I came across this old BR training video from 1950s on Diesel Mechanical Multiple Units which I found interesting. I’ve attached it at the bottom. I’ve made a summary of the key points from the video as well information from the manual available online which I don’t think most people (including myself) know. The numbers in brackets are the time in the video where it is discussed. Procedure when switching gears (10:35): Reduce throttle to idle, wait 4 seconds and then change gear. Wait a further 2 seconds before applying throttle. When applying throttle, always apply notch by notch pausing momentarily between each notch. Coasting (13:50) : You must coast only in the 4th gear. If you’re already in the 4th gear then it’s a simple matter of reducing throttle to idle and that’s it. However, lets say you’re doing 35mph and in 3rd gear and want to coast (perhaps linespeed is 35mph or you’re preparing to brake). Reduce throttle to idle, wait for 4 seconds and switch to 4th gear. If you wish to take power again, reduce to appropriate gear before applying throttle. Braking for stations (16:00): Following on from above, when braking you’re obviously going to have throttle in idle thus coasting. Therefore, if you’re not already in 4th gear, change to 4th gear regardless of speed in the normal way. Just before you come to a stop, switch gear lever to Neutral. Dealing with a severe gradient (15:20): If you’re on a steep uphill gradient and you’re on full throttle but you’re losing speed, you may need to reduce a gear. So reduce throttle to idle and then immediately (i.e. no need to wait 4 seconds) change to the lower gear (e.g. from 4th to 3rd). But you still need to wait 2 seconds before you apply throttle. Securing a train at station: Brake pipe reduced to 15 inches is sufficient to hold train. 13:15: Periodically at a suitable time such as when you’re cruising at linespeed and not doing much, press the “Engine 2” button to check the revs of the other engine (the gauge only displays revs for one engine at a time). Ensure the rev gauge for Engine 2 is displaying a similar level to Engine 1. Then flick the switch back to “Engine 1.” Gear ratios: 0-15mph Gear 1; 15-27mph Gear 2; 27-41mph Gear 3; 41-70mph Gear 4. The revs gauge will also indicate when you should increase/decrease gear. Example taking the above into account: Let’s say you’re doing 35mph in 3rd gear with throttle in notch 2. Linespeed will reduce 20mph shortly. So, reduce throttle to idle. As you’ll now be coasting, wait 4 seconds and change to 4th gear. Apply brake/coast down to 20mph. At 20mph, you no longer want to coast and want to apply throttle to maintain 20mph so you need to change gears. So change to 2nd gear, wait 2 seconds and then apply throttle as desired. Prior to watching this, I had no idea about using 4th gear for coasting. I just usually left it in whatever gear it was in and only switch to neutral once I’ve stopped. So hope you have found it interesting.
A note for console users - driving the 101 correctly is much easier with Classic Controls than Immersion Controls. Unfortunately, in immersion controls on console, going from Gear 4 to Neutral has been spoiled by the fact that DTG have moved Neutral next to Gear 1 and each gear change needs a separate button push. This is because it shares the up/down controls with the Reverser. One extra push on the down button and you disengage the Reverser. As well as all the extra button pushes to get to neutral (before the train stops) you are also trying to operate the brakes with the same hand at the same time, no mean feat when trying to stop at the right place with a rising brake pipe. The gears in Reverse are even worse as the controller mapping continues on from the reverser so to move up a gear in reverse requires a down button press. The full d-pad mapping is 4-3-2-1-N-(Reverse-Off-Forwards)-N-1-2-3-4 all on the same up down pad. Each notch is a single button press. In Classic Controls the d-pad is mapped 1-2-3-4-N like the real lever and the reverser is on the left stick. Moving from N to 1 quickly can be done by holding the d-pad down button. Strictly Classic controls for me on the Class 101 because of this, otherwise driving in the correct manner is too much hassle and takes away all immersion. In Classic controls, as on the real train, Neutral is next to Gear 4, so a single press is all that is required as you come to a stop, and the Reverser is on a separate control altogether, The gears can then be changed from Neutral to Gear 1 when ready to depart by holding down the button longer. Hope this helps aid console users to apply what Olaf has kindly shown above to their driving.
