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Use of the F11 Key

You are here: Home > Forum > General > General questions, comments, and issues > Use of the F11 Key

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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 03:10 #141581
Terry
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I was introduced to the F11 key a month or so ago to assist with track circuit failures which locked up points. This was very useful but I note that nearly all failures which occur can be overcome using this key, points failures, track circuit failures, signal failures, you name it, all can be dealt with to alleviate train delays. However, is it within the spirit of the game to avoid delays to trains using this method? Shouldn't we accept that failures occur in real railway working and we should wait for the technician to rectify the problems. Now I know that hand cranking of points by an authorized official is permitted but the normalizing of failed signals(signal proving) and track circuits(unoccupy) is hardly true to real train operation! Now I may have missed the point of the F11 key but if all failures can be overridden, what is the point of failures occurring within the sim? What is best practice here? Should I forget the F11 key and deal with the train delays or should I intervene? Your comments would be very welcome.
Terry
Last edited: 16/09/2021 at 03:11 by Terry
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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 07:20 #141582
Phil-jmw
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I use the F11 key to had crank sets of points locked by a track circuit failure or for a points failure in its own right (after a suitable period of time has elapsed to represent the time it would take to allow first response staff (MOM, LOM) to get there, and in the case of a points failure after first keying the points normal and reverse a few times to see if that clears the fault, as can happen in real life), but I never use F11 to clear signal and track circuit failures.

One fault that can occur in real life but is not represented in Simsig is when a route remains stuck in after the passage of a train. By this I do not mean a track circuit failure, the track circuits clear normally but the route (with white route lights) remains stuck in and is either slow to cancel after the signalman pulls the button to cancel, or will not cancel at all. This required a call to the S&T, and in some cases they were able to 'blow the route' to clear it (we did this in the West Midlands, but I never saw it done in the East Midlands), but I don't know what was actually done to 'blow' a route.

Last edited: 16/09/2021 at 07:28 by Phil-jmw
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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 08:08 #141583
Steamer
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3911 posts
F11 is best viewed as a 'behind the scenes' tool, or an 'instructors desk' which can be used to implement specific scenarios within the simulation. It's use is entirely at your discretion.
"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
Last edited: 16/09/2021 at 08:08 by Steamer
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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 16:05 #141588
GeoffM
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6271 posts
F11 was intended as a "dungeon master" tool, to introduce failures manually in a multiplayer game. The fact you can "fix" some failures is more of a by-product rather than by design, although point cranking is an exception to this.
SimSig Boss
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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 16:39 #141589
Peter Bennet
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Phil-jmw in post 141582 said:
I don't know what was actually done to 'blow' a route.
It means the S&T chappy goes into the relay room and blows the dust from the contacts.

Peter

I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs!
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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 18:58 #141592
clive
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2734 posts
Peter Bennet in post 141589 said:
Phil-jmw in post 141582 said:
I don't know what was actually done to 'blow' a route.
It means the S&T chappy goes into the relay room and blows the dust from the contacts.
Which reminds me of the 1974 Bletchley derailment - the S&T chappy pulled out the (latching) relay holding the overlap, stuck a voltage across the relevant pins to make it change state, then plugged it back into the interlocking. Or so he said. Somehow what he did caused a set of facing points to move under a train.

https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoE_Bletchley1974.pdf

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Use of the F11 Key 16/09/2021 at 20:16 #141594
jc92
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3625 posts
clive in post 141592 said:
Peter Bennet in post 141589 said:
Phil-jmw in post 141582 said:
I don't know what was actually done to 'blow' a route.
It means the S&T chappy goes into the relay room and blows the dust from the contacts.
Which reminds me of the 1974 Bletchley derailment - the S&T chappy pulled out the (latching) relay holding the overlap, stuck a voltage across the relevant pins to make it change state, then plugged it back into the interlocking. Or so he said. Somehow what he did caused a set of facing points to move under a train.

https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoE_Bletchley1974.pdf
Also sounds like the incident at Farnley branch junction. S&T conducted routine maintenance on a set of relay banks and ended up giving two trains a green with the points set for the wrong direction with a train in front of it.

"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
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