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Railway simulations -
general instructions
(IBM PC & compatibles)

Follow these steps to install the simulations under Windows 95:

Create a folder on your hard disk to hold the programs; (ignore this step if the Trains folder already exists)

1. Run Windows Explorer from the Start menu (usually at the bottom of the Programs list);

1. If your C: disk is not already visible in the Explorer window, double click on the "My Computer" icon;
2. Select the C: drive by a single click on its icon;
3. From the File menu (top left of the Explorer window) select File New, then Folder. A new folder will be created on your C: drive, and will initially be named "New folder"; over-type this with the name "Trains";

2. Copy the programs to the new "Trains" folder;

1. Put the floppy disk we sent you in the A: drive;
2. In Explorer, click on the + sign to the left of the C: drive, so that its folders are displayed;
3. Still in Explorer, click on the A: drive icon. This will display what is on the floppy disk.
4. In the Explorer�s Edit menu, choose "Select All". All the files on the floppy disk will be selected and highlighted.
5. With the mouse, drag these files to the Trains folder on the C: drive. You will know the mouse is in the right place when the name "Trains" is highlighted.

3. Adjust the properties of the MENU program;

1. In the left-hand pane of the Explorer window, select the Trains folder;
2. In the right-hand pane, select the file MENU.EXE, and click on it with the right mouse button; then click on Properties at the bottom of the menu that will appear;
3. Click on the Program tab of the Properties window;
4. Click on the white dot to the left of "Close on exit";
5. If you feel adventurous, click on the "Change icon" button, and follow the dialogue there to change the icon to SIAM.ICO in the folder c:\TRAINS;
6. Click on the Screen tab, and click on the white button next to "Full-screen"; this step is not strictly necessary, since all except Driver and Signal Box simulations can run in a window, but full screen will give a larger and clearer display;
7. Click on the Misc tab, and click on the white button next to "Always suspend";
8. Click on OK;

4. Create an icon from which to run the simulations

1. With Explorer the only open window, use the mouse to drag the file MENU.EXE on to the desktop at a convenient position;
2. Close or minimise the Explorer window;
3. Click with the right mouse button on the icon that has been created, and repeat steps 3 a to c above; most of the values should already be correct, but it is wise to check this. On the Program tab, you may want to replace MENU on the top line with a more meaningful title, such as "SIAM simulations";
4. Click on OK;

5. You can now run the MENU program by double-clicking on the desk-top item you have created.

Menu program

The distribution disk contains a program called MENU.EXE, run as described above for your operating environment. You will then be given a choice first of the type of game, and then of all the games of that type available; you will be told if you ask for one that you don't have. Every disk we supply contains the latest version of MENU.EXE, and this should always replace any older version.

Responding to prompts

When you are asked to "enter" some information, type the data required (e.g. loco number), then press the Enter key. This is usually a larger key at the right side of the main keypad, just below BackSpace, labelled Enter or Return. You will normally need to enter only one piece of information at a time.

Monochrome screens

The programs work best with a colour adapter and screen, but a mono mode is available. In most cases the program will correctly adapt to your system.

If you are using a monochrome screen, please ensure that the contrast is adjusted so that there is a clearly visible difference between normal and high-intensity text. Otherwise it will be very difficult to tell which track sections are occupied in several of the games. You can switch between colour and mono modes using the options display; see below. If you have a mono screen but a colour adapter you will probably find that the use of the mono mode is preferable.

If you have a mono screen on which it is not possible to distinguish between normal and high-intensity modes, for example an LCD screen on a portable such as the Amstrad PPC 512 or 640, use the portable mode. High-intensity will then be replaced by flashing; for example, occupied routes will flash until they become clear.

Speed

The speed of operation of most of the Traffic Control games, and some others, may be varied using the + and - keys. This action may be repeated until an acceptable speed is reached, though updating the screen takes an appreciable time for the more complicated games.

Save game feature

All games include a save feature. You will be asked on starting a game whether you wish to continue a saved game. If you quit a game before the end, you will be asked whether you wish to save the game. In either case the response is to press the single key Y or N. The file will be written to the disk or directory which was current when the program was loaded; its size may be up to 48K bytes or even more, depending on the program.

The default file name is the program name with the suffix .SAV. The suffix may be changed using the N option (see below). To change the suffix before saving a game, just press the Escape key as described below, then press N and when requested enter the new three-letter suffix. To change the suffix before loading a game you want to continue, just press the Escape key when the initial prompt "Do you want to continue a saved game (Y/N) ? " or any other prompt for a single character is displayed, then press N and when requested enter the new three-letter suffix.

Option selection

It is necessary to press the Escape key (labelled "Esc"), at any "Press space bar for movement" prompt, or other prompt for a single character input, before pressing keys to select speed and other options. The following keys may then be pressed:

Using a mouse

Almost all of our simulations now allow the use of a mouse. Those that don't have the icon . In general, you can click on any location on a screen instead of typing in the appropriate code. For other functions such as screen switching, click on a highlighted letter or symbol. Clicking anywhere else on the screen is equivalent to pressing the space bar.