I've been playing some of my older German stuff. Main Spessartbahn to be specific. I continually get an emergency application after the speed reduction to 90 board at 2.1km from Heigenbrucken (going Gemunden - Aschaffenburg). I will be doing 105-110km and acknowledge the reduce to 90 sign and throw my brakes into full service but I am still getting the 'Overspeed' alarm and penalty brake. Looking at the next distant signal, it is showing Yellow. Am I correct in thinking that the penalty is something to do with the braking curve and me being too far above it for that upcoming signal? I'm following correct PZB procedure but getting down to 85 doesn't help it, and I'm guessing the 1000hz magnet wants me at 65 or 45? Is that correct?
Is it a freight train? Sounds like you may be in a different PZB mode. When you've turned on PZB, look at the blue lights 55-70-85. If 55 is lit up, you're in PZB mode U, if 70 is lit up, you're in PZB mode M. Those require you to brake to 55 and 70, respectively, after you've acknowledged the magnet (with longer time limits, check the table here). To change PZB modes, you need to turn PZB off and then change the round selector labelled U, M, O to the mode you need - roughly, O for passenger trains, M for "normal" freight trains, U for heavy freight trains. Normally, the loco should be set to the correct PZB mode by default when you select a service, though I've noticed one or two hiccoughs here and there. Depending on the locomotive, the PZB mode selector might be near your right knee a bit under the driver's desk, on the back panel or in the corridor.
You did acknowledge the following signal like I did here, right? You could try mimicking my driving in this clip and see if it helps, assuming you are running a passenger train, if it is freight, switch to PZB U.
Thanks for making a clip! Yes, I'm acknowledging both the sign and then the signals. What I think is different is that I'm coming up on the 90 reduction sign from the higher speed limit and going for 85 and then when I get the green over yellow right before the double yellow, I'm not slow enough for the yellow. I'll try approaching the specific reduction with the expectation of a yellow soon after as a bit of "route knowledge". That signal seems to always be at caution guarding the approach into Heigenbrucken in this direction. And yes, speaking in terms of passenger operation.
As long as you make it to 84 from the first magnet without being tripped and hold it at 80 you should be fine. There's only one magnet, 500hz, that is expecting you to go slower than 85, 65 in this case, and that one is near the start of the platform (where the track limit is 40 anyway, you aren't punished (by PZB) for going faster though until you hit that 500hz magnet at 65 or higher.
Okay, I'm going to keep running it. Today I ran it several times but where the speed reduces from 130 to 120 before the 90 sign and 40 signal, I was extra cautious and where I should have been doing 120, I was already down to 90. Everything worked fine. But, yes, like you said, I should be fine so long as I get below 85 in time. I'll run some more services and report back
