This is not a clinchfield issue only though. Every route in tsw 2 has a train that departs at a set time even in a station and depot because that train is based on the in-game timetable. Like if i do a service to st pancreas and get there at 4:32 PM and if I wanted to do a return journey back to Faversham, I would have to wait until 4:55 PM because it´s based on the in game timetable for the route. So if a train like the one you showed is supposed to depart at 2:45 PM, then thatś due to the fact that the timetable says it is supposed to depart at 2:45 PM. Just because you are on free roam and see a train does not mean you can get on it and drive away because all trains on free roam have a timetable. Now I´m not sure how freight railroads work, so I won´t comment on the matter if this is realistic or not having read this entire thread. A simple solution if a player does not want to wait this long for a train to depart would be for dtg to introduce a mode where you can accelerate time. Games like F1 2020 and World Of Subways 4 have this feature. In f1 it can be used to fast forward to a certain part or the end of a practice/qualifying secession and World Of Subways 4 has this feature so you can accelerate time to the time your service starts so you do not have to wait so long. This feature would end the need for players to not have to wait so long for their service to start on free roam and frankly should be a feature that should´ve been in the game by now
This is very cool indeed, and there is a good amount of routes that let you do that, so you have your train, that you can operate nearly 24/7 without going back to the menu or waiting an hour for the next sceduled service (Like MSB or ECW (only Brighton-Seaford, the Services to eastbourne go into a portal) and bakerloo of course)
Peninsula Corridor is a perfect example of this. It's one of the only closed circuit passenger routes in game besides Bakerloo and Seaford Branch (nearly all trains end on the map in both directions, except a few that go to Gilroy or Tamien off map) AND it has a yard. So you could take a train out of CEMOF, do some morning rush hour, and bring it back to CEMOF after a few runs to wait for evening rush hour, or do some more spaced out services in the midday, depending on what the train is scheduled to do. There's even a couple of runs where you have to move a train from CEMOF in San Jose the whole length of the route to San Francisco, so SF has some trains to send towards SJ when the day's runs start.
It does happen in real life. Near me are some stabling sidings and the residents in the nearby roads were up in arms for years due to the units engines being left running all night, apparently it was to keep the batteries charged. I think they have stopped leaving them running now but these complaints had been going in for years. I don't see what the fuss is about (with the sim not the real life situation) as how else would you work around it, I assume that is how it works in service mode.
That's why when FGW were outstabling HST's at locations like Hereford, they needed to go on shore supply. If there was an issue with the shore supply then it was not unusual for the sets to run back additional ECS to Bristol St Phillips Marsh then back out again in the morning (subject to engineering work) to avoid the risk of flat batteries. More than one additional schedule crafted by myself on nights, for the move back in the morning!
I think that was what Chiltern have done at the Stourbridge stabling sidings as they don't leave them running anymore, there was quite a lot of anger from residents living adjacent to the sidings, I can't image how much fuel it must have used.
Quite possibly less that it takes to prime and start them up in the morning. An idling diesel burns an elf's thimble worth of fuel.
Wait! Really? I thought leaving the engines idling overnight burns more fuel? I always switch off the engine if there’s no more work planned for the night. Just a habit that I do. The feeling of shutting down the engine, switching off the main circuit breaker and applying the handbrake is satisfying.
Next time you're in a truck stop, notice that all the rigs in the parking lot are idling away while their drivers eat/shower/buy snacks. And since owner-operators pay for their fuel out of pocket, they're very mindful of what uses more and uses less.
