Why does this happen? It happens suddenly without clicking anything, and no PZB action. By losing power I mean to the traction motors(lights and screens still work, and the air compressor is still audible), but the motors stop working and you can't get them to work without doing an "I'm stuck". Is this a bug? Is there a way to avoid it?
You wouldn’t happen to be running on Vorarlberg or Dresden-Riesa? Sounds to me like you ran past one of these signs: http://www.tf-ausbildung.de/SignalbuchOnline/el1.htm You probably passed through a neutral section, in which case you have to manually open the main circuit breaker before the aforementioned sign and can only close it again after passing the following sign: http://www.tf-ausbildung.de/SignalbuchOnline/el2.htm
Yes, it was in Vorarlberg. What is the purpose of this mechanism? Does it protect the grid by preventing too much current being drawn at certain nodes? Also how does the train know it passes such a sign, do they also have magnets like the PZB? What happens if you miss the circuit breaker action, can you recover without a full restart? German electric locomotives can be hard to move(with the exception of the S-Bahn trains, they're straightforward) but Vectron seems the one that's the most stubborn, also with the "quick release" issue that also seemingly troubled many players.
The OHLE is separated into multiple sections which are supplied with power individually. Usually within a country (Germany at least) the frequency of the electricity is synced between the different sources, so power can be injected at multiple locations without any issue. But if they're not synced there needs to be a neutral (powerless) section separating the different sections which are powered by different power sources. This is the case at borders (there it can also switch voltage and AC/DC) but can also happen between different sections within a country. The train doesn't really notice it passes the sign; it just notices that the overhead power is gone. Usually, it then automatically opens the circuit breaker (and lowers the pantograph, not sure?) and you can "recover" by closing the circuit breaker again. Depending on the loco there might be additional steps necessary though, not sure about the Vectron. That shouldn't happen though, as you're supposed to open the MCB yourself before you reach the El1 signal.
Neutral sections are done in different ways in different parts of the world. Edinburgh Glasgow has them and the train automatically handles it via pzb-style balises next to the track - you'll hear the power thunk off and on again as you go over the yellow markers. In most cases though as stateoftheartjonas says, when the power drops off on the overheads it simply pops the circuit breaker and then you need to re-close it again. Normal practice is to have come off the power before getting to the neutral section to avoid a jolt as power suddenly stops, close the mcb once clear and then re-apply power. On the Vectron - it depends whether you're changing country power zones too, if its just a normal neutral section between power districts it's just a case of shutting off the throttle if not already done so, closing the MCB and re-applying power. If you're changing country (the neutral section not far out of lindau) then you need to also change the country on the left computer screen, once that's set up you can then raise pantograph, close the mcb and go - but bear in mind there are delays/timeouts in place as you do a country changeover you can't just hammer the sequence as fast as possible and expect it to work. Raise the pantograph, wait for line volts to be shown on the bar graph and the power indicator to change to an open MCB, then close the MCB and wait for it to show a kN crossed out, then apply power... if I recall correctly! Matt.
They do, but the electricity is not the only thing that differs between countries, there are different requirements for everything from traction force to door controls to radio/network. So you still have to switch countries in the settings. (technically you should be able to drive both in Austrian and German mode, but I think some newer locos actually check their position via GPS and block that?) And since not only voltage and frequency have to be the same, but also the frequencies have to be in sync, you need the neutral section.
Not in Germany. As per the rules, you have to manually open the MCB according to the trackside signs. The automatic MCB opening on the Vectron is a fallback/failsafe system, not what you’re supposed to rely on. stateoftheartjonas is correct with more differences than just the voltage. Also, I don’t know for sure on the Vectrons, but the 186s are located via GPS. If the GPS reading doesn’t match your selected system, there’s an automatic penalty brake application.
Never said it's a system you should rely on, just described what happens when you drive into the neutral section (and therefore what happened to OP) – in Germany, too. But yeah I should've been explicit that it's just a fail-safe, thanks for making that clear
Fair enough I just wanted to make it clear because the UK has these automatic magnets(?) for opening MCBs, while Germany has no such system. It’s just a low voltage protection on the Vectron, not a dedicated neutral-section-system.
The ECML also has them, and has the advantage that they're actually done more-or-less right. On E-G, going through a neutral section causes the brakes the apply full force, but only briefly. This happens regardless of power handle position at the time. I think it might only affect the B cab of the 385 - but there should be no difference between them, in principle. In both cabs, the magnets seem to take effect at the leading end of the train, instead of being positioned directly under the pantograph as would be logical. Also, the implementation of neutral sections is incompatible between the 385 and the ECML. So the 385 doesn't react to the ECML's neutral sections at all. So it's kinda weird to bring up E-G as an example of how the UK does it, frankly.
There is a sharp difference in practice between some countries and others. Countries that use 16⅔Hz or 20Hz power for railways normally use synchronous converters to generate railway power, as a national single-phase system, from the national domestic/industrial three-phase power supply. These converters load the three-phase supply evenly; originally they were based on synchronous motor-alternators, but now normally use solid-state electronic inverters. Because the phase is constant throughout the railway, it can be managed like a DC system, without regular neutral sections but only isolation points. Countries that use 50Hz or 60Hz power for railways normally use a transformer to isolate one phase of the national domestic/industrial supply to drive each relatively short section of the railway - say 15 miles or 25km. The load of any one section of railway falls entirely on one phase of the supply, so different sections have to be supplied from different phases to spread the overall load more evenly. Thus the supplies on either side of a neutral section will normally be 120° out of phase, and a mere "isolation point" isn't enough to prevent arcs being drawn across the gap. Power is cut before entering the neutral section to reduce pantograph head wear from such an arc. The tradeoff is that the equipment needed for a 50/60 Hz locomotive is lighter and more compact, while a locomotive for the lower frequencies can be built without rectifiers (which were unavailable in a reliable, robust, and compact form before about 1960).
I’m having the same issue, but when resetting physics. The locomotive simply refuses to take any power, but everything else seems to work. My incompetence or another several month old bug?
