GEC's Layout Progress

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Well, I'm gonna double check for those coal trains and anything else that might have left at Monmouth Junction, just to be thorough in my schedule, just so I can claim to really have every NEC train down.

Last night I constructed a "Time-Table Line Graph", which pretty much graphs out when and where every train is. I had to "guess" some times for trains the went to South Amboy or other locations not in New Jersey, but the result is scarifying. The graph itself could probably NOT be posted here, it is so huge that it can't be easily read unless it is stretched out. Trains depart New York nearly every minute! It is difficult to read the map, and I'm thinking of trying to make different versions that emphasize different trains.

there are now nearly (but not quite) 250 trains on the schedule, all in 24 hours, at some point during the day. The graph has allowed me to also catch some errors in my schedule (since each train follows a particular "slope", zigzags suggest errors).

You can even watch the trains thin out as they approach Trenton and Philadelphia. The "New York" side of the graph is almost impossible to interpret unless you get close.

All I can say is thank god for Ms Excel!

My plan now will be to make similar, smaller graphs only containing trains during a particular time of day, so I can see where and when the most interesting trains may pass each other. This will make for an Ideal spot to model.