Adding "Custom" loads to OpsPro - Part Four
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Any discussion of the role Staging plays in how and where the Customs are assigned should begin with the basic options. ?These are found under the "Optional custom car load controls" area of each Staging-type?
track, as I have indicated in the image below...
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For the newer User attempting to convert over to ALL Customs, I suggest checking the three boxes I have checked in the image above.
- Option box 1 - This effectively removes any load in the car when it arrives into the track and leaves the default E. ?This must be done in order to use any of the other option boxes.
- Option box 3 - As its name implies, this "generates" a custom load (based on what is allowed) for any of the Spurs with schedules, regardless of how many trains are then used to forward the car. ?
- Option box 4 - This allows the program to fill a car with a load allowed by other Staging tracks. ?Think of this as a back-up safety valve for when the program cannot send a car/load to a Spur for various reasons,?
and needs to send the car somewhere to prevent the dreaded "Build Fail" message. This can also be viewed as "overhead" traffic, or, those loads that are not received by on-line Spurs but rather only travelling?
from one end of the User's system to the other. ?
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Once the basic options are chosen, the program is ready to begin shipping out custom loads in the cars found in the track. ?This should be prefaced by a couple of question-and-answer replies.
Q. What cars are going to be allowed into the track?
A. ?The section near the top of the Edit window is labelled "Select the rolling stock serviced by this staging track". ?This details the cars allowed in and should be carefully chosen to match the desired consists of the?
outbound trains. ?If the User wants to allow all cars to arrive, then the program will have to consider any car and its resultant load when building any outbound train from this track. ?Here again, I will suggest taking a?
pencil-to-paper approach for deciding which loads will be allowed from each Staging track. ?Thinking about which trains use which Staging tracks will also aid the User in setting up each Staging track.
Q. How do I prevent the defaults (E/L) from showing up on the cars?
A. You can tell each track not only what cars may or may not be allowed, but also filter the loads that the cars can bring in. ?By using the "Load Option" button (from the Edit window), the User tells the program to?
filter which loads are allowed in as well. ?If all the loads should be allowed, then use the "exclude" function to prevent either "E" or "L" from showing up.
(Note: The only time the default E should show up is when an inbound train is terminated and the loads all revert to E until an outbound train is built.)
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Once the track is formatted to allow only certain cars (or allow all) and the loads they can bring in (No E or L), the User can then select which loads will be used to fill the outbound cars. ?The tool for this task is the?
"Ship Load Option" button.
(Note: The "Ship Load Option" button isn't present at first, but requires a selection of the desired Custom Control Options boxes be made, then a click of the "Save" button, before the "Ship Load Option" button appears.)
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Once the button is available, clicking it will bring up the Edit window for choosing and refining the outbound custom loads. ?
In the image above, any possible loads (other than the defaults) would be allowed to fill a car.
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The use of these two buttons for selective filtering of the Staging tracks can range from very simple (as in the above images) to much more complex, as is evidenced by the following example...
Here, multiple cars/loads are prevented from arriving or departing the track (including the defaults) as is desired for any train built from this track. ?I wanted to prevent certain car/loads from coming to this particular?
staging location/track since they needed to go to different Staging locations.
Overall, the Staging tracks can be viewed as a source for custom loads that are being delivered to the Spurs as requested by those Spurs' schedules. ?Generated loads/MTYs are hauled by trains from Staging to ?
the locations of the Spurs, or perhaps, as is desired, to the points of interchange where another train(s) can move them on to the locations of their final destinations. ?The routing involved can be tricky and should?
also be thought out when setting up Staging/Schedules. ?This may also involve filtering the C/I tracks for the certain car/loads as well.
Hopefully, this look at the Staging mechanisms will lead to an understanding of the relationship that exists between the Schedules at Spurs and the Staging tracks. ?While it is not necessary to format each and every?
Staging track for each train specifically, the basic "how-to"s should provide a starting point for creative expansion. ?And perhaps a checklist for set up might help...
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Checklist for Schedules and Staging when working with Custom Loads
1. All car-types have established Custom loads and MTYs.
2. All Spurs employ Schedules that call for the appropriate car/loads.
3. Staging tracks are formatted to accept and ship the car/loads as used by the Schedules
4. As a safety valve, Staging should also be allowed to receive any car/load that might not find an assignment (for various reasons) at any Spur (scheduled).
To this last point, let me add this...?
Let's say the User has a somewhat unique car or load he/she wants to see run over the railroad, but doesn't really have a industry that would "use" the particular car/load. ?If the custom load is used by the car-type?
and then both are allowed in Staging at either end of the layout, the ability of program to send it from one end to the other on a train, works out nicely. ??
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While I know this is a pretty simple primer, I didn't want to overwhelm the newer User with too much info when it comes to getting started. ?So, take time to read and re-read if necessary and then return to the forum?
with questions.
Happy to help, hope it helps,
<Pete Johnson>