Overview of Stepford County Railway
The network of Stepford County Railway is composed of three operators at the moment: Stepford Connect, WaterLine (a subsidiary of the former), and AirLink. Those three lines currently serve a total of 42 stations covered by 19 unique driving routes. 36 stations are owned and maintained by SCR with the other six are maintained by Network Rail. 2 unknown stations were also revealed in February 2019, however there is no information at the moment as to what line(s) it will serve or what their names are. SCR owns a total of 20 different tractions for the three lines combined.
Brief History
Charlie_RBX, the founder, opens up SCR to the public on the 15th of March, 2017, with Stepford Connect being the first and only operator. The only route and train were Stepford Central (formerly Stepford Town) <> Port Benton and the Class 700, respectively. Later that year, Stepford Connect spread its services to the suburbs of Benton. This [sub-]operator was named WaterLine due to its close proximity to the River Ben along its Port Benton - Greenslade section. The development of SCR between late 2017 and April of 2018 was very stagnant. On the 21st of April, the biggest update yet, called The Big Update, changed the complete foundation and fabric that the operations system of SCR was built upon. From here on, it is noteworthy that SCR, as a game, has ascended out of the Beta stage and is now in V1.0. For the major changes that were included in the Big Update, please visit our page via the link above. V1.1 introduced 13 new stations to SCR as well as a new operator: AirLink, which held its grand opening on New Year's Eve of 2018. AirLink now carries passengers between Stepford Central and Stepford Airport Central in under 10 minutes, compared to 15 minutes via Stepford Connect! About a month later, in February 2019, Terminals 1, 2, and 3 were added.
Operation
Jobs
The main part of the railway is obviously driving. However, it cannot be complete without Dispatchers and Signallers controlling the network. Everyone in SCR starts as a Trainee Driver (after, of course, joining the group) and ranks up roles to be able to dispatch and signal by going through training sessions and application processes. High Ranks+ supervise their corresponding Low Ranks to ensure that they are working properly.
Train Identification
Before The Big Update, the railway solely relied on the numbering of the trains to identify them (ex. 357001, 707028), until SCR implemented the Headcode system. This new identification system allows dispatchers and signallers to more efficiently understand (and, more importantly, solve) problems and delays.
Safety Measures
In order to avoid collisions between trains, SCR operates under 527 fully functional 3-aspect signals. A great majority of these signals are also fitted with another aspect that simultaneously lights up when the signal is at amber. This aspect shows a white "45," which advises drivers to drive at 45 miles per hour, which is the optimal speed to be at for a train to brake for a potential danger aspect. However, the drivers would not be notified of what the next signal will be without a system that warns them. The Automatic Warning System (AWS) takes care of this issue. When the AWS recognizes a non-Proceed signal ahead, an orange circle with an exclamation mark appears on the train driver's HUD, also known as GUI, alongside with a loud beep sound. This tells the driver to slow down and prepare for a stop. You must click it or press Q on your keyboard to accept the warning. When the driver fails to stop before passing a signal at Danger/red state, the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) triggers an emergency brake for the train to forcefully stop the train.
In the V1.1 update, a new speed limit indicator was installed on the driver's HUD, which relates the speed limit to the driver of the section on which they are operating.
Lastly, about 2 months later, a new signal idicator was installed on the driver's HUD, which tells the driver what the next signal is.