in real life, or whether this is another friendly service offered to players by SimSig software, similar to Train List: Status.

If one of my trains is running late, I add the last reported status value to the ETA displayed in the WTT to find whether said train is likely to arrive ahead of another one when there may be conflict. Is this what others do?

Without it, one can only guess whether a train is running early or late by noting the times its TCs change, which would overload me. What information is offered to signallers in practice?

I searched the forum but only found this post, which is a bit too technical for me.

Last edited: 17/06/2013 at 08:05 by maxand
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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 08:27 #45750
Firefly
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Signallers do have access to TRUST so they can search for a specific train to see any delays along the previous passing points (Stations and Junctions). They can also bring up a passing point and see a list of all trains passing that location along with details of any delay.

9 times out of 10 they would probably just use the simplifier, it tells them the times that trains are supposed to be at certain places and it gives them the running order so fairly simple to work out which train goes first.

FF

Last edited: 17/06/2013 at 08:29 by Firefly
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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 09:03 #45751
Colourlight
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Firely is correct regarding TRUST. I use it in my Signalbox which is one of the older lever frame Signalboxes. TRUST provides Real Time train running information as well as a list of trains at a specific location. This includes all trains, In fact anything that moves that requires a train schedule is listed. Not all trains require a schedule e.g. local movements from a Yard to a Depot, but everything else is listed in Trust. TRUST gets it,s train list from a database of train schedules called TSI. I can,t comment on a simplifier except to say if it is used, it will be used in Signalling Centres such as kings Cross.
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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 11:25 #45753
maxand
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Thanks for the info on TRUST. Certainly I find Last Reported Status very handy as it saves me having to open another window (Simplifier) and relates directly to the currently selected train. I'd be interested to hear from any forum members who regularly use SimSig's Simplifier window (for authenticity or greater information) in preference to simply looking at the value of Last Reported Status and tacking it onto the WTT's ETA.

(Added) Regrettably, I cannot see a Refresh button - suspect this is the same font problem as I described in an earlier post. The lowest item in the Simplifier window is "Time".

Last edited: 17/06/2013 at 11:30 by maxand
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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 11:29 #45754
Late Turn
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CCF is probably the system that's closest in appearance to the popup timetables in Simsig. It covers, to the best of my knowledge, everywhere with a train describer and, although not part of the actual signalling system, shows what's occupying each train describer berth.

TRUST isn't quite so user friendly, but it's an excellent tool once you've got to grips with it. The 'TRJA' lineup is probably the most widely used in signal boxes (does anyone actually use TRJS??), listing all trains that will be passing the specified location (or were booked to but have been cancelled) and showing their last reported status (which is only based on locations rather than an 'exact' location by TD berth). For example, it might say that 1L34 has departed Leicester at 10:22, four minutes late. It takes a bit of experience and a lot of local knowledge to make regulating decisions on that basis (there's the option to show estimated times on the lineup, taking into account the current delay and any recovery time, but I don't use it as a lot of our freights are very pessimistic in their timing - so a margin to run them might exist where the estimated time suggests otherwise), but I think it's the easiest way once you're used to it. Personally, I think it'd be nice to see the simplifier in Simsig becoming a little more 'real-time', showing at least the current delay (or "planned" delay at entry) and not dropping off the simplifier until it's actually arrived/departed the location in question!

Back to TRUST, the biggest downsides - on our line at least - are that diverted (unplanned) trains won't show up on the line-up, so we're back to the old fashioned method of passing updates box-to-box by phone whenever we get them (semi-regularly off two different routes). More routinely, the 'real-time' updates on absolute block lines rely on manual reporting at each signal box - so it's not uncommon to be left guessing for a while if someone's busy with something else and doesn't report the progress the train that you're trying to plan around!

Tom

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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 20:31 #45772
mfcooper
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" said:
does anyone actually use TRJS??
I find TRJS very useful because it gives platform numbers, which on the 4-track mainline I work with tells me which line unusual trains are booked to travel on. Though not giving the last reported location (only how late/early/on-time a train is) can be annoying.

I have very little experience with SimSig's simplifier, so cannot comment too much on that, but at my workplace we have a printed simplifier for the timetable period and extra daily printouts of specials, alterations, etc. But with these one may have to refer to something like TRUST to make sure trains are still on-time, or to find out how late or early they are.

Signallers use a variety of information to keep a train service running, and different signallers in the same signal box will use different sources to run a service. It's all dependent on the individual.

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Is "last reported status" prototypical? 17/06/2013 at 22:36 #45774
Late Turn
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" said:
" said:
does anyone actually use TRJS??
I find TRJS very useful because it gives platform numbers, which on the 4-track mainline I work with tells me which line unusual trains are booked to travel on. Though not giving the last reported location (only how late/early/on-time a train is) can be annoying.

That, along with the fact that it highlights VAR and STP trains, is what's potentially really useful about TRJS. For us, it's helpful to see what's booked to run over the Up Goods to the next box, as they're often booked to stand there to let something else run first (and it tends to upset the good folk on the Eastern region if we run them early without asking!), or whether one of the WTT freights that consistently runs in the same path has been unexpectedly amended! Without the last reported location though (which is essential for making decisions involving anything not in its booked path - as they often aren't!), it means switching between TRJA and TRJS - and it's just as easy to look up individual schedules to see whether they're booked to go inside, I find.

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