New Hire Guide | FV&N Railway

The one idea to remember

Railroader is the railroad. The game decides where equipment actually is, how it moves, turnout position, coupling state, and whether industry work is physically complete. The FV&N website organizes the humans around that railroad: sessions, assignments, authority, work orders, qualifications, and records.

FIRST SESSION

From new hire to on duty

Six steps, no scavenger hunt.

Join the railroad

Create your Crew Desk account, use your real full name, and wait for administrator approval before your first session.

Learn the basics

Read this guide, review the Radio Guide, and complete New Member Orientation in the Qualification Center.

Register for a session

Open the session packet, read the briefing, review the train lineup, and register if you plan to attend.

Bid at T-15

Bidding opens 15 minutes before the scheduled start. Rank the roles you want in order. You may bid an unqualified role, but the site will warn you.

Wait for the crew call

The superintendent manually closes bidding, reviews proposed awards, makes any overrides, then publishes the final crew assignments.

Report for your job

Dispatcher reports to the Dispatcher Desk. Engineers open the Crew Tablet after their job is released and review power, fuel, maintenance, authority, cars, and waybills.

WHO DOES WHAT

The operating chain

Superintendent

Creates the session, sets the briefing and available roles, closes bidding, reviews awards, publishes the crew call, and handles final session administration.

Flagstaff Dispatcher

Controls the main line, creates and releases train jobs, assigns power, issues movement authority, and coordinates meets and holding points.

Flagstaff Yardmaster

Controls classification, yard-track use, switching priorities, and train makeup inside assigned yard limits.

Train crew

Operates the assigned locomotive in Railroader, follows the Crew Tablet, performs physical switching, and reports actual railroad conditions.

RADIO 101

Sound like you belong here

Short, clear, and boring is good radio.

Calling dispatch

Crew

“Flagstaff Dispatcher, FV-1.”

Ready to move

Crew

“Flagstaff Dispatcher, FV-1 at Flagstaff, ready for Coconino.”

Readback

Rule

Repeat the authority, limits, and any holding instruction before moving.

Emergency

Priority call

“STOP. STOP. STOP.” followed by the train or location and hazard.

Radio formula

Call them → identify yourself → give your location → state what you need.

Open the full Radio Guide →

BEFORE YOU MOVE

Engineer pre-departure check

1Discord connectedYou must be able to hear operating communications while on duty.2Crew Tablet reviewedConfirm job symbol, route, work order, cars, waybills, and dispatcher notes.3Power verifiedConfirm the assigned locomotive in Railroader and check the listed fuel and maintenance condition.4Route understoodKnow where the first work is and which territory requires dispatcher authority.5Authority receivedDo not enter the controlled main without Flagstaff Dispatcher authority when the dispatcher is on duty.

TRACKSIDE SIGNS

Read the railroad before you move

Know your limit

Permanent boards give the limit at that point. P/F boards give separate passenger and freight limits. Yellow boards mark temporary slow orders.

Brake for the advance board

A warns of a lower speed ahead. Be at the indicated speed by the next speed board.

Wait for the whole train

R permits resuming normal speed after the rear of the train clears the restriction. A grade percentage describes the slope, not a speed limit.

Know the boundary as well as the speed.

Whistle posts, mileposts, station names, and industry boards help you identify where you are. Yard-limit and interlocking boards identify operating boundaries. Obtain the required authority before entering controlled track, and stop where a stop sign requires it.

Open the trackside-sign player guide

SWITCHING BASICS

The habits we care about

Protect the main

If your switching will foul or occupy the controlled main, coordinate with Flagstaff Dispatcher first.

Own your turnout

If you change a switch, you are responsible for it until it is restored or responsibility is clearly transferred.

Secure standing cars

Cars left without a locomotive require at least one handbrake per six cars, rounded up, with more when conditions require it.

Do the move in Railroader

No teleporting cars to make paperwork match. The physical railroad state wins.

Report discrepancies

If the Crew Tablet and Railroader disagree, report it rather than substituting another car.

Stop when unsure

If authority, routing, or another crew's movement is unclear, stop and ask.

YOUR CREW TABLET

Your railroad paperwork

Job assignment

Your train symbol, role, route, work order, and special instructions.

Power

Assigned locomotive plus current fuel and maintenance percentages.

Cars & waybills

Reporting marks, road number, car type, load status, commodity, origin, destination, and handling notes.

Authority

Your current movement limits. The website records authority, but the voice communication and readback still matter.

CAR WORK & HANDOFFS

Finish the work, or make a recorded handoff

REMOVE AN ASSIGNMENT

A dispatcher changes who handles the car

At the Dispatcher Desk, expand an unfinished car and open Remove car from assignment. Enter the Dispatcher reason, confirm coordination with the crew, then choose Return car to unassigned work.

The game waybill stays open. The crew must report its actual location and agree who takes responsibility before the packet changes. Completed work and staged handoffs retain their history; use the staged backlog for accepted deferrals.

INDUSTRY FULL

Stage the car, then request acceptance

Ask dispatch for an available holding track. Move the car there in Railroader, secure it, and keep clearance points clear. In the Crew Tablet, expand the car and open Industry full — defer delivery. Enter the exact staging track and reason, confirm securement, and choose Report staged car.

Awaiting acceptance still belongs to the crew. A request alone does not resolve the move or complete the game waybill.

DISPATCHER ACCEPTANCE

Transfer responsibility explicitly

In Awaiting industry space, verify the physical location and securement, choose Accept staged car, enter a dispatcher note, confirm the check, and choose Save dispatcher decision.

Accepted work is deferred for the original crew and remains in the backlog. Rejected requests remain the crew’s responsibility.

Read dispatcher changes

The Crew Tablet shows Car added, Car removed, and Instructions changed notices. Read each change, review the current packet, then choose Acknowledge change. The notice remains unread until the assigned crew acknowledges it, and dispatch can see its status. Acknowledgment does not issue movement authority.

Review the session debrief

At session closeout, review completed moves, manually recorded completions, deferred deliveries, unresolved incidents, and outstanding work. Closing the session saves that record. The FV&N operating report and the closed rehearsal dispatcher board retain the saved debrief even after later uploads.

Final delivery

When space opens, select a released Final delivery job and choose Assign final delivery. The new packet starts at the recorded staging location and carries the original destination, staging report, and dispatcher instructions. Check the car and route before moving.

Close out job

When all assigned waybills are complete or dispatcher-accepted deferrals, the Crew Tablet’s Close out job section becomes available. Follow tie-up instructions, stop and secure the train, report clear of authority, enter the Tie-up location and required report, confirm the physical checks, and choose Close out job. Pending acceptance still blocks closeout.

Find completed work

The tablet opens on Remaining. Use Completed, Deferred, or All moves to review resolved work. A closed job does not erase the dispatcher’s staged-car backlog. Closing a job is separate from the superintendent closing the session.

Plan industry room

Consult the customer’s Capacity & staging plan. Design targets and proposed holding tracks require confirmation. Verified capacity applies to the recorded car size and inspected tracks; current room still depends on what is physically there. Stale or partial map counts cannot establish an available spot.

Car-work quick reference Capacity & staging book

QUALIFICATIONS

How you grow on the FV&N

0 sessionsNew Member Orientation

1 sessionYard Operations

2 sessionsLocal Freight

3 sessionsRoad Freight

4 sessionsYardmaster

5 sessionsDispatcher

You may bid a role you are not yet qualified for. The site will warn you and flag the mismatch for the superintendent, who retains final assignment authority.

END OF THE NIGHT

Before you go off duty

Do not simply disappear when the clock runs out.

Finish or report unfinished work, leave your train where directed, secure standing cars, report defects or incidents, and tell the dispatcher or superintendent where your equipment actually ended up. Session attendance is posted during formal closeout.

READY FOR MORE?

Your next three stops

The New Hire Guide gets you onto the property. These references take you the rest of the way.

Qualification Center Radio Guide Operating Rules