--- |---| 7, BITTON AVENUE | D | K | DEE KAY SYSTEMS TEIGNMOUTH, |---| --- S. DEVON, TQ14 8HD RAIL TRAFFIC CONTROLLER LIME STREET INTRODUCTION Lime Street is the terminus of Inter-City and Provincial Sector routes into Liverpool. Your task on a busy summer Saturday in the mid 1980's is that of traffic controller, directing all movements in the station area between 06.30 and 13.30. STATION LAYOUT AND OPERATING PRACTICE The station approach tracks in Lime Street cutting are termed fast and slow, but since the closure of Central (high level) station the fast lines in fact serve routes to Manchester Piccadilly and the south, and the slow lines being those to Manchester Victoria and the north (see figure 1). Please refer to the image file rtclimes.png for routes through Lime Street station. There are nine platforms, P1-4 are normally used by slow line traffic and P5-9 by fast line traffic, although there is no rigid divide so you have considerable flexibility in directing arrivals to platforms (provided routes do not conflict with those already set up). Trains over the South Pennine route to Sheffield, Cleethorpes, Hull and Yarmouth use P6, and parcels trains use P7 (note on a summer Saturday normal passenger services may need to depart from this platform). 'Flagship' Inter-City services to Euston should use P8. You should attempt to adhere to regular practices as outlined above. There are four storage roads interspaced between the platform lines, SB and SD (between platforms 3 and 4 and 5 and 6 respectively) being available in the simulation for the stabling of locomotives between duties. These can hold up to three engines and are operated on a last in first out principle, using either the fast line neck (NK) or the slow line hold (HD) as headshunts. Only one locomotive may be held in HD, but two may use NK (again working last in first out). No access to SD is possible if P5 is occupied by a loco-hauled train, a sprinter or HST, for this reason P5 is normally used by local diesel or electric multiple units using the fast lines. Motive power encountered in the simulation, both locomotives and units, are referred to by their TOPS numbers even though not actually carried by some of the older diesel multiple units. Restrictions on locomotive allocations are: Electric locomotives of Classes 87 and 86 must be provided for Euston trains, these Classes may also work trains to the South Coast along with Class 47 diesels (the electrics being removed at either Willesden or Birmingham). Electrics of Classes 81 and 85 are restricted to local ECS and parcels duties. Class 45 or early Class 47 locomotives (47401-20) should if possible be allocated to all loco-hauled North Pennine workings, substituting other Class 47's if necessary. Some Trans-Pennine duties are worked by sprinters, a cross in front of the TOPS number denoting coupled units. Class 45 and 47's may work any trains to Lancashire, Carlisle, Glasgow and North Wales. Only Class 31's may be allocated to work the South Pennine route. TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM An overview of traffic in the area is given on two display screens (with the z key used to switch from one to the other). On the first you are informed about pending arrivals, movements over the throat trackwork and of space in the hold points SA, SB, SD and SE denoted by a red box if full, and * if there is spare space and blank if empty. On the second screen there is a scrolling list of departure workings, details of platform occupancy and of engines in the hold points and headshunts NK and HD. Movements are initiated on the first screen by pressing the SPACE BAR, and in response to prompts setting a route by entering the appropriate abbreviation of the input and exit points on the simplified trackplan. There are three general rules: (1) once a route is set it will remain set until a movement occurs; (2) routes for arrivals can only be set after you have been informed that the train concerned is approaching Lime Street (failure to set a route within three minutes of this notification will result in the arrival being held at the approach signals) and (3) routes for public departures can be set up to five minutes beforehand, but the movement will not occur until the advertised time. Routes set up are indicated in red on the screens trackplan with segments reverting to yellow as the movement progresses. Invalid routes or routes which conflict with those already set are denoted by a buzzer and appropriate warning caption. To help in setting up routes the first screen contains information from the second about both platform occupancy and the status of departure workings. This appears in the form of coloured squares to the right of the platform numbers (red denoting that the platform is occupied and no further traffic can be added, yellow that a departure locomotive is required and a blank that the platform is empty and available for use). A list of departure times appears in the top right of your screen. Those with platform numbers alongside need no attention, those with platform numbers in brackets indicate that the train is in but not yet ready for departure, and no platform number alongside indicates that the stock for this working is not yet in. You should endeavour to allocate locomotives to trains as soon as possible, they need five minutes platform time for coupling up etc., before departure time. Allocations later than five minutes before departure will be delayed. EG. if a loco is allocated three minutes before departure the train will depart 2 minutes late. GETTING STARTED The simulation starts at 06.30 with a number of departures in the platforms. Press the space bar and wait for prompt. You will notice at the bottom left a prompt reading ENTRY POINT. By looking at the screen you will see that there is a 06.33 departure in P6. By referring to the appendix departure working, you will see that this is to Sheffield; this takes the South Trans Pennine route via Manchester Piccadilly so uses the up fast (UF) for departure. In answer to ENTRY POINT type in P6 and then press ENTER/RETURN. Your screen will now show a second prompt reading EXIT POINT. In answer to this type UF then ENTER/RETURN. Your route will now be set for departure. By this time you will see in the top left hand of the screen the arrivals display a train approaching on the down fast (DF), press the space bar and await prompt, ENTRY POINT. In answer to this type DF then press ENTER/RETURN, on the second prompt, EXIT POINT type in P9 then press ENTER/RETURN and you will see this route set. All input and exit codes are two character as should be apparent from the screen display. LOADING THE PROGRAM BBC The program is loaded by typing CHAIN" " (users with disc or econet interfaces having first returned to the cassette filing system by typing * TAPE and PAGE = &E00) AMSTRAD Load by typing CHAIN "LIME SPECTRUM Load by typing LOAD"" COMMODORE Press the RUN/STOP and SHIFT keys together. APPENDIX: DEPARTURE WORKINGS Loco-hauled workings are denoted by (L) All departures to Manchester are for Victoria and hence require despatch on the slow line. 06.33 (L) Sheffield 09.38 Crewe 12.45(L) Sheffield 06.50 Wigan 09.40 Manchester 12.50 Wigan 07.03 (L) Scarborough 09.45 (L) Hull 13.00(L) Euston 07.05 (L) Euston 09.50 Wigan 13.03 Leeds 07.10 (L) Poole 09.55 (L) Blackpool 13.20 St.Helens 07.14 Warrington 09.56 (L) Euston 13.37 Crewe 07.20 Wigan 10.03 (L) Scarborough 13.40 Manchester 07.26 Manchester 10.15 (L) Llandudno 13.45(L) Sheffield 07.31 Crewe 10.20 (L) Paignton 13.45(L) Glasgow 07.38 (L) Cleethorpes 10.20 St.Helens 13.50 Wigan 07.45 (L) Preston 10.30 Crewe 14.03(L) Scarborough 07.49 (L) Dover 10.40 Manchester 14.10(L) Portsmouth 07.50 Wigan 10.45 (L) Yarmouth 14.20(L) Euston 08.03 (L) Newcastle 10.50 Wigan 08.10 (L) Euston 10.55 (L) Blackpool 08.10 Manchester 11.03 Leeds 08.14 Warrington 11.20 St.Helens 08.20 Wigan 11.25 (L) Euston 08.33 Crewe 11.28 Crewe 08.40 (L) Paignton 11.40 (L) Preston 08.41 (L) Carlisle 11.43 Manchester 08.45 (L) Sheffield 11.45 (L) Cleethorpes 08.50 Wigan 11.50 Wigan 08.56 (L) Weymouth 12.00 Penzance 09.00 (L) Euston 12.03 (L) Scarborough 09.03 (L) Scarborough 12.15 (L) Llandudno 09.15 Rhyl 12.20 Wigan 09.20 (L) Penzance 12.37 Crewe 09.20 St. Helens 12.40 Manchester