Im on the second tutorial and when stopping the train with the automatic breaks, i end up completly stuck and not being able to generate power with the throttle. I fixed the pcs but nothing i do lets me generate power. Ive tried this tutorial 3 times now and at different points this happens
If you really have reset the PCS, then you presumably zeroed all the controls. Is the power selector in Position 1? and have you checked to make sure the control/gen field/engine run switches are on? But keep in mind also that after a full emergency stop, it can take a good long time for the brakes to release all the way to the back of the train (your BC/ BP gauges only reflect what the pressures are at the front).
When you say power control, do you mean the throttle, when i had this issue i made sure it was set to idle. The control, gen field and engine switched never switched off, they were all on the entire time. The 3rd time this happened the train was sitting idle for a half hour while i was trying to get power, so i would think breaks to reset. Today, i did push the auto breaks to far, and put the emergency breaks on, but i had no problems resetting the PCS and getting going again. Im wondering if i encountered a bug before
I have the same issue on a scenario. I stopped short of the marker and now the loco won't power. I suspect I inadvertently applied emergency braking, but I have no idea how to restart this train and get it to accept power. I'd check the manual but I can't find one. Any help pointing me at the manual or a step-by-step guide on how to get moving again would be greatly appreciated.
The most likely culprit is the Pneumatic Control Switch (PCS). To reset it, zero the throttle, put the reverser in neutral, pull the train brake all the way to Emergency and wait a full sixty seconds. Then release the brakes; the PCS light should go out and you have power again. Remember, though, that your brakes will take a good while to release all the way to the back. (If you're on a grade, set the loco brake to hold you)
Thanks for a swift reply. I actually figured it out a few minutes ago. The 'problem' was usually as a result of me applying 100 Automatic brakes. I got moving again by setting the Independent Brake to 100, throttle idle and reverser neutral. Then I set Auto' brakes to Full (83 on dials), then back down to release and applied power. However, I had an oddity later in the scenario. I couldn't apply power nor move the reverser. Applying power increased the Train brake (the left icon). Hm... Reviewing your comments earlier in this thread about the PCS, when I checked that, I found it was set to the first notch (as per your first post!), moving it up to Parallel got me going again. I just don't understand how/why that get moved without any intervention by me?
That sounds like the selector lever was set to Brake, where the amount of dynamic brake is adjusted with the throttle lever. If you aren’t moving at the time the dynamic brake does nothing but the dial will still show the amount inputted with the lever. Also, the reverser won’t move if the throttle lever is in any position other than idle. I often end up leaving it in notch one by mistake.
I realised that (eventually), but don't understand how it got moved. I was slowing down using independent brakes to couple and was a bit short. When I powered up to creep forward nothing happened. Ah well, I'm a bit wiser now thanks to the help on this thread. You can probably tell I'm not well versed in the intricacies of these heavy freight trains. I do have a tendencies to hop around from map to map and have been mainly running passenger services on West Somerset and Carthcart. I bought the 3 loco pack yesterday and was playing the scenarios. I must admit I feel a bit overwhelmed by the Cajon map; perhaps I'm better suited to tootling along at 20mph near the seaside.
If you're using a controller, like me, then you may inadvertently move the power selector when switching between braking systems. You have three icons for braking systems, and the first one (normally a dynamic brake) actually controls the Transition (power selector). Anyway, I came upon this thread because I too was unable to move off after inadvertently applying the emergency brake. I was doing the "Switching it up" scenario with the Santa Fe F7. I can get rid of the PCS lamp, the power indicator seems fine, but nothing happens when applying throttle. I even switched cabs, and tried to control the other Cab A loco, but no luck.
That would explain it. I do switch between brake often, especially if I'm shunting, as in this scenario. I really struggle with some of the older trains that don't use the single stop/go level that more modern trains use and the ones with Hold settings confuse me. There's German one (I forget which) with a wheel for power and I often find it's going up when I want it to go down and vice versa, because it has a Hold, Up and Down setting.
