Adding on top of my question that I've asked if there is a US or UK equivalent of the Sifa, which is apparently the AWS n the UK and ACSES in the US, though I'm still not sure if BNSF freight locomotives have them or just amtrak trains. I couldn't find a vigilance system on the BNSF. Anyways, what about the LZB/PZB? Do non-German train drivers always have to resort to their vision when it comes to signaling, or is there an equivalent system?
There is no equivalent for lzb. There really isn't one for pzb either cuz although some elements are similar, there are still major differences Sifa is also the alerter in US trains. Acses is a speed control system that basically tells you to go a certain speed and tells you to stop at red lights and whatever, so I would say it is more comparable to pzb, but at the same time, not really. It is similar in that you have speed restrictions and have to acknowledge them but with major differences. For example, you won't immediately get ebraked if you go over a speed restriction and you don't have a start programme where your speed is restricted at 45kmh. You still have to acknowledge whatever acses or atc tells you to do and slow down accordingly. Since there are no 1000hz magnets, you don't worry about having to slow down to a certain speed in x amount of seconds. You put the brakes in suppression on appropriate locos until you reach lower than the speed limit acses/atc tells you and it doesn't matter how long it takes. As long as you do that, there isn't an emergency brake. There are no 500hz magnets so you don't get that either. There is also no warning when your speed changes with acses cuz it's reactive depending on the traffic down the line. With pzb, if you need to slow down, there are like warning posts telling you to slow down and stuff which acses does not do. There are indicators like approach clear where it's basically the line is clear and green. There is restricted which is what it means. There it also approach medium warning you of a signal change. Stop is stop. And the numbers you get is the speed limit There is no lzb equivalent that I know of in the USA. Lzb is basically autopilot that controls your speed and stops at red lights which us trains do not have. There is acses and/or atc which is similar to pzb. For uk trains, there are several systems like pzb such as on high speed trains like tvm which tells you how fast to go and you have to reduce your speed to those limits. There is also kvb where if you are going too fast past the magnet or whatever it is, your train will go into emergency brake. But with major differences.
From what I know, the UK system is a "permissive system" where the driver is told whether they can proceed or not, and other than a few bits like TPWS which measure speed at a certain point (or over a short distance) the driver is expected to make their own judgement as to their speed and when to brake etc. There isn't a "designate speed" to travel on double or single yellows for example. The German system is more speed oriented, so at certain signals or certain magnet points you need to be doing a certain speed. The PZB and LZB systems are how these speeds are given to the driver As the response above says the closest in the UK would be the TVM system used on HS1 but that's an extension of the system used on the French SNCF anyway...
Not quite. The equivalent of Sifa is the Alerter, a timed signal/alarm which goes off at regular intervals and which the driver must acknowledge, or the train stops. ACSES is the Automatic Civil Speed Enforcement System and its purpose is to keep trains below the fixed permanent line speed- so really the opposite of PZB. The PZB-equivalent, kinda-sorta, is ACS or Automatic Cab Signaling, which "reads" the signal state and imposes those temporary speed restrictions. Neither. Just the alerter.
Is it the same in real life? Do engineers/drivers in BNSF just trust their sight and that they remember correctly what the signal is telling them(which is like a puzzle to solve in North America, compared to intuitive signaling in the UK and Germany)? I know that fog and snow isn't really a thing where BNSF operates, but also the trains are as long as the ocean is deep, so they take like a century to stop.
Oh, no, not at all! First, every signal has a specific meaning, as precise as PZB once you know the code (on DB, a yellow/green Vr2 means "slow to 40 km/h by the main signal;" on Union Pacific a flashing yellow Advance Approach means "slow to 40 mph (and be prepared to stop at the second signal"). Second, signal blocks on US railroads are designed for the train lengths and speeds, typically a mile and a half or more so even if the only signal the driver notices is the final Approach there is room to stop. But that was in the old days, anyway. Today with ATS/ASCES (or just PTS, Positive Train Control), if the driver doesn't follow the signals, including not braking as hard as the speed reduction requires, the system will shut down the train, just like PZB does. You can experience this by driving Boston Commuter (sadly, and unrealistically, it isn't modeled on Cajon Pass); although there are definite bugs in the Boston implementation, it mostly works. The country which still relies on 'route knowledge' or driver memorization is Britain.
Is there at least a way to get cab signaling in Cajon Pass(other than the game provides you) even if it doesn't do anything to stop you? Just a way to read the next signal from inside the locomotive without looking outside. Also, is there any North American freight route with ES44C4s where this is accurately modeled?
Like solicitr already said, it is not modeled, so there is no way to read the next signal. It only acts as an alerter. There may be speed signs, but they aren't there to like warn you in advance. In real life, I believe the cab signals actually do work since it is there in the es44c4, but not in game. In tsw, there are no north american freight routes with es44c4s that is accurately modeled. In game it currently only runs on cajon pass and nowhere else. There are cab signals in sherman hill with the sd70ace, but it is also "broken" in a way like how it is with boston sprinter.
Heh, I meant any GE Evolution series locomotive actually, not just the 44. As for it being broken, there's hardly any locomotive/route in TSW3 that doesn't suffer from some severe bugs that come and go, but I find that a clean restart of your PC solves it. Of course you also have to start from a new game than to continue a save, which is bad if you've invested an hour into it.
The issue here is that PTC was never implemented in Cajon Pass at all - probably because its attempted implementation on Sherman Hill is hopelessly broken.
