Page 17 - January February 2000
P. 17

  RAILROAD REVIEW
   Product Review by The Editor
“Mopac 1”, Train Dispatching Computer Game
By S.I.A.M. A318
Phone: (+44) 1442-395645
Fax: (+44) 1442-230404 Email:sales@siam.co.uk
Many years ago I ran across an early version of this train dispatching game for Windows 3.0. I seem to remember briefly mentioning it in an editorial musing about the world of cyber model railroading! Having now dived into the quagmire of the Internet, I surprised myself by coming across the producer’s (SIAM) website: http://www.siam.co.uk/. It turns out they are an English firm making numerous train-orientated games, mostly British ‘outline’, but do several USA games and a couple for other countries. It also seems their ‘real’ business is in the world of training and consultancy software systems.
Tim Bourne, with whom I dealt at SIAM, is a UK NRHS member and is familiar with the NMRA of course.
For a PC, the game arrives on a single 3.5” floppy disk and is easily installed. (Some games are also available for Amiga). It would take too long to give detailed description of playing the game, but basically it opens up looking like a CTC control panel, spread over “two” screens, i.e. you flick between the screens by pressing the ‘D’ key. It covers a division of the old Mopac, but in the later days when it is travelled by UP and SP as a joint line. The division runs from Dupo Yard, St. Louis, to Dexter MO, and the line sees a wide variety of trains from SP ‘Q’ Sprints to local way-freights and coal traffic. Several junctions en route’ bring a bigger variety of services into the game.
Other games include Tehachapi, both modern and steam era, the BN, etc.. This “Mopac 1” game runs over an imagined 24 hour period, commencing at ‘midnight’. The time ticks away at the top of the screen, and can be adjusted for any of 6 settings. The fastest speed runs at roughly one second for one minute. The game is varied by having problems thrown in. Sometimes a section of normally double track is ‘singled’ for maintenance. This is visibly shown on the screen, but other problems such as recent derailments and signal failures are advised at the start of the game, only showing up as disruptions in the normal flow of traffic. This, even in a “no problem reported” game, is varied at random - some days are slacker than others, and not all trains run every day.
Another screen, accessed by pressing the ‘A’ key, tells of all expected arrivals in the coming hour. Each train is identified by a code such as CHHOZ (UP hotshot TOFC, Chicago to Houston), or ESDAQ (an SP Sprint from East St. Louis to Dallas.)
 When on screen, the train shows as this block of letters, moving along the track as you “click” sections with the mouse. Each train is given a certain amount of “recovery time” (leeway) according to its status. The Sprints only have 30 minutes, the switchers might have as much as 120 minutes. This time is lost if the train is standing still when it should be moving! Similarly each train has its fixed schedule, made visible when the train symbol is clicked. The Sprints hardly stop anywhere, but the peddlers might be held for 30 to 50 minutes at one of their working spots.
Scoring is fairly logical. If any section of track is closed you are given 3 bonus points at the start. Otherwise you start on zero. To lose points, you would have to incorrectly set the route for a train, or to route it to a section not yet fully cleared by another train, or get it to the end of the screen trackage having lost more than its allowed recovery time.
To gain points you have to get the Sprints, and certain of the other hotshots, to the end of the trackage with their recovery time intact, or only slightly reduced. At the end of the game you are judged by the total point score, and you have to be up in the 30 to 40 points total to rate an “excellent” or “outstanding”! Low or negative points scores (easily achieved!) tend to get you fired! Anyone need an assistant dogsbody?
While I am not (yet) addicted to computer games, this is a pleasant way of whiling away a wet Sunday or an evening when TV is full of rubbish (yep, any evening) and while its operations are not to be compared to switching individual cars on a layout, it does give a feeling of “American-ness” and I believe a good deal of research has gone into the basics of the game, so giving it a reasonably realistic feel. I noticed on the website that SIAM now produce a more involved “St. Louis to Kansas City” including Amtrak. I think that particular madhouse will have to await my retirement!
PRODUCT REVIEW by Paul Doggett
Intermountain 40ft. SP 12 Panel Box car (HO)
The Southern Pacific had 5600 12-panel box cars (most steam era boxcars had 10 panels per side). The SP cars comprised 2,600 in class B50-25 (1946/7 build) and 3,000 in class B50-26 (1948 build). The SP’s southern half (Texas & New Orleans) had 850 B50-25’s and 1500 B50-26’s.
As built they came with both Youngstown and Superior doors. This kit has the correct door for the car number. This makes a change as, although you often get alternative doors in car kits, they rarely give an indication as to which doors go on which cars.
RMC (Feb. 93) lists all SP AAR box cars,
 giving all the needed information for SP 40 ft. box cars of the 1930 to early 1950’s period. They lasted many years.
The kit is the usual Intermountain type of injection moulding, needing normal modelling tools. I used a sharp Swann Morton scalpel and a good liquid ‘poly. As usual I started by cleaning out all mounting holes with a #75 or #76 drill. This ensures the paint is removed from the hole and that the hole goes all the way through the body so the liquid cement can be applied inside.
If you model the roof-walk era you need to fill the holes for the handrail which runs across the end of the car at mid height. (Not mentioned in the instructions.) I filled in the holes by fitting the handrails and carefully trimming them off flush with the body when set. The straightforward assembly takes about 11/4 to 11/2 hours. Some of the mouldings ca only be described as exquisite. The train line, moulded into the underframe, is superb. The brake rigging, also moulded in one, is very user- friendly.
The doors, though made to slide if wanted, do not have the horrible claws found elsewhere. The sliding is done from “inside”. An excellent kit, and a must if you model SP after 1946 for B50-25 or 1948 for B50-26. As there were 5600 cars, anybody can use at least one.
I gave this car a coat of gloss paint, added scribblings, then weathered it and finished with matt varnish.
 Sunningwell Command Control Ltd.
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