SwitchWithIt 1.7.3.6 has been uploaded to SourceForge.net. It appears they are finally back up and running. David
The help file that comes with the program contains a large number of screen shots. If I get time, I can post some of those pictures here. I have not used JMRI for about 2 years so I am not up to date on what it does or doesn't do. Here are some of what SwitchWithIt does: 1. SwitchWithIt, like a real railroad, relies on shipments to move cars. You define the shipment which includes the car type, the load, where it is loaded and where it is unloaded. The program routes an empty car to the loading location and then routes the car to its destination. Also as part of defining shipments, you can require Pool Cars and Linked Cars. You can also specify how frequently a shipment is assigned to cars ranging from a probability of 0 to 100% each day. The zero is used for Cascading Shipments. For example you can define a shipment requiring a reefer that needs to be pre-iced at one location, delivered to a produce loading area for loading, then back to be iced, and then on to its destination. You can define how long you need a car to stay for loading and unloading. You can also require the train to wait while a car is loaded or unload. This could be included in the reefer example. The shipment can require that the train wait while the reefer is iced before taking it for loading. 2. SwitchWithIt supports freight, mixed, unit, and passenger trains. For the mixed and passenger trains, you specify where the passenger cars are picked up and setout along the route. You could have a diner added to the train and set it out along the way. 3. SwitchWithIt supports staging yards, normal yards, industries, yard switchers. Normal yards tracks can have classifications for sorting of inbound/outbound cars. Sorting by Any Car, Car Type, Empty/Loaded, Destination Town, Destination Yard, or Destination Industry. 4. SwitchWithIt never gives an error when generating a train out of staging. Errors frequently happened to me without explanation when using JMRI. If the program couldn't find a place for a car, you couldn't run the staged train. With SwitchWithIt, if there is no appropriate location for a car coming out of staging, the car is carried to the termination location with a note to contact the dispatcher. The dispatcher can then update the car's location in the program or leave it with the locomotive. If left with the locomotive, the program will try to assign the car to the next train that transits its town. 5. The switchlist itself lists what cargo you are carrying in each car (when loaded). JMRI always just had E or L. For example, you could define a boxcar as carrying dynamite. If you have rules for car locations in your train, you could require that there has to be a buffer car before and after this car. More fun than E and L. That isn't everything. Lots of possibilities. Try the program. Look through the help file. If you don't like it, delete it. There is never a charge. This is freeware. I am try to make improvements to me my needs and other users' needs. David
