Clock

When operating a railroad 1/87 actual size, it may take one minute to travel from Cincinnati to Columbus.  Such time spans don't make for very convincing schedules.  The model railroader's solution to this is the "scale clock," which runs at some multiple of normal speed.  If that multiple is, say, 6, then it appears to take 6 minutes to make the trip, which is still record time but at least more manageable.

TrainPlayer offers an adjustable-speed railroad-style scale clock in its own dockable, resizable window.  You can use it to time your operations, or start it and let the program refer to it as it keeps track of your schedule.

If the clock is visible when you open a layout, then it will start automatically as soon as any train moves.

To operate the clock:

1. To show or hide the clock, use Window > Clock/Schedule.
    
2. To start the clock: right-click in the clock window and choose Start from the context menu.  The clock hand advances about once every scale minute.
    
3. To stop the clock: right-click and choose Stop.
    
4. To reset the clock back to its default starting time: click Reset.
    
5. To modify the starting time or clock speed, bring up the Inspector, Clock tab:

In this dialog:

• Start Time is the time the clock shows when it first comes up, or when you click Reset.  You can set it to start at any hour of day or night.
   
• Speed Factor is the multiple at which the clock runs.  This value can be set from 1 (normal clock speed) to 60 times normal speed.  Default is 6.
   
• Start, Stop, and Reset buttons have the same effect in this dialog as on the clock context menu.