Playing through the second career scenario that came with the Tehachapi route (Hot Box Part 2), with the BNSF locos. On the downgrade over the last 5-6 miles into Mojave, my train consistently becomes a runaway. Dynamics, train brakes, loco brakes all maxed out. Brake multiplier set to "easy," but that doesn't seem to matter. What am I doing wrong?
Could be you were close to track speed limit - if so, you would have to brake really early because, if you wait until you are on the downgrade, speed can increase faster than the brakes can kick in and the kinetic energy makes it very difficult to recover. On most US locomotives, dynamic braking is most effective between 10 and 23 mph and decreases in effectiveness quickly past the upper limit. I am assuming you have DP set correctly. In the real world, engineers may need to apply hand brakes on some of the wagons, if train load is close to retard limits.
I found the same issue and reported it as none of the brakes work. I had the dynamics, train and loco brakes fully applied and it made no difference. I ended up with a runaway train coming into Mojave.
When I ran this same scenario I had the same issue with the brakes. I was under the speed limit, and as my train was on the crest of the hill I setup the dynamic brakes. And started to apply more dynamics as more of the train was on the down slope, even tried applying min train brakes and nothing happened other than a runaway train. I submitted a report to DTG.
Doesn't matter how fast I am going when I start using the brakes. Sometimes when I get to max train brakes (and get a "PCB reset" message), the train will actually stop. When I release, gravity does its thing and no amount of dynamics and friction brakes hold it back. The train brakes only seem to work if they're on 100%, and even then, not consistently. Dynamics would appear to have no tangible effect whatsoever. Past experience with simulations would seem to suggest that the dynamics from four modern locomotives could hold a 50-car train on a 2% downgrade, especially in that 15-25 mph sweet spot, but that certainly isn't what's happening here. Yep, this is exactly what I'm seeing. Glad it's not just me. ;-) Thanks for submitting a report; I'll do so as well.
Quick question for anyone who has the Tehachapi Pass Route. Has the brakes issue on some scenarios been fixed yet? I've been planning to pick this route up in the next Steam sale, but it sounded like a couple of scenarios were unplayable due to the brakes losing effectiveness. I haven't heard whether this issue has been addressed yet (or if the initial reaction was overblown). Any feedback about the current state would be appreciated.
Nothing has been announce as of yet since I first reported it. Just a acknowledgement from Jamie but no time line of when it will fixed.
Thanks Michael. So does that mean you are down to about 4 usable scenarios (and no I don't count Railfan scenarios)? I assume it only affects the BNSF GE ES44DC? Since I don't normally play QD, I'm thinking it sounds like a pass until they either fix it, it gets significantly discounted, or I'm willing to swap out the engines for those scenarios. Thanks again for the info.
Yes it only effects the BNSF loco and it does leave those scenarios unplayable for the time being. It's sad that nothing has been done to fix this loco in this pack. DTG Jamie if watching this thread please comment on what is going on.
That wasn't exactly the news we're hoping for this has been a ongoing issue that seems to get passed over.
At this point, if you own it, you are better off swapping the GEVOs from Tehachapi with the ones from Montana Hi Line.
I have Montana Hi Line, so that's a good idea. I will have to see what the Steam sale marks it down to. It would be interesting to compare the braking scripts between the 2 engines too, as the bug has to come from somewhere
Just learn how to use the brakes. I had trouble at first but figured on how to use them and now have no issues.
Please, Trev, would you enlighten us on how to use the brakes on the Tehachapi Pass BNSF ES44. Whilst I must congratulate you on your superior knowledge, perhaps being more helpful might be good?
It is a while since I have driven this route but from memory, you put the train brakes on to something like 80 to 88% just about a mile before you go down the gradient while the pressure slowly builds up and the brakes slowly come on, and once there you can control the brakes. Don't release them too far as the pressure drops and the brakes release. No one told me how to do this I just figured it out with a bit of trial and error.
Thank you. I shall give that a try, assuming I can actually get the BNSF ES44 to respond to ANY control input. I must have messed with something on my setup. Hopefully others with working reversers and throttles etc. can give your method a try and report back.
An update: I bit the bullet and verified my game files.. The ES44 now responds to controls. However, I tried following your method, but to no avail. I applied the brakes to between 80-88% (on the F4 HUD brake) and whilst they did come on, they soon reverted back to min. reduction. Dynamics were, of course, useless. Interestingly, I now have a gold star for both the scenarios Not 1000 points, thanks to judicial use of the emergency brake to stop on the incline near the milepost (part1). For the second part I "gamed" the sim and totally abused the consist: When approaching the descent to Mojave, I put the loco into reverse then used the throttle as a dynamic brake - yes including Run 8 on a few occasions. This obviously would not be possible in the real world (I suspect that things would go bang with much smoke and fire). Upon getting close to the stop signal at the end of Track 1, I returned the throttle to idle then applied the emergency brake. Like I said "gaming the simulator!", but another gold star and the achievement. I've not swapped out the career scenarios to standard yet on any of the routes I have - I'll try them as they are and if achievements turn up then so be it.