
      EXETER                                                  A. GREENUP,
      TRAFFIC                                             20 MOORVILLE DRIVE,
      CONTROL                                                   CARLISLE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION
------------
   Exeter St Davids is the busy West Country junction where the Network
SouthEast "West of England" route from Waterloo and Salisbury links up with the
Western Region mainline from Paddington and the North to Devon and Cornwall.
There is thriving local and holiday traffic on branch lines to Barnstaple and
Exmouth, and all this will keep you well occupied during your six hour shift as
duty traffic controller on a busy summer Saturday.


LAYOUT AND OPERATIONS
---------------------
   The simulation is set in the mid-1980s, soon after the layout
rationalization associated with the West of England resignalling scheme. As
shown in the plan below there are 6 platforms serving the Up and Down mainlines
(UM & DM), the Barnstaple branch (BS), the Up and Down Waterloo lines (UW & DW)
and Waterloo Road Yard (WR).

   Please refer to the image file rtcexete.png for a plan of Exeter St Davids.

   The platforms are designed for flexible use, although we adopt here the
following restrictions to simulate typical operating practice:

       P1 and P3      Bidirectional platforms used by Waterloo and Exmouth line
                      trains, but which can if necessary deal with mainline
                      trains.

           P2         Bay platform used by Barnstaple line diesel multiple
                      units.

       P4 and P5      Principal mainline platforms. Bidirectional, although
                      normally P4 is used for Down services and P5 for Up
                      services.

           P6         Platform used by Barnstaple loco-hauled trains
                      (permitting the locomotive to run round) and as a relief
                      platform for mainline trains in either direction.

   You will find a mix of motive power typical of the period, with all
locomotives and units identified by TOPs style running numbers (even though in
practice these were not generally carried by the older DMUs). Workings are
referred to by their four-digit reporting numbers, together with abbreviated
originating and destination codes as detailed in the Appendix. Being a Saturday
in the peak holiday season there is no freight traffic to be dealt with during
your shift, and it is assumed that all light engine movements associated with
running round and changing locomotives occur behind the scenes under the
control of your assistant.

   Care will need to be taken with the comings and goings of trains over the
in-part bidirectional lines to Exeter Central, particularly as the diagrams of
some of the Exmouth DMUs have been adjusted to give longer turnarounds in the
platforms at St Davids to facilitate the loading and unloading of transfer
passengers changing trains. The Barnstaple line is only single track from its
divergence from the mainline at Cowley Bridge Junction to Crediton, and
obviously conflicting movements must be avoided over this section. The Network
SouthEast expresses from Waterloo are run-around and serviced in Waterloo Road
Yard, and after arrival and unloading should be directed there for this to
occur. As in real life individual trains and services on all routes may be
subject to operational delays beyond your control, and in such circumstances
you must use your discretion and cope as best you can.


TRAFFIC MOVEMENTS
-----------------
   For each input line displayed on your console you are given up to 15 minutes
advance notification of the next arrival. As each working nears Exeter you will
be informed and you then have three minutes to set up a route before the train
is held at the station approach signals. The procedure for doing this is to
press the SPACE BAR and then in response to prompts enter the appropriate two
digit codes of the desired input and exit points (eg DM, P4) using the
ENTER/RETURN key (pressing ENTER/RETURN alone after either prompt restarts the
simulation without penalty and may thus be used to give thinking time or take a
break from play). If a route is correctly set for the working, and does not
conflict with previously set up movements, the train will be signalled in and
in due course will traverse the route. Terminating trains automatically assume
their return workings, and once you are notified that a train is ready to
depart you should despatch it on its way by pressing the SPACE BAR and setting
a route out in the normal way. As a reminder that a route or routes are set, a
small square is shown on the appropriate side of the station until all
movements on that side of the station are complete.


LOADING THE PROGRAM
-------------------
      SPECTRUM          The program is loaded by typing LOAD""
      BBC/ELECTRON      The program is loaded by typing CHAIN"EXETER"
      AMSTRAD           The program is loaded by typing CHAIN"EXETER"
      COMMODORE         The program is loaded by pressing the RUN/STOP
                        and SHIFT keys together


You will find that controlling traffic at Exeter is less demanding than coping
with all of the simultaneous movements which occur in our busy city simulations
such as Leeds or Birmingham. You will nevertheless have to concentrate hard if
you are to achieve a good rating in the end of shift assessment at 1500 hrs.
Good luck.



                            APPENDIX: LOCATION CODES
                            ------------------------

          MAINLINE WEST                             WATERLOO LINE
          -------------                             -------------
          (arrivals UM)                              (arrivals DW)
         (departures DM)                            (departures UW or DW)

        Pnz    Penzance                            Wtl    Waterloo

        Pgn    Paignton                            Btn    Brighton

        Nqy    Newquay                             Exm    Exmouth

        Plm    Plymouth                            ExC    Exeter Central

        NAb    Newton Abbot

          MAINLINE EAST                             BARNSTAPLE LINE
          -------------                             ---------------
          (arrivals DM)                                  (BS)
         (departures UM)
                                                   Bsp    Barnstaple
        Pad    Paddington

        Cdf    Cardiff

        Swn    Swansea                             LOCAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
                                                            CODES
        Swd    Swindon                             -----------------------

        Ntm    Nottingham                          Ext    Exeter

        Dby    Derby                               WRd    Waterloo Road (yard)

        Mlt    Milton Keynes                       ECS    Empty Coaching Stock

        Man    Manchester

        Liv    Liverpool

        Lds    Leeds

        Bdf    Bradford

        New    Newcastle

        Gla    Glasgow

        Abd    Aberdeen


                         RTC EXETER (C) 1990 A. GREENUP
                         ------------------------------
