Minimum Dwell Time

Hi Folks

For my own use I’m creating a scenario on the excellent North London Line (NSE) from Backdated Train Sim, using a copy of the 1987 passenger timetable. One thing I’m noticing is that it is completely impossible to achieve the published running times on the Watford DC line and I think it comes down to the minimum dwell time. As people may recall, slam-door stock could achieve some very short dwells - think 15 seconds wheels-stop to start or even less - whereas the minimum dwell for the route is the standard 00:00:35. By that maths each stop is taking 20 seconds longer than necessary, so every 3 stops you’re a minute slower than BR allowed in reality.

Is there a way to alter the min dwell time by editing the route?

 

You can change the stop time for each instruction, but I believe the minimum for a Pick Up Passenger instruction is 20 seconds. Stop At instructions have a shorter minimum time, although this won't be the best choice for a passenger scenario.

 

How do I use anything shorter than 35 seconds, which it seems to default back to?

 

One thing I can recommend is to make your scenario standard, non-timetabled.
I don't know the precise reason but I know firmly that whenever my stop is late, the dwell is cut short. The red bar starts, and then abruptly succeeds. I've had as low as 5 seconds.

Option B - not entirely sure how well it will work - is to set an excessive pace (default 75%) to ensure that the calculated arrival time is before you want it, and then configure the stop to end when you want it to. You may end up with some timeliness penalty but with luck, the penalty can be set to zero, and who cares about workshop scoring anyway. (Except, you may get downvotes due to impossible timetable, which you might address.)

 

You need to edit the .bin file for the platform(s), changing this section

<LoadingTimeSeconds d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000804140" d:precision="string">35</LoadingTimeSeconds>
</cPlatformSectionBlueprint>
</Blueprint>
</cBlueprintLoader>

to suit. Luckily it's right at the bottom of the document.

 

Thanks Gary, that’s really useful. Cheers everyone

 

Another option (if dealing with ai) is to change the instructions to stop instructions, they can be shorter without requiring ant route edits

 

I'm pedantic, but nobody has suggested editing the route.

 

The platform time change is an asset edit right? So it's not something you can really publish a scenario with

 

I think achieving perfect timetables is impossible in general because of how the game operates, and I think I remember some scenarios making allowances for certain impossible timings. I mean, I've been late so many times on tight timings that it's not funny. Running a schedule that adheres to such tight timings is a challenge.

It may well be that platform time, indeed.

 

Irl dwell times will be around 30 seconds in platforms in most cases. Major through stations have higher dwells and platform regulation points.

 

Of course you can publish it, but....

so the question doesn't arise in this case.

 

Part of the problem is that in real life, dwell time runs from wheels stop to wheels start. The simulator measures the dwell as between pressing T (open doors) to getting the ‘right away’. Depending on the rolling stock it can take several seconds to get on the move particularly when blowing brakes off on older train types. With an HST in particular this can mean a 35 sec dwell is actually 1-min or more in practice.

(I’m a professional timetable planner in the real world, before anyone asks.)

 

That’s why you put the minimum step brake or hold brake on when on a platform with doors open that’s what happens IRL

 

Absolutely right, but there was so much more to it than that in my days of train planning. For instance an old-fashioned DMU on a branch line might have nobody to alight or board at some stations, the train would pull into the platform and only pause for, say, ten seconds, and the the guard would buzz it away. Point to point timings allowed for this possibility (and often had an extended dwell time at key stations to allow for busy traffic at the intermediate stations), but you can't emulate this in Train Simulator.

John

 

This is exactly true - gone are the days of balancing the SRTs against the planned dwell time (either 30s or 'dot', depending how you do it.) That being said, we do use 45-second dwells by alternating 30 & 60 sec values although this can cause problems at junctions - so you could plan 15-sec values in theory by alternating dots and 30s, not that there's any rolling stock that can achieve it any more.

 

This is true of modern rolling stock and older suburban stock. With loco-hauled rakes, it can still take ages to release the brakes even from a low step. A 2+8 HST could take a full 30s from 'right away' to actually starting to move, that time was included in the dwell (in theory).