How come when I use the stop mat on the ground, the stopping point is still anywhere between 10 to 5M away. When I use the stop mat, I stop the train so that the mat has just disappeared from the front window of the train, and at the end of the run I always miss the stop by anywhere from 10 to 5M PS that is the same for all trainset
Because from where you're sitting high up. you are looking down at an angle of 30-40 degrees and you're quite a ways yet from the last bit of track you can see above the edge of the windscreen Try doing it with external camera and you'll see what I mean
Also, you will never be exactly 0m away from the stopping point, as it calculates it from your character's position, who sits high up in the cab, so you will never get closer than 2 or 3 meter to the stopping point.
Hmm. Maybe it actually calculates from the middle of the loco in the debrief screen. But in-game it calculates the distance from your character model, I believe.
So my understanding from all the comments so far, is that the mats are mis-placed, they should be corrected then, as the logical stopping with the mats should be when it just disappear from the view when sitting in the driver seat and be at the right stopping point. Unfortunately, can not tell anyone in charge of this problem that need correction
The real problem is that in most case they're placed too bloody close to the signal. At passenger platforms, the placement is usually just right; stopping with your front axle in the marker will put you right at the halt board.
That's not true. You are supposed to stop on the mat so the front of the loco is in line with the end of the mat, not when it disappears from your view. Think of the mats as stopping point signs (many stations have them in game and in real life as well). When drivers sre pulling up to a station, they have to stop when the stopping point sign is aligned with the front of their train, not when the sign disappears from their view. You have to calculate/feel the remaining distance to the end of the mat/stopping point sign when pulling up, even if it's not in your view anymore.
Dtg’s secret plan to create FUD amongst train fans reaches a new level. Never knew height was involved as well as distance.
Apart from some on West Cornwall which are about 200m past the station, there’s a thread running on that at the moment. And yes some of the freight placements are rubbish, you do not stop a 1000 tonne consist 2m from the signal!
I have managed a few "goddamnit, ship, fluck " moments whereby the emergency brake has caught me a metre from the stop sign. Not my favourite ends to a leisurely drive
I remember in my days as a Train Running Controller, when arranging with the signaller to regulate freight trains if these were nearly the length of the loop there was an element of “chicken” as to whether they would fit, given drivers would stop well short of the signal. To even attempt stopping at the signal, driver would have to go at walking pace, by which time the following express would catch up and get checked, might as well keep the freight going! Some of the loop lengths in the Sectional Appendix could be a bit optimistic, too…
Yes. There's a sign telling the driver where to stop. On UK passenger platforms they often take the form of a number which represents the length of the train, in other words, 4, 8 and 12-car consists have different stop points so as to wind up roughly centered on the platform. In Germany, however, it's usually just a big H for Halt.
Hmmm: I'd never before seen those colorful warnings called "stop mats" -- a good description! They do require a bit of thinking at times, not only in terms of exactly where to stop one's engine, but whether the stop point even applies to the engine; and that doesn't apply only to the mats. For example, here's what I encountered during a Rhein-Ruhr Osten shunting activity : With that red signal just 35 meters away and the dispatcher refusing to cooperate, the "stop here" marker refers to the last (but leading) wagon rather than the engine. For me, this was immediately evident, but it might puzzle a new player. Ultimately, it's just a matter of common sense, but confusion can take over in the midst of a task. (Apologies for departing somewhat from your OP.)
It just does not make even more sense that it would be the front of the locomotive, as from the point of view when sitting in the driver seat, you can not see either the front of the locomotive or the front axle, so it would make sense that it would be base on what the driver can see. As for those board, I had seen them but I had no idea what they were for, like most of the sign on the side of the track, as there is no information anywhare what they are
From what I remember from my days on the railway, from the drivers position sat at the front there is about 30ft of track that the driver can’t see because of the angle of view from his eyes to the point he can see. My first experience of a cab ride when route learning made me comment to the driver that the track ahead of the loco looked very narrow. He explained that it was due to the fact that you are seeing the track further ahead than where you are sat. As regards the stop mats, I also have noticed that when the mat disappears under the front of the train you are still yards away from where you are supposed to stop. What I do now is when the mat disappears I look to the count down, in yards, which is at the top of the screen to the left where the time is displayed. This counts down to two yards and then starts going up again, so I assume this is because you are sat high up in the cab, so to speak.
Presumably this is also the effect you see in some cab ride videos, where it looks like the camera is strapped to the side of the train, rather than being on the desk? I think that's because the "stop mat" is designed to be used in conjunction with the big blue pillar things (which point out the actual stop point), with the "mat" used as a guide to show where the rest of the train will lie, and to provide a visual guide as to speed on approach, and how far away the stopping point is.
I was told the distance by the clock, is never correct, I even seen the distance in that counter increase, when in fact I was still far from my stopping point ( not at station), but I do not believe this counter anymore, it apparently is using a weird method of counting (whatever that mean) I once read
It's calculating the distance between the stop point and your character, as a straight line rather than in terms of track distance. Hence on particularly curvy track it may increase. It should just be used as a rough guide but the accuracy increases the closer to the marker you get.
That's been an ongoing gripe of mine. The countdown distance to the various markers should be the actual route mileage ahead of you, not as the crow flies. It's been a while since I looked at Clinchfield but ISTR that being a particularly bad example of the syndrome.
Because you should stop when the marker is where your character is. Because of the perspective of the driver, you're blocked from sight of a decent but of the track immediately in front of the train. If you stop when the marker is no longer visible, you've stopped too early.
rat7_mobile Knowing where the nose of the train is, IMO is an important skill to learn for stopping accurately, first for the fact you would need it IRL, as an example here is a stopping board in real life in Dresden. This should be aligned with the front of the loco, not when you don't see it from the cab. The other reason is that with each locomotive your field of view is slightly different, so the mats should for example be different for the Cab Car, BR143 and 146. The mats are fine, you just need to learn how to position the train correctly. IMO the objective marker (Ctrl+1) is a lot more useful to judge your position and stop accurately, if the cone is on top of the driver you are good. Let's not mention that surprisingly often the stopping marker and mats are in the wrong position and should be ignored
