I find a lot of the fun of TSW is learning new things and exploring a bit. Picked up the Spoorlijn Zwoelle route on sale and it's VERY nice! Has 5 little freight runs! And you can change all sorts of 193 Vectron settings from language to pantograph/electricity type/etc. Also that little G6 runs on so many dang maps.... Ran into the first "ice on the front windscreen" effect too. Anyway, many people probably already know all that but I found it fun to learn about. There are still always new people coming in however, and it's interesting to see what they discover, as well as the old time veterans! What did you come across this week that was new to you?
I learned that dropping an 8lbs Electric Bass about 4 feet on to your bare foot can break it this week.
Not strictly TSW related but overlapping with the railway subject, but I was talking to some people recently about why people in England drive on the left while everyone else drives on the right. I always assumed we got it because the early railways were set up to drive on the left and that habit became standard practise for road traffic later. While the railway might have had something to do with it, it turns out the origin extends further back than that. In Roman times horse riders would commonly pass one another on the left as a precaution in case of a fight as they were predominantly right handed with their swords, and for much the same reason it is known that Roman soldiers marched on the left. In the 1700s a law was passed that traffic using London Bridge had to travel on the left, the early railways adopted this same approach, and finally in 1835 the rule of driving on the left was passed across the British empire. On the other hand, driving on the right apparently also descends from people being right handed but for a different reason. Beyond the UK it was more common to have larger wagons being drawn by horses in two by two formations. Drivers would often sit to the left side as this put their right hand in the center for their whips. Driving these large wagons was then took place on the right as it put the rider closer to the middle of the road and gave them greater visibility, exactly the same logic still applied with left or right hand drive vehicles today, and the first place to pass a law for driving on the right was Pennsylvania in 1792, followed by France that same year. Driving on the right therefore was already established in those areas and their surrounding networks by the time railways began appearing. It kind of figures that when it comes to which side of the road or railways we drive on, in the UK it was decided by ancient practise whereas in America it was decided by their vehicles being massive.
In Canada we drive on the US/right side and I've never driven on left. I always felt like it would be relatively easy to switch over except the one thing that would be really weird is (if a manual) using the left hand for shifting.
That the DB BR 140 layers on more routes than its original Stuttgart. It’s particularly fun on RSN more so if you pick a run that follows a stopping train (generally the ones that show about an hour running time) as you are constantly chasing approach signals which, combined with the speed and gradient changes, equals lots of work with the tap changer and brakes. Compelling…
I've driven a right-hand drive car a couple of times. Yes, the gearshift lever is unusually positioned, but since it had an automatic transmission, it didn't bother me. And in But the fact that on cars for the Japanese market the turn signal and wiper levers are located in a mirror image to those on left-hand drive cars was not very convenient for me. Several times I used my windshield wipers instead of my turn signals.
After I started playing the BR101 Expert, I found out that the head car doesn't have AFB. I thought the other head cars didn't have it because they were for commuter trains. Why he is not in this carriage is still a mystery to me.
This week I learnt, through the actions of one of my employees, that if you put a Cornish Pastie in a microwave and zap it for 20 minutes on the highest setting, it will spontaneously combust and burn part of your canteen down.
Why do trains in Switzerland run on the left-hand side with SBB, BLS, SOB and many others? The SBB adopted this practice from the English at the time, which is why the SBB still runs on the left today. We learned this at vocational school back then.
Yeah in France trains run on the left-hand side too, except in Alsace-Lorraine which was in german hands when railways were built (the 1870 - 1918 interlude). So when you're crossing the old border, there are flyovers, and at some places, like Metz, tracks are bidirectionnals.
20 minutes??? I hate to give this a "like" because it's terrible, but that is something for someone to learn... the hard way =-/
Trying to talk to an adviser for carers scotland takes longer than waiting for the heat death of the universe (3hrs 42mins 12secs on hold)
Trust me he learnt nothing from this. An hour later we caught him on an 'unofficial' break because..........drumroll.........."my earlier break was interrupted by the fire alarm" You really can't make it up !!!
Think they slipped in under the bar but they are there on 5 or 6 routes, presumably subbing for the Traxx things, if you go into the Trains listings and select the 140 under Timetable.
About 1/3rd of the world drives on the left (admittedly most of it was part of the empire, but not all of it e.g. Japan, Mozambique, Thailand)
This week I learned the polish signal system, so I can run SimRail HUDless. Have to worry less about TSW drama this way and it shows, I actually can drive three hours and up in one sitting without having to switch routes via a screen or having to creep along with 5 mph with a mile long freight train to have a good three hours of train simming.
Sadly we had to remove our public toaster for this reason. Folks couldn't figure out that you can only put BREAD in a toaster, even after putting up a huge sign. I feel your pain.
Yeah, spent my share of time on the local fire squad too. Glad I didn't get the "duck" call though. The cops had to handle that one. I did hear it on the emergency radio though. Officer: "Dispatch, I'm at can you send backup? I'm in the (local grocery store) parking lot with an individual." Dispatch:" All officers are busy, is it an emergency? Do you need medical assistance? Can you give me more information?" <pause> Officer: "It's not... an emergency exactly but I don't want to discuss it on the mic. Let's just say it has to do with a man and a duck in the parking lot and leave it at that. I am REALLY not comfortable handling this call alone." Dispatch: "Understood. I'll get an officer over there quickly." Officer: "Thank you very much."
Why not both? Insturment, the strap broke while playing at a club, and I play with bare feet on stage so my bad.
Here you go... Some routes have more than others - I think SKA has just one short playable service - and the Ludwigsbahn AFAIK is still spawning in the freight trains as a light loco without the consist. But lot's of choice and variety there to give a nice workout.
Our Canadian friend understandably is too young to remember driving on the left in Canada - the country switched in stages by Province starting in the 1920s and finishing in 1949 with Newfoundland (that Province joined the Confederation that year). Something I only just discovered via this forum!
It’s not got layers anywhere else but can be used via loco substitution on existing services on the other routes.
National Crime Agency officers/investigators are tri-warranted and can hold the office of constable, immigration, and customs altogether. Considering a warrant card usually gives you only the privilege and powers of a constable, to have all 3 in one go is pretty cool. Probably a nerdy little thing that only interests me.
