Anybody using a 'Fast Clock" in their railroading activities?
- Thread starter Old 97
- Start date
NorthBrit
Well-Known Member
migalyto
Well-Known Member
Mine are never on time, and some days don’t run at all.Likewise.
Trains now run at a leisurely pace. Like the real ones.
Most of the layout owners in my area use a 3:1 clock (as do I) and operate an 8 hour shift in 2'40", one uses a 2:1 clock and operates 6 hrs in 3.
The key to using a fast lock is to realize how much a layout can do in a given period of real time. If a yard can only switch 100 cars in a real 3 hr op session then it doesn't matter what the clock speed is, they can only switch 100 cars. If the railroad can only handle running 8 trains in a real 3 hr op session, then it doesn't matter what the fast clock speed is, they can only run 8 trains.
There are also set times that it takes to do things, like classify a train, build a train, switch a town, run across the railroad, etc. They take a set amount of real time to perform those tasks. As long as you allow that relative amount of time in with the fast clock, things will work. If it takes a real 30 min to classify an inbound train at a yard, then with a 2:1 fast clock you have to allow at least an hour, with a 3:1 fast clock at least 1.5 hrs, with a 4:1 fast clock at least 2 hrs and with a 6:1 fast clock at least 3 hrs.
Where people get in trouble with fast clocks is using a prototype timetable and condensing it down to fast clock speed (guaranteed to fail about 99% of the time), just flat running too many trains for the railroad to handle (regardless of the clock speed) or compressing too many tasks into too little of time (running 4 trains into a yard in a fast clock hour when it takes over a fast clock hour to process one). Most times when people say they got rid of the fast clock and things improved, what they really did was run fewer trains. If they had run fewer trains and kept the fast clock it would have been the same improvement.
The fast clock really didn't have anything to do with how congested the railroad was, it was the number of trains or tasks and how close they were placed to each other. All the fast clock really does is regulate the sequence of things. You can have a sequential railroad (run train A, when it finishes then train B, when it finishes then train C, etc.) What a clock (real or fast) does is allow multiple things to happen in multiple sequences.
Another thing that gets people hung up with fast clocks is they get more focused on the clock than running the train. OH MY GOD, I'M LATE. Who cares? Trains run late. With a time table, scheduled trains can be either on time or late. On time is exactly one minute wide. EVERYTHING else is running late. If a train is late the railroad/dispatcher has mechanisms to deal with it. Most layouts I have operated on, the total run time from one end to the other is 10, maybe 15 minutes. Even if I am at one end of the layout and the dispatcher fails to take action and I have to wait for a train leaving the other end of the layout, it's only about 10-15 minutes wait time. No one will die.
When used effectively a fast clock can be a great tool for those wanting more involved operations.
The key to using a fast lock is to realize how much a layout can do in a given period of real time. If a yard can only switch 100 cars in a real 3 hr op session then it doesn't matter what the clock speed is, they can only switch 100 cars. If the railroad can only handle running 8 trains in a real 3 hr op session, then it doesn't matter what the fast clock speed is, they can only run 8 trains.
There are also set times that it takes to do things, like classify a train, build a train, switch a town, run across the railroad, etc. They take a set amount of real time to perform those tasks. As long as you allow that relative amount of time in with the fast clock, things will work. If it takes a real 30 min to classify an inbound train at a yard, then with a 2:1 fast clock you have to allow at least an hour, with a 3:1 fast clock at least 1.5 hrs, with a 4:1 fast clock at least 2 hrs and with a 6:1 fast clock at least 3 hrs.
Where people get in trouble with fast clocks is using a prototype timetable and condensing it down to fast clock speed (guaranteed to fail about 99% of the time), just flat running too many trains for the railroad to handle (regardless of the clock speed) or compressing too many tasks into too little of time (running 4 trains into a yard in a fast clock hour when it takes over a fast clock hour to process one). Most times when people say they got rid of the fast clock and things improved, what they really did was run fewer trains. If they had run fewer trains and kept the fast clock it would have been the same improvement.
The fast clock really didn't have anything to do with how congested the railroad was, it was the number of trains or tasks and how close they were placed to each other. All the fast clock really does is regulate the sequence of things. You can have a sequential railroad (run train A, when it finishes then train B, when it finishes then train C, etc.) What a clock (real or fast) does is allow multiple things to happen in multiple sequences.
Another thing that gets people hung up with fast clocks is they get more focused on the clock than running the train. OH MY GOD, I'M LATE. Who cares? Trains run late. With a time table, scheduled trains can be either on time or late. On time is exactly one minute wide. EVERYTHING else is running late. If a train is late the railroad/dispatcher has mechanisms to deal with it. Most layouts I have operated on, the total run time from one end to the other is 10, maybe 15 minutes. Even if I am at one end of the layout and the dispatcher fails to take action and I have to wait for a train leaving the other end of the layout, it's only about 10-15 minutes wait time. No one will die.
When used effectively a fast clock can be a great tool for those wanting more involved operations.
Bristolman2012
Active Member
Isn’t this supposed to be a hobby one can enjoy and relax . I could care less if it takes my train 2 hours or 2 minutes to go around a loop as long as it goes around and the cars coupled to the engine stay connected and make it around with it . I’m happy . I ran my train for a couple of loops before working on tax return and was actually relaxed not dreading opening return .
mike
mike
It's also a hobby that a group can enjoy operating model trains. For those people a fast clock is a handy tool. If you don't care about how long anything takes or just want run a train around your layout, great. There are people who enjoy going to a driving range and just hitting golf balls and then there are people who enjoy getting together with some friends and playing a game of golf. If you are just hitting balls your strokes don't matter, if you are playing a game, then you keep score. Some people enjoy running trains like a real railroad. Some don't. If you are interested in a fast clock you are more likely one of the people interested in prototypical operations.
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
As a lone operator, I have no desire to use a fast clock. I do try to emulate the prototype by being a sequential railroad operator. I'll take a local out to do some switching and in the middle of the operation, I'll tie up on a siding and then run a couple of through freights by before resuming the switching.
Topherisme
Chris wants more hobby time!!!
My plan is to have a couple trains running continuously, outer and inner loop, I control the switching train and operate as the trains running will allow me to do. Will have to learn at what speeds work best, but I don’t want to feel like I am racing the clock. At 20 scale mph it will take roughly 5 minutes to travel inner loop, double that for the outer, I will move the switcher when my next section “turns green”…
