Choosing Your First Yards

After completing FYM's tutorials, you will need to apply to operate one or more maps in FYM's network.

In normal play, each map is assigned to a specific player, termed the Yardmaster (YM), who operates all trains at that yard. The YM Control Window, accessed through the Maps and Trains Window, allows players to apply to become YM at currently available yards, and to relinquish control of yards they currently operate. Applications are then considered on a regular basis, with YM assignments being updated - the header message in the chat window, seen on logging in, will display the date of the last update. To help them into the game, new players applying for their first yards often get assigned maps as soon as possible after they have applied for them.

This article gives some guidance on how to choose your first yards - with a huge number of yards covering a massive range in complexity, choosing your first yards can be a little daunting for some players.

How many maps?

We generally advise that new players take on several maps at once. Not every map will receive trains every day, and this is particularly true for the smaller maps which new players often run - these may only receive one or two local trains per week. Having several maps helps to smooth out the peaks and troughs in traffic.

What should I look out for?

When looking through the list of available maps in the YM Control Window, you will naturally take the time to download and look at maps that are available. This is a great way to determine whether a map's layout and operations are interesting and suitable for you. Some points to consider are outlined below.

- Mainline, branch line, or dead end?

A map situated on a mainline is not necessarily complicated - it may have a large amount of through traffic that requires very little action, with local traffic handled by a couple of trains a week - don't be afraid of taking such a map. Some players love running trains through on a busy mainline, while others find it less interesting. Branch line maps may see a smaller number of through trains, or only local trains shuttling back and forth. Dead-end maps will generally only see a handful of trains a week, delivering cars and returning the way they came - to ensure you have something to do more regularly, we advise you take several maps if they are at dead-end locations.

- One railroad or several?

Some maps are served by multiple railroads, which can add to the business, interest and complexity of a map. Such a map will often have multiple child IDs from the different railroads - this can be seen in the Maps and Trains Window (child maps will show "child of..."), or by clicking on sidings and seeing multiple map identities listed at the bottom.

- One panel or several?

Some maps consist of multiple panels, usually connected to one another by normal map exits. This allows what would otherwise be several smaller maps to be grouped into a single map, often tying together train operations in an interesting way, and providing more interest for a single player. These maps can appear a little daunting, though in many cases they represent a series of locations along a single route. While these maps can take a little longer to get your head around, they often do very well at providing a lot more "bang for your buck" - working a local train across two or three panels can mean two or three times as many industries to switch - and even more fun if you also have to sort the train at the start and end of its journey across the panels.

The connection maps in FYM can be helpful in understanding multi-panel maps - a white outline is displayed around all parts of such a map.

- Industry, sorting, unit trains, or intermodal?

Very broadly, these describe the different operations in FYM. 'Industry' covers the act of delivering manifest traffic to industries - while reasonably simple, this is a vital part of the FYM network, and can quickly become more complex at larger industries with greater levels of traffic. 'Sorting' covers locations where cars are sorted and placed into different trains - in many ways, this is the most interesting and complex part of FYM, and requires coordination between adjacent yardmasters. Unit trains avoid most of the 'Industry' or 'Sorting' steps - these are trains carrying a single commodity, such as coal or grain, from one origin to one destination, and are generally less time consuming to operate - this can mean that a single coal mine or power plant does not provide enough variety to keep you fully entertained. Finally, intermodal operations are generally quite distinct from manifest traffic - traffic patterns are generally more fixed, although they can still be highly complex.

- Easy or complex operations?

From the map alone, this can be difficult to determine. A good way to judge this are the TSARs for a location - these can be seen by accessing the drop down TSARs menu at the top, and in the TSAR window, selecting the yard identity (or identities, if a map has multiple) for the yard of interest. Are there many trains that originate and terminate, and do they have complex notes on the blocking of cars? In some locations, there may be few originating trains, but many through trains with notes to pick up and set out cars at the yard.

Map Classifications

In the YM Control Window, several map types are defined. Each type is color-coded in the display, and a filter can be applied to display only yards matching certain classifications. The classifications provide some broad guidance on the operations and complexity of the map. The classifications are as follows:

Major Classification (Pink)

These yards are major sorting locations, with complex operations and potentially dozens of different inbound and outbound trains, along with a constant stream of traffic. The majority of hump yards fall under this category, as well as many large flat switching yards. Due to the complexity of these yards, and the number of players who are affected by their smooth running, these yards will only be assigned to experienced players.

Medium Classification (Orange)

A step below the major classification yards, these maps still perform important and complex sorting operations. These yards often serve larger cities, or otherwise important operational points along railroads. Most of these yards do not have humps, although many are former hump yards that have been downgraded. A reasonable level of experience in FYM is required for players assigned to these yards.

Small Terminal (Yellow)

Much more common than the major or medium classification yards, small terminal maps are often yards serving as the hub of operations for an area. Alternatively, these maps may be important block swapping points, or serve other important roles such as the servicing and maintenance of unit coal trains. Many of these these maps are appropriate as first maps for new players, or as the next step up in complexity once you have gained some experience in FYM. However, some maps under this classification do cover complex local operations, and require more experience before they are taken on.

Intermodal Hub (Green)

Intermodal hubs often represent key intermodal facilities that dominate a given railroad's operations, alongside a handful of other yards which play a key role in intermodal routing (e.g. Clovis, NM). In addition to the volume of traffic, these yards also require a good knowledge of the intermodal routing practices of their own railroad (and, in many cases, of other railroads). These yards will be allocated to more experienced players.

Intermodal Terminal (Light Blue)

These are smaller intermodal terminals throughout the network. Note that this classification covers maps where intermodal operations are the main source of activity - many intermodal terminals also exist at yards under other classifications, where the intermodal traffic is secondary or equivalent to the map's main classification. Some smaller intermodal terminals are suitable as first maps, although it should be noted that intermodal operations are quite different from normal manifest operations.

Large Industry (Dark Blue)

This definition covers a fairly wide variety of maps, ranging from mid-sized yards serving many smaller industries, to maps dedicated to one or a handful of very large industries. As such, these maps cover a range from busy beginner-level maps to many of the intermediate-level maps on the network; a map in this category that is serviced by locals from a nearby yard is likely to be suitable.

Medium Industry (Maroon)

This is the most common map classification in FYM, covering hundreds of yards across the system. Given the large number of maps, you can expect to find a lot of variety - larger collections of smaller industries, mid-sized industrial plants, ports, collections of coal mines, minor intermodal terminals, and smaller sorting yards can all fall under this category, and often the combination of several is seen. These maps are ideal first maps for new players - one or two of these maps, perhaps in different regions or covering different operations, provide a good introduction to FYM.

Small Industry (Tan)

These maps are the smallest and easiest to play in FYM. They commonly consist of a handful of industrial sidings, or coal mines and power plants. These maps are all appropriate as maps for new players. If you decide to apply for such a map, it is heavily advised to apply for several more, as a small industry map may only see a train once every few days - you will easily be able to handle several of these, and maybe one or two busier maps.

Child ID (White)

These maps are child identities of another map - you cannot apply for them, but must instead apply for a colored "parent" map. These maps will be filtered out when using the "Available" button in the YM Control Window. In the Maps and Trains Window, child maps will show "child of XX:Somewhere Yard", indicating the parent map.