Second Life Railroad/SLRR History
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Description
HISTORY
A Brief History of the Second Life Railroad (SLRR)
2005
SLRR - the origins
The Second Life Railroad has its origins in early attempts by residents to provided automated travel around the mainland during a time when their were no direct teleports available. Some of the earliest examples - such as the "Telehopper" from Kissling and the Great Second Life Railway from Mocha to Purple - led to the first Linden-created trolley, operating from Luna to Dore via Nova Albion. As the first mainland expanded and Magellan Linden made additional discoveries beyond the founding of Nova Albion, roadways and other Protected Land Rights of Way (ROW) were crafted on the first continent, Sansara, but none were slated for rail use.
With the discovery of the second Second Life continent by Magellan Linden in early 2005, the Grid saw its large-scale, Linden sponsored rail line for on the Heterocera Atoll, the Second Life Railroad (SLRR). Magellan Linden's wrecked exploration vehicle can still be seen to this day in the Columbia region, not too far from one of the earliest SLRR rail stations in Tuliptree.
Eric, Nigel, and Michael Linden created most of the track and other structures, the rolling stock, most notably, the SLRR Commuter V1.2 car and the red Alco RS-3 Locomotive, and the scripting needed to run continuous rail services for free use by all Second Life Residents.
At this time, the track formed three unconnected tracks: Bhaga to Paranthrene, where the Clearwing / Paranthrene Transfer Station was located; Clearwing to an End Of Line (EOL) in Torva; An EOL in Jubata around through the level grade crossing in Oculea, to the Tuliptree Station. The Torva-Jubata Gap was a section that appeared to be intended for designation as Protected Land ROW, but by some mishap was sold to Residents. After several years, the ROW was reacquired by Linden Lab. The gap was promptly closed.
The original three tracks were provided with five Resident-created stations, all named for the region in which they are located. These stations and their creators are:
- Achemon - Pratyeka Muromachi
- Caletta - nimrod Yaffle
- Neumoegen - Fallingwater Cellardoor
- Obscure - Jauani Wu
- Tuliptree - Sam Portacerro
How the original SLRR worked
By experimentation and a few contacts with the original designers and implementers, members of the Virtual Railway Consortium (formerly the Second Life Railway Consortium) determined much of the functionality of the LL SLRR train system as created by Eric, Michael, and Nigel Linden:
The scripted System Controller of the SLRR is located in the Right Of Way (ROW) maps on the office wall of the ANWR prim drilling rig.
The invisible scripted Train Detectors placed along the SLRR ROW at various points and at each station provide two main functions - they rez a new train on command from the Controller, and they detect the passage of a train (or any scripted object in physical motion) using the llVolumeDetect function. When a 'train' is detected that information is transmitted to the Controller. As the train passes each Train Detector along the line, its passage is reported to the Controller. If the passage of a train is not reported often enough, the Controller assumes the train has been lost from the system and rezzes another unit from the Train Detector at the last reported position.
Trains can also be rezzed by any Linden touching a Train Detector at the end of tracks.
Each train can detect (by collision) a station or an End Of Line (EOL). At each station there is a scripted prim shaped like a Guide rail, though often shorter. This prim, named Buffer Stop is buried directly underneath the stations Train Detector within the Guide prims used to 'steer' the trains on the SLRR, and being scripted, triggers the SLRR train scripts to stop the train, wait 30 seconds for passengers to get on and off, then continue. Presumably, it is the script in this prim that emails reports to the System Controllers on ANWR about the arrival of a train at a station, as indicated by the data whispered in open chat there. At an EOL, a visible unscripted track structure named "Buffer Stop" triggers the SLRR train scripts to immediately reverse the direction of travel of the rolling stock and start it running back to another EOL or a transfer station.
The SLRR fielded two makes of rolling stock: The train seen most recently (Eric Linden's sleek SLRR Commuter v1.2), or 'Blue Train', ran quite well under Havok 1, but as scripted, travels too fast to hold the track under Havok 4 - it rezzes attempting to run at 16 meters per second. The powerful red Alco RS-3 locomotive created by Michael Linden also ran the road around the Atoll very well under Havok 1. Its operation under the original SLRR scripts was also observed during testing the SLRR system, and it also was trying to run too fast for H4.
Originally, the SLRR was divided into three control segments, SLRR Control North, SLRR Control South, and SLRR Control East. One break, between the East and the North segments is at the Clearwing/Paranthrene Transfer Station. For years, a break existed between the North and South tracks from the EOL at the Jubata station through Sinica to the EOL in Torva. (See 2009)
When the system was running, the active control segments were denoted by colored LEDs on the Controller. On the South segment, passages of trains through each Train Detector and stops at stations were tracked on one section by smaller LEDs displaying the train's location.
Near the System Controller, messages from each active train reporting 'last seen at' and 'arrival at', with region and coordinates, station name if any, rolling stock name, and travel times could be heard whispered in open chat.
The SLRR rolling stock ran as physical objects, 'steered' over the tracks by an invisible non-physical prim named Guide that the trains repeatedly collided with, thereby being directed back onto the correct course.
Since this Guide was 0.5 x 0.5 meters in cross-section, and was placed with its bottom face up to 0.20 meters above the trackbed prims, it represented a serious obstacle to the smooth operation of automobiles or other such traffic at level grade crossings. In Oculea, the first such crossing, a system was implemented to smooth the passage of non-rail traffic though the crossing. The Guide prims were set to Phantom state until the crossing control scripts sensed on the tracks the approach of any train (or other moving object) with "SLRR" in its name. Upon the detection of such an object, the crossing scripts set the Guide prims to Nonphysical state until the train was sensed having cleared the crossing, after which the Guides were set back to Phantom.
A method of triggering the system into resuming train rezzing was proposed and verified during investigations into the operation of the system.
The old SLRR system is currently disabled, so no Linden trains are now running.
The open source GSLR script from the Rail Rally 2008 Resource Kits collection appears to work very similarly to the way the SLRR scripts were observed to operate. This script provides a good starting point for physical train building, and several Residents have used it successfully. These kits are available free at the VRC headquarters across from Tuliptree Station.
2006
Resident Station Build Contest
In September of 2006, Nigel Linden announced a contest for Residents to design and build ten more SLRR stations, winning L$ prizes for their efforts, and completing the final builds by October 31st. From the 103 entries, the ten winning builders were:
- Bhaga - Alazarin Mondrian
- Tenera - Shawk Pertwee
- Aglia - Elliot Eldrich
- Crenulate - Donk Kongo
- Clearwing/Paranthrene - Ralph Doctorow
- Foxglove - Midtown Bienenstrich
- Lunalis - Lunalis SLRR Committee
- Spini - Mordecai Nitschke
- Jubata - Ilianexsi Sojourner
- Epirrhoe - Ledje Gorky
- Zale - Byron Curtis
These and other stations on the SLRR lines continued to be regularly served by the SLRR Commuter V1.2 car throughout 2006.
2007
Renewed Rail Interest
In 2007 a Resident developed a sensor-guided trolley for use on the GSLR Calleta EOL to Cecropia Ocean Terminal. Testing the unit on the SLRR, the developer repeatedly met other Residents interested in rail, and this led to the formation of the Second Life Railway Consortium and the subsequent two-region Rail Rally 2008, the first major rail event in SL and the largest ever in land area, number of rail builds, and number and variety of events. (See 2008)
There were other rail groups already in existence, but most seemed dormant. Since the Rail Rally, rail-oriented group numbers and memberships have been steadily growing, with visible increases in Resident talk about, usage, and creation of rail content.
During 2007, Residents repeatedly asked in forums and filed in Jira about the now missing SLRR automated trains services, stating that they had valued the rail resource and asking that it be reinstated.
Vicina Quay and track
In November, Michael Linden built the Vicina Quay and a freighter floating a few meters away. A new track was laid connecting the Quay with the planned Crumbi Transfer Station. This junction was later reconfigured, eliminating the need for transfers and integrating the Vicina track into the rest of SLRR. (See 2010)
2008
Havok Upgrade
On 1 April 2008, the Havok version 1 physics engine in SL was updated to Havok 4 gridwide. Changes in Havok itself, its interface with the LL simulator code, in the system tunings, and vehicle code of the upgrade caused the failure of most physical trains in SL, including the Commuter V1.2 which, at times, had been running on all three SLRR tracks as well as the venerable Nova Albion trolley. Gradually, rolling stock creators began to make adjustment to their builds and scripts to accommodate the new operating conditions.
The LDPW contracted a Mole to work on the SLRR system. This development resulted in a successful test on 31 December 2008 of new SLRR rolling stock scripts in two green Alco RS-3 locomotives created by Michael Linden, with a Mole engineer on one unit, and Michael Linden operating the other. Both locomotives had multiple Residents and Lindens aboard, and completed a full traverse of the three tracks then in place on the SLRR, starting out at Tuliptree Station and pulling into the Bhaga Station at the other end. One of the units made the return trip with the Mole operating it and several Residents aboard.
Bay City SLRR Spur
Additional rails were added to the Bay City mainland area. While many of them were essentially decorative, and for use on a non-physical trolley system down Route 66 in Bay City, some were planned for future SLRR expansion. A Bay City station was also constructed by Squishy Mole of the LDPW in Inner Harbor, but left unfinished at the opening of the Bay City area. It served only as a place to house the city's content package for Residents. Late in 2008, additional rails were laid from Grub Beach to Manyiminya in the Bay City area.
Rail Rally 2008
Over a period of two months, Rail Rally 2008 was hosted in two mainland regios - Schizura and Vicina.
Sponsored by the Second Life Railway consortium, the Rally included two three day sessions and multiple events in the interim. The Rally brought together rail builders, scripters, merchants, train-spotting and -riding buffs, and a mix of Residents with rail and other transportation interests.
The overall program was family friendly and included a Toy Steam Train, a fishing game, paddleboats, canoes & kayaks, and a hidden maze under the malls.
The venue hosted an SLRR-gauge two region track loop with working signals and moving bridges, with a stretch of the loop running alongside the SLRR.
Also part of the program were beautiful full-sized train displays, running trains to watch and ride, field trips to railways and rail builds in SL, Chatterboxes offering rail history and quotes, free information about all known rail activity in SL, free rail building and scripting resources, a rail scripting debugging session with Andrew and Simon Linden, time trials for Resident-created rolling stock, and the RAILS indie rock band.
To advertise the Rally, interactive posterboards were developed and given to any resident wishing to display them. The posterboards gave touchers an updateable notecard on Rally plans and results. Many of these posterboards are still seen around the grid and regularly serve notecards to interested Residents.
Resident-Created Trains
In 2008 and continuing up to the present, Resident-created trains have steadily increased in variety and number. A few commercial offerings appeared, but equally visible on the SLRR are the many different builds using free open source scripts available from several sources.
2009
Closing the Gap
Early in 2009, the Resident-owned land in Sinica where the SLRR should have been running since its inception was acquired, track was laid, and the Torva-Jubata Gap was closed. Around the same time, a passing track in Sinica, between Torva and Jubata, was laid in preparation for heavier, bi-directional traffic on the SLRR.
New passing tracks
In early 2009, a passing track was laid in Lunalis and Fucosa, and slightly later, the Sinica passing track mentioned above. Switching development Beginning in late 2009 Sylvan Mole began the development of active switches for the SLRR. Multiple configurations have been tested to ensure compatibility with the widest possible range of existing Resident rolling stock designs. A switch design testbed was constructed in Tussock to allow Residents to verify proper operation of their rolling stock through the proposed switches.
Crumbi reconfiguration
Beginning in late 2009 the track alignment near the Crumbi Transfer Station was modified, track was added, and switches were begun to directly connect the Vicina track to the SLRR. The station was renamed to Crumbi Junction, reflecting the new track configuration.
New Track
In 2009, continuing into 2010, new tracks were added to the SLRR, all of which were directly integrated with planned switches.
In the Crumbi Reconfiguration, a bridging track was added in Tenera to enable routing from that track over to the track heading out through Webworm.
In Pawpaw, another bridging track was laid to enable routing between the branch heading from Pawpaw to the Pavonia EOL, and the other from Pawpaw toward Tussock Junction.
An extension from the workyard in Tussock extended the SLRR up to Spangle. The workyard was shut down, but a siding in Spangle provides facilities to sideline a unit for servicing or repair.
Track in inner Harbor to Manyiminya in Bay City received a guide rail and buffer stops, and became a test rail for switches and crossings late in the year.
2010
VRC Member Cooperation
Several VRC members bought land and made swaps with LL to enable:
Expanding SLRR ROW at Pawpaw, adding that station and bridging track. Completing the LL ROW to a large Linden land area in Pyri.
Several Residents began providing automated train services on various stretches of the SLRR so Residents cold ride and enjoy the scenery without having to buy or even operate any rolling stock.
Hobo Junction became affiliated with the VRC and began offering a travel Service with descriptions and LMs
SLRR Wiki Pages
At the start of the year new Wiki pages were set up for the SLRR. Michael Linden confirmed the names for the new and existing branch lines on the SLRR: Branching off the Main Line from Crumbi to Vicina is the Maritime Branch; From Crumbi via Pawpaw to Crenulate is the Mountain Branch; From Pawpaw up the Nothern coast of the Heterocera Atoll is the North Coast Branch.
Clearwing/Paranthrene transfer reconfiguration
In early 2010 Michael Linden began the realignment of SLRR tracks at the border of Clearwing and Paranthrene regions. The transfer station there was slightly relocated and became a line station, with the now-connected tracks passing on either side of the the station. With the addition of active switches, these tracks will provide a passing loop to ease bidirectional travel on the SLRR. New passing track & siding In early 2010, a passing track was laid in Triphosa, and a siding in Spangle at the time the branch track was laid.
Resident interconnections
The LL Maintenance group began accepting requests for Resident interconnection to the SLRR, with connecting track being placed on a case-by-case basis. Actual switching mechanisms will be placed after the final design has been validated.
Signals
The LDPW began building and placing new signals for a signal and switching system under development. Several different designs have been fielded, and are used to set switch routings as well as indicate current status of the switches.
LDPW-built Stations
In 2010, several new stations and a railyard were built by the LDPW on existing and new track:
- Crumbi Junction - Hyper Mole
- Dubia Station - Crafty Mole
- Leafroller Station - Abnor Mole
- Melanthia Station - Myopic Mole
- Pawpaw Junction - Glamorous Mole
- Spangle Station - Garden Mole
- Tussock Railyard - Sylvan Mole
- Malacosoma Crossover - Michael Linden
Resident Stations
In 2010, the list of existing Resident-built stations grew with several additions. Some of these are:
- VRC Achemon Trainspotting Gallery - Jorge Serapis
- VRC Athetis Station - Stryker Jenkins
- Celerio Station (since 2008) - Carrie Talaj
- VRC HQ Pavilion - Marianne McCann and Stryker Jenkins
- Imperial Station - ujiyasu Handrick
- VRC Malacasoma Station - Stryker Jenkins
- Peppermint Station - (now gone)
- VRC Pini Yard - Stryker Jenkins
Mocis level grade crossing
One of Three new level grade crossing to appear on the SLRR since its inception, the Mocis crossing is part of the LDPW signal and switch project in progress. Sylvan Mole is developing a system to operate active structures ion the SLRR, and the Mocis crossing is a testbed for part of that work.
More to come
The recorded history currently ends at July 2010. If and when significant addition to the SLRR are noted we will add them here.
Source
The above information was initially collected by members of the Virtual Railway Consortium Tuliptree (107, 131, 30) with the help of Stryker Jenkins, Moundsa Mayo. Qie Niangao.