In TSW3, is it possible to have more than one DPU set? Sometimes I think it would be nice to insert an engine in the middle of the consist and still have the rear-end DPU?
It's certainly possible, but in TSW DPU locos are usually set up in pairs ( lead and trail ). I can't think of a consist with this setup currently in game but there's no reason why helpers have to be only at the rear. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. In the real railway, mid- train helpers are usually single locos, but, as I said, in TSW I think it would have to be two linked together.
In real life mid-train locos or MUs are quite common, since (a) they help distribute coupler strain along the train, both pulling and braking, and (b) speed up brake pipe charging. Of course, in real life each MU can be "fenced" off and controlled independently from the lead, which TSW doesn't (yet) model.
Over where I live, UP sometimes runs some manifests with DPUs cut in about 3/4ths into the consist, with no rear DPU's, and can have as much as 3 locos in that spot
The UP manifests/double stacks that pass by here will usually have 2 or 3 at the head end, one about half way and a helper or two at the rear. These are mile- long trains that take about 30 minutes to pass the grade crossing, leaving a lot of unhappy motorists. Occasionally, you'll see some foreign power mixed in.
In Cajon Pass in TSW there are grain train consists that have DPUs in the centre of the train as well as the rear, so it is possible in game.
Playable trains. I think there are two instances in the timetable both starting from San Bernardino, if my memory serves me correctly.
Well, that answers the OP's question except that, without a consist editor, there's no way players can create such a train themselves or insert a mid- train helper into an existing consist.
This is one of the services that has two Locos in the middle of the Consist on Cajon pass if anyone wanted to take a look.
(Just had to chime in on this thread- my first post here in quite a long time.) As far as DPU configurations in real life (from what I’ve witnessed watching live US rail streams pretty much every day), mid DPUs can range from 1 to 4 locos, trailing DPUs from 1 to 3. You’ll occasionally see both mid DPUs and trailing DPUs in some trains, depending on the load I guess. As far as running a single (non-MUd) loco as a DPU anywhere in the consist, I suspect this will not work in Train Sim World 3 or 4. Running a single rear DPU in my TSW 2020 definitely doesn’t work, so I suspect this issue has been broken for some time and carried forward into new products. As others have suggested, just run with a MUd pair as a DPU (like I still do in TSW 2020) and you should be good to go. P.S. As far as running two DPU pairs in a train, not really sure that will (or won’t) work. I’ve never tried that in my TSW 2020, I might have to check that out.
With the coming of the consist maker in the future, it would be fun to toy around with different configurations 2x0 3x1 2x2x2 3x4x0 etc.
Thanks for the info! As it turns out I had forgotten that any controlling DPU unit elsewhere in the train has to be the same type of loco as the controlling unit in the lead consist- and that wasn’t the case when I ran my latest test. At least that’s the case with TSW 2020, not sure this is a requirement in TSW 2/3 or 4.
Yep, I would really enjoy checking out the same. I’ve been thinking about picking up TSW 4 to get myself current and to tap into all of the new/cool features. Not really sure right now… don’t really need another group of random (possibly permanent) bugs to deal with in the new version. We’ll see I guess.
