The 2009 Groundhog day timetable includes well over 2,300 schedules and gets very intense during rush hour. However, with ARS switched on and in Easy mode, it is still manageable by one player scanning the entire area. Most phone calls are from the shunters at Hither Green / Grove Park, asking for permission for trains to enter.
During the day there are several pairs of trains with the same headcode, running just a few minutes apart, in the same direction, though with different origins and destinations. This confuses the ARS and the timetable pop-up window. It is suggested to use the F4 timetable window to find the two schedules and work from those instead. Affected trains include 2F36, 2B58, 2F48, 2F52, 2F54, and 5P06.
Timetable clashes are left in, per schedule as the signallers would have had them before fixes would have taken place (typically within days or weeks after a new timetable starts). However, there are not many. There are, however, several platform sharing moves where two trains use a platform but otherwise do not interact (divide/join). A couple are caused by long layovers of trains, for example arriving in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, while a procession of trains use the remaining platform length. ACI will not handle platform sharing as there is just the inbound arrival berth and outbound departure berth, per real life. Remember that London Bridge ASC in real life doesn’t even have ACI.
The 2Inn and 2Onn trains are generally circular. That is, they start from Cannon Street, run towards Dartford, and use the triangles there to return back to Cannon Street. They work fine in the simulation but it’s just something to note when inspecting timetables as there will be two (inbound and outbound).
There are a couple of complex divides and joins, such as an arrival that splits, the rear disappears, then another arrives to join the remaining portion. ACI will not handle all of these moves. Read the timetable carefully!
Faster trains may arrive at the termini several minutes early if left unchecked. Make sure they do not block earlier inbound services while waiting for their platform.
Cannon Street shuts down early in the evening. The station is in the heart of the City which is mostly business, most of which have closed by then. Charing Cross, on the other hand, is close to the nightlife of London and remains busy even at 11pm.
There are some random shunt moves at Hither Green / Grove Park, as per real life. These require some manual intervention, especially the short- and long-nose shunts. These appear out of the sidings but never fully exit, and return back into the sidings (onto a different road). As they do not fully pass the exit signal, the route remains set and must be cancelled manually.
Last edited by GeoffM on 19/05/2018 at 20:01