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 Trains / Train Organizations / 1984
1983  |  1985
Subject: 
Re: BrickFest TimeSaver Layout
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.trains.org
Date: 
Tue, 30 Apr 2002 17:22:32 GMT
Viewed: 
666 times
  
Tom Cook wrote:

In lugnet.trains.org, Larry Pieniazek writes:
In lugnet.trains.org, Tom Cook writes:
As part of the Train activities for BrickFest, I am planning a switching
puzzle game based on John Allen's TimeSaver layout.

Note (to the uninitiated, everyone that knows who John Allen is already
knows this) TimeSaver is a bit of a misnomer, it's really MOVEsaver, as in
you are judged on total number of moves to solve the puzzle, not the elapsed
time. A move is a couple/uncouple or a direction reversal without
coupling/uncoupling, basically (someone could post the exact definition if
they Googled for it)

http://members.lycos.co.uk/thirdrail/sw-timesaver.html
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/ve6sja/timesaver.htm

Here's an index of print (mostly) resources:

http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=S&cmdtext=Timesaver&output=3&sort=d

And here's a page on a UK switching game, Inglenook Sidings:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/thirdrail/sw-inglenook.html

Yes, typically that is how it is graded, however, I recently learned that
the original article in the 1972 (I think) Model Railroader magazine called
for it to be timed.  So I think we can use whatever method works best.

I think that's the article I dug out when I looked at it, though it may
have been a newer article. I'll have to find out where the article got
to after my move. I'm pretty sure when I talked to some folks at Raleigh
train shows who were demonstrating the timesaver that they were
mentioning timing it, which makes sense because for someone who is very
serious about the competition, figuring out the best moves would be a
quite quick process, and might even be memorized (there's a limited
number of possible games).

They mentioned that the way the controls are set up is that the speed
regulator is set to a specific speed, and they had a DPDT switch with
center off for controlling the train to allow forward, backward, and
off. I think their layout had just a couple uncoupling ramps and used
the Kadee delayed uncoupling action (which allows you to push an
uncoupled car without re-coupling).

I think the article mentioned hand uncoupling is allowed.

One attempt at a LEGO
track plan is:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=163126

If you are interested, please take a look, and let me know what you think.

A nicer design than the 9v one I came up with here:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=161790

Mine are upside down from Tom's.

Frank



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: BrickFest TimeSaver Layout
 
(...) Yes, typically that is how it is graded, however, I recently learned that the original article in the 1972 (I think) Model Railroader magazine called for it to be timed. So I think we can use whatever method works best. (...) I agree, the (...) (22 years ago, 30-Apr-02, to lugnet.trains.org)

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