Helpfile !RailPro, version 1.4

See the officail RailPro WWW site at: http://www.argonet.co.uk/acorngaming/ for RailPro support and to download some new track maps!!

WHAT IS !RAILPRO 
!RailPro is a combination of game and simulation, where you are an 
assistant in the traffic control room of a railway station. It is created in 
Mode 28, (and BASIC), in order to have a reasonable portion of the 
display of the lay-out on screen. Your goal is to let trains arrive on the 
platforms as given and direct the trains to their correct locations or 
exits. There are NO trains with terrorists who kill other people, NO 
guns or lasers to destroy other trains, NO bloody passengers walking 
about, NO squashing of people by trains. This is NOT a game for 
bloodthirsty people. If you like to play with trains or have a good 
interest in them you may like this game.

DIFFERENCES WITH REALITY
In reality one doesnt see a train in the control room, the board with the 
lay-out will show bars of light when trains occupy a sector. As this 
would be too boring for a sim Ive made little trains that will jump from 
cell to cell (so no smooth train running here). The second 
difference is the speed - on average you will have one train per minute 
to deal with. You may think its slow, but youll soon find out that the 
whole thing keeps you busy. You wont be able to run off for a minute if 
the game isnt paused.
Did !Rail28 have sharp 45-degree bends (in reality they use 60-degree
bends and points), in !RailPro the bends have been smoothened.

THE MAPS 
See TheMaps file. 

YOUR INSTRUMENTS 
To play the game you need both mouse and keyboard. The mouse 
does most of the things you wish to do. Clicking on menu will show a 
menu in the textfield with the keyboard options you can use. 
Clicking on select...
on a train:	Gives information about the train - number, destination, 
		arrival or departure time, earned revenue thus far. 
on a main signal:	This will swith a signal from red to green to red.
on a sub-signal:	This will switch the signal from green to red/orange to green.
on a point:	This will switch the point. 

At English points it will show three different positions - points left, right 
and crossing. There are three-way points as well - clicking will change 
to another position.
 
on entry points:	Tells the name of the destination. 
on station platform:	Tells you the station name.
 
When you click on a signal or a point when a train is on it you get 
information about the train. 

Clicking on adjust...
on a train:	You can redirect a train to the opposite direction. This 
		may be useful when you sent a train on a wrong track, 
		but it will only work when the train is stopped by a red 
		signal. Click either on the front or end of a train. 
on a signal:	This will switch a signal from red or green to orange.
on the border 
of the map:	This will move the area and display the adjacent part 
		of the map. 

The keyboard...
Once youve examined a map for the first time you press S to start. 
The first trains will then be announced. To pause the game press P, 
C thereafter to continue. Whilst pausing the screen will display a 1/4 
scaled view of the whole lay-out. Pressing 'M' whilst pausing gives you
Management-information. 
With the cursor-keys you can move and view the whole layout to find 
out where your stations are and where the trains appear and 
disappear. Pressing <Ctrl> and a left or right cursor key will jump the 
layout two screens further. When you wish an overview of all the 
different departure times, pressing D will show all departures that are 
due - the time, track and destination. Pressing <space> will clean the 
layout of dirt and tables. When anywhere in the map, pressing 
<space> will return you to the area where your main station is visible. 


All maps start with the idea that your station is a terminal so that all 
trains get a new destination and departure time once theyve arrived. If 
you feel that it has become too busy for you, press T. This changes 
your station into a through station. Many trains will give another entry 
point immediately as their destination and will only stop for a short time 
at your station. Goods trains will not stop if all signals are green. 
Pressing T again will make your station into a terminal again. 
Pressing I will show the interval table and tell you how you can 
change the intervals on entry. Pressing Q quits the game immediately. 
You are asked if you wish to save the situation of that moment for the 
next time. Some statistics about your achievements are put in a logfile 
within !RailPro. Theres also a Bonus list that will appear when your
achievements are so good that you may place yourself in the Top Ten. 
When youre doing too bad this list wont be shown. If you dislike the 
idea of a Bonus list you can avoid the confrontation with it by 
renaming or deleting the Scores file within !RailPro.

WHAT HAPPENS AUTOMATICALLY
Youre very lucky to have intelligent train drivers. Once theyve arrived 
at a platform and stopped they will find out themselves which direction 
to go with the train. When a train meets a buffer it will automatically 
redirect itself. If the buffer is not on a platform or siding the train will 
start running again after 10 seconds. (Dont redirect it manually then 
for it may cause a crash with itself which finishes the game.) Only 
redirect at RED signals!! When stopped at a red signal and a delay will 
arise, the train driver will warn you with the sound of a telephone bell, 
so all you have to do is switch the signals to green and direct the 
points correctly. 
There are two types of main signals - those that will jump
to green when the train passes a second one, switching the latter one to
red, and those that will switch to red when a train passes but wont 
automatically switch to green. These are the manual signals with a 
mark on them that you will have to switch to green yourself. Youll 
notice these signals at platforms and sidings and at the spots where 
you give a train the green to enter the street of points before the 
station. Local Passenger trains (LPs) should stop at any station 
(platform). To take a lot of work off your hands they will do that by 
themselves even if the signal is green. After 30 seconds they will 
continue their journey. To prevent increasing delays their arrival time at 
their destination will be adjusted at every stationstop.
Time-adjustments will also take place when trains run on a vertical stretch
of track.

SIGNALS
!RailPro handles three types of signals:
- Manual main signals: these signals will be switched to red by trains,
  but not to green. This has to be done by you with a mouse-click.
- Automatic main signals: these will be switched to red and green by the
  trains. If necessary you can switch them also of course.
- Sub signals: these warn trains if they have to slow down because of
  an upcoming red signal. They are also there for you to decrease the train
  speed when maintenance takes place on a following part of the track.
  During normal running, trains will switch them to orange when passing
  and back to green when going through the next sub-signal.
Have a close look at the 'Signals'-spritefile and 'SignalTxt'-file to see 
how it all works.
  
THE TRAINS 
There a three types of trains - InterCity (IC), Local Passenger (LP) and 
Goods trains (GD). IC is fastest, LP and GD are slower. When an IC or 
LP passes a platform, it will reduce speed. On leaving a platform it 
travels at slow speed until the next green signal. Orange signals reduce
the speed of the trains. An orange signal will switch to red on passing, 
and when the train passes the next signal it will switch back to orange. 
When a train runs slowly because of an orange signal it will continue to 
do so until it meets a green signal. Then its full speed again. By the 
way - red is stop.

TRAIN SPEEDS
Trains can have one of 4 different speeds:
- full speed on straight pieces of track;
- medium speed when passing through switched points and orange sub-signals;
- slow speed when passing through a station or when passing an orange
  main-signal or a red/orange sub-signal;
- stop when meeting a red main-signal or buffer or a second red/orange
  sub-signal.
As IC's run fastest, the slower speed will be more visible on them than
on GD's.
See also the Signals-spritefile and SignalTxt-file.

MAINTENANCE
A maintenance crew may start work on a bit of track. It will be announced
and you'll see the spot where it is happening.
The thing for you to do is to warn trains of this event, by switching
the signal to slow speed. If the signal is a main signal, switch it to
orange with adjust-click; if the signal is a sub-signal, switch it to
red/orange with select-click.
When work has finished, you'll be noticed again, so you can switch the
signal back to green with select-click.

EMPTY TRAINS AND EXCURSION-PARTIES
Up to four trains may not get a new destiny on arrival.
The message on the train will then be '00---'.
You have two options for these trains:
- run them to an exit immediately to save on costs, or
- side them on a safe bit of track and wait for an excursion-party.
Depending on the number of empty trains (and the number of platforms in
your map) you may get the announcement of an excursion-party that has
to be transported to an exit. If so, run empty trains to that platform
and have it loaded with passengers and run to (any) exit.
Only empty trains can/will load excursion-parties !!
Empty trains don't stop automatically at platforms, so signals have to
switched to red (red/orange when a subsignal is attached). 
Switch the signal back to green (or reverse a train manually) when you 
read the message that passengers are being loaded. After about 20 secs. 
the train will continue its journey.
Not all maps are suitable to have trains waiting for a party; see 
TheMaps-file for the unsuitable ones.
See also the Finance-file for more details on costs/benefits.

DEVIOUS THINGS TO WATCH 
When a train has reached its departure time it will try to run. This will 
work fine when the signals are green or orange. If however the train is 
of the type IC or LP and it is at a platform with a red signal, a quick 
switch from red to green wont help then as it will wait another 30 
seconds before it attempts to leave again. Another thing that will 
happen is the departure of more trains at the same time. Youll have to 
decide which train will go first and which will follow slowly or wait 
completely. And, of course, keep an eye on the points that will have to 
be switched quickly. Watch the manual signals - theyre likely to be 
forgotten, leading to delays and wondering why a train hasnt arrived 
yet. On your map there may be suburban station platforms. If your 
station is a through station then stopping an IC at an suburban station 
may result in this train trying to go in the opposite direction. ICs expect 
only to be stopped at main stations so it mays see this stop as at a main 
station.
If a train meets a red main-signal at full speed, it has to use its
emergency-brakes to stop. You'll get a message from an angry driver.
It will not only cost you money, but also time, as the train-systems
have to be reset before the train cans continue. If it is not safe for 
a train to enter an area, see to it that you switch the previous signal 
to orange (or red/orange).

WHAT GOES WRONG
A train crash finishes the game. Sending a train to an entry point 
instead of to the exit point will finish the game. Beware of these! 
Passing a track where maintenance is taking place at full/medium speed 
will lead to a derailment. Passing a wrongly set point at full/medium 
speed causes a derailment immediately. The spot where the accident 
occurs will remain blocked for 10 minutes, and it will cost you a lot 
of your revenue. This will certainly happen...

THE REVENUE 
See the Finance-file for details.

THE MESSAGES 
On the top of the screen is a text field where most of the messages will 
appear. 

These can be:	Announcement of an approaching train.
		Message of an arrived train with new data for departure.
		Any accidents/incidents happening.
		Information after your clicking on trains etc.
		Menu.
		Time (all your activities start at 14:00 hours).
At the bottom of the screen you will get the departure table when 
requested and a message about trains that have left your area. 
Clicking <select> on trains will give information about them.
Before arriving the info is, e.g. 03P-5. 03 is the time in minutes of 
arriving (14:03) and P-5 is the platform where it should arrive. When 
leaving a station the info is, e.g. 05ECT. 05 is the time in minutes of 
departure (14:05) and ECT the code for the destination (exit point). 
Goods trains (GD) will only give this type of info. 

The info display is usually on a blue background, but when a train is 
delayed the background will be red. This means that no time can be 
wasted. If you then stop a train at a red signal the revenue starts to 
decrease. With a blue background you may stop the train without cost. 
It means it is still on time. But beware that the display 
doesnt refresh itself when delays begins. Press <space> to see any 
changes occuring. 

HOW TO PLAY IT ALL 
First you get the announcement of a train approaching. This 
announcement tells you the type of train, its destination, its arrival time 
and on which platform it has to arrive. If the platform is free switch the 
platform signal to green so that you remember where the train has to 
be. Then follow from the main track the route the train will have to go 
through - the street of points - and switch all points so that a flow of 
cyan runs to the platform, not being blocked by any point. Dont panic. 
When youve prepared the route switch the manual signal on the main 
line to green so that the train can continue to run until its arrival. Most 
of the trains arrive early so corrections are always possible. If you 
suddenly see blocked points try to stop the train at a red light. You can 
switch all the signals with the mouse. At least fifteen seconds before a 
train leaves you will have to prepare the points for its departure. 
Theres no manual signal for the way out on the main line, obviously. If 
a train derails youll only be able to see the cause after ten minutes. 
Keep on playing and try to make trains avoid that spot. Its better to 
send a train to another destination if the main line is blocked than to 
keep them waiting. 
The platforms are not always fully numbered. You may decide to go 
from top to bottom or bottom to top. The game calculates if platforms 
are free or will be free when the next train is sent in. 
ICs and LPs will only give notice of an arrival when theyre at the 
grey platforms of their destination, stopped by either a red light or 
a red buffer and also when theyve arrived at their maintenance 
siding. GDs will only do so on their special siding tracks. 
If they stop anywhere else theyll think they havent arrived yet. 
For the rest its a matter of experimenting and finding out how 
things work. When the game starts it appears rather slow. 
But within fifteen minutes you may get the first signs of stress :-)


AN OVERVIEW
 
Rails...

plain:		Where trains run. ICs will slow down on rails with grey 
		platforms. When stopped theyll see it as an arrival at a  
		station. LPs will slow down and always stop if theres a 
		signal at the end of the platform. 
with blueish 
platform:	Maintenance siding for ICs and LPs. When sent here 
		theyll wait for ten minutes, after which they have to go 
		to a platform at the main station. There theyll get a 
		new destination. 
with black 
extension: 	Depot siding for GDs. Theyll get a new destination 
		here and departure time. As goods take more time to 
		exchange waiting can be up to 15 minutes.
with bell
attached:	A train passing here will send a message that is has 
		passed. These rails are/should be on tracks that may
		have nearby points switched to a certain position.
		(Usually coming from or connecting to a main line.)
		Specially in places that will not be on your display
		all the time.
		On level crossings a bell will ring when a train
		passes the diagonal part of the crossing.
 
Signals...
automatic 
signals:	Change to red when a train passes and back to the 
		previous colour when the train passes the next signal. 
		Usually this will be green. If manually set to orange, it 
		will return to orange. If theres a row of orange signals 
		only the last one will return to orange, the others will 
		change to green. 

Points...
normal points:	Click on them to change. If set to a wrong position a 
		train will derail unless the signal before the point was 
		switched to slow speed. Because of the slow speed the 
		wheels of the train wil direct the point then to the 
		correct position. 
English points:	These are the switchable crossings. These are not 
		derail-protected by orange signals! 
three-way 
points:		Click to set them in the desired position. As English 
		points. 
Buffers: 	At dead ends there are buffers. If these are not next to 
		platforms the train will reverse automatically within 10 
		seconds (the driver has to run to the other side). In 
		several maps youll find these bits of rails with buffers. 
		Use these as much as possible to switch directions as 
		manual switching at other red signals will cost you 
		some revenue. 

This program is freeware and only for purpose of enjoyment. If you 
wish to distribute it, dont hesitate, its alright by me.  

Built in limitations: maximum of 24 trains at any time, maximum of 4 
empty trains at any time, maximum of 20 stations or depots, 
maximum of 30 platforms or siding tracks, 
maximum of 8 entry/exitpoints, maximum of 1 track maintenance crew 
to disrupt your service.  

Any remarks, suggestions are welcome.  

Jos Keijzers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
 
Jos Keijzers, the author of the game has now no longer got an internet email account so if you need support in playing the game, have a look at the official RailPro pages where you got this from at: http://www.argonet.co.uk/acorngaming then click on 'features' then 'RailPro'.

It is unlikely that any further upgrades will be made to the game but you can still see the railpro map archive at the above address!

-Alasdair Bailey (8/2/98)