Hi guys, I was wondering on how to properly drive the multiple historic British diesel-electric locos we now have in the game, namely Class 37, 40, 45 and 47. I am playing the game without the HUD and always try to have the most realistic driving experience possible. As such, I have to rely on what the dials in the cab tell me and I am unsure if the info provided from the manual is correct or sufficient. I was hoping that maybe somebody with real railway experience can shed some light on this. Of course, anybody who has answers to my questions is welcome to reply 1. What is the correct way of getting started?: The manual tells me to put the throttle to the "on" position and wait until the train reaches 10mph. Is this realistic, as it takes quite a long time? 2. Proper power delivery during travel: Once I get going I usually put the throttle around 50% until I reach 20-25mph and then give it full beans (100%). I do this, because the acceleration of these old locos is terrible, especially when coupled to a heavy consist. Is this acceptable to do in real life? Or would factors like fuel consumption or strain on the material, causing earlier maintenance, have prevented a real world driver from doing so? 3. Braking with air brakes: DTG have described the braking procedure in their manual in detail, and I feel what say is correct (is it, though?). They denote brake pressures, but here's where my trouble starts. All locos have two brake pressure dials, one for the air (right one?) and one for the vacuum (left one?) braking system. The pressure range of those systems, however, is quite different, and I think that the pressures given in the manual only apply to the vacuum braking system. Sadly, all cars on TVL and some on NTP use air brakes, so I don't know the proper braking procedure. I try to be as gentle as possible, and to stay between "initial application" and 25%, depending on the weight of the consist. Is it realistic to do it this way? Thanks for taking the time to read my questions, and any feedback is more than appreciated!
I dont come from any knowledgable standpoint. I also drive without the hud and instead focus my attention on the dials. I go slow pulling away on low power for a gentle ride and to avoid wheel slip if nothing else. As for powering up in general. I try to keep the ammeter in the green. I treat it like a car, the engine sounds like its going full pelt, I give it a rest. As for braking, in freight I tend to stay around 15 mph below the line speed. So on a 75 I would be 60mph. On a low limit like 20 mph I would do the allowed limit as I dont want to risk coming to a halt. Think the only real exception Ive found to avoiding full throttle too much is the HST. Although full throttle will usually result in over speeding. With the 66 on GWE the physics update made the loco capable of 100mph plus. If it was pushed. My thoughts are that if its driven properly as in reality within the amps range then this doesn't happen, and its a much more rewarding experience.
Basically you're aiming to avoid wheelslip and keep the amps within the permitted range. The power application will depend on the railhead conditions and weight of train(something I wish DTG would make available to the player.) If you're running light loco and the railhead is dry, there's nothing to stop you moving the power handle up to 100% over the course of five or six seconds. If it's a heavy freight train and you open the throttle to 30% and you get wheelslip, bring it back to 20%, then try to advance the throttle again once the train has gathered more speed. Again, watch the amps, the green means you can run all day at that load and yellow means the equipment will start to overheat, so you don't want to be in the yellow for more than a few minutes at a time. As for braking the general rule is to use as little as possible and avoid 'fanning' the brake (repeatedly applying and releasing the brake in short succession.) The better you know the route and traction the easier it is to judge when to apply the brakes to bring the train safely to a stand with minimal braking. It's also good practice, especially with passenger services, to reduce the braking as the train comes to halt; this way there isn't a violent jolt as the train comes to a complete stop. You should also avoid braking with the power handle in the ON or higher positions, it should really be in OFF before you start braking. Air brakes on British locomotives are usually measured in Bar. In the released position the train brake pipe will sit at 5 Bar. Usually braking will be nothing more than a 1 Bar reduction at maximum (around 45% in game), so bringing the brake pipe pressure down from 5 Bar to 4 Bar. Once the train gets down to perhaps 10-15mph, bring the brake handle back to the 'Initial Application' position; This will give a nice smooth and slow stop. Drivers in reality have different driving styles, so there is no one way which is 100% correct.
The air gauges will be reading brake pipe pressure in psi. Fully released is 72.5 psi. A one bar reduction is equivalent to 15 psi drop approximately. The exception to this is the 47 which has a brake cylinder pressure gauge rather than brake pipe pressure gauge which kind of works the opposite way, so zero pressure is fully released. For vacuum brakes fully released is 21" of mercury on the gauge, so reduce this to say 15" as an initial application. Bear in mind how gradient will affect the effectiveness of the application. In terms of power application, keep it out of the red zone for anything but short periods. Adhesion permitting.
A question I’d add to this is what is the correct procedure for changing cabs when say uncoupling and running round wagons? What is the proper way of effectively shutting down one cab in say the 37 to then go to the other cab to drive the loco? I know I did ask this once in reference to the 47 on the WSR but can’t find the the thread now.
Parking brake on, Reverser off. Train brake (drivers brake)shutdown, Loco brake (direct brake)released ,all lights off master key off. Aws and dsd isolated if using it.
