Q: Is there any point to moving little make-believe
trains around an image of a model pretending to be a railroad?
A: Sure.
- Explore layout designs. When you're
thinking about designing a railroad, there is nothing handier than a book of
track plans. Well-designed plans give you ideas about how different
track configurations might work with your theme and fit in the space you
have. Attractive artwork inspires you to think about the terrain and
the scenery. TrainPlayer brings you some of the world's finest track
plans to browse, appreciate, and try.
- Develop operating plans.
If you had an operating railroad and an unlimited supply of rolling stock,
how would you go about running it? You need to figure out how to
deliver goods and passengers for your customers, what cars you need to run
on what schedule, how to avoid delaying the express while the local is tying
up the main line. With TrainPlayer, you can develop timetables and
schedules by driving the layout and letting the program keep track of times
and distances.
- Test your equipment.
Do you already have a collection of cars? Customize the ones in the
program so they match yours, and see if your 86-foot flatcars look realistic
going around the 16-inch curves on your target plan.
- Learn train moves.
It isn't obvious how to shuffle a dense yard of cars when you have a
schedule to meet. With TrainPlayer, you can learn by practicing.
Figure out how to classify cars so they're on the right tracks at the right
time. Learn to minimize the number of moves it takes. Try your
hand at a switching puzzle.
- Teach train moves.
If you're already a skilled operator, use TrainPlayer to spread your
knowledge. Use the recorder to capture a sequence of moves, and play
it back for the learners. Demonstrate how to handle a meet on the main
line, or switch an industrial siding.
and of course
- Play with trains.
