Problem Completing Maple Leaf Motoring Scenario On Oakville Route

The first steps in this scenario proceed as they should: coupling to some autoracks at the Oakville Assembly Complex and coupling to more autoracks in the CN Oakville Yard. The next instruction calls for driving south and that's where I've run into a major problem: the pair of engines provided barely supply enough power to get this train moving, let alone reaching the authorized speed limits. I've tried several times, reaching a maximum of 8 MPH on a downhill grade, but have given up before reaching Oakville itself.
So, I'd like to hear from anyone who has successfully completed this scenario and willing to share the "secret" for doing so.

 

Have you set the MU correctly in the second engine?
Trust me, it help

 

Do you mean the MU-2A valve? I followed all of the scenario's set-up instructions, but don't remember just off hand whether that was mentioned or, if so, what the setting is. I'll check that, however.

 

yes, it
to set up it, the head locomotive valve have to be set to "lead or dead", and on the other engines it shoudl be set to "trail 6 or 26"
P.S. remember that the generator field should be on

 

Thanks for the tip, ragn05, but I did indeed have the MU-2A valve set correctly in both cabs -- that much is covered in the scenario's instructions. What isn't covered, however, is that the Banking Control has to be set to ON. This control is not mentioned anywhere as such in the route's user manual, but is referred to as the radio fuse on p. 11 under the heading "Distributed Power" *which appears on p. 10) and it did come up in another activity I've driven. Unfortunately, I don't recall which one.
This is a screenshot of the radio control's location in the cab:

 

I am playing the game on Xbox one and I am having a similar issue. I have read all the threads above and made sure the cab is setup correctly. I just tried the scenario again and the train will not move after coupling to the second pack of auto rack cars. I will throttle up to 8 and the wheels slip. What am I missing?

 

TL;DR: Push the wagons a few meters back, then you will be able to pull them.

Long version (in case the short one does not work for you):
I played another scenario today and had the same problem. I couldn't make the consist move, so I went down of the loco and checked that none of the tankers had the handbrake applied. All were released. So I went back to the loco, decoupled it, moved it a bit far away and then coupled it back. Still couldn't pull the tankers. So finally I thought ... what if I push the tankers back?. And that is what worked. I pushed them a few meters back, then stopped the train and I could pull them as I normally would.

I bet this is some kind of bug.

 

Just had to chime in on this thread. I’m running into this exact same issue as well- and no matter what I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot), nothing resolves the issue with the engines moving like the proverbial slug (if they move at all) with the combined load in the yard. (I’m running the latest ver of TSW 2020 on my PS4 non-Pro btw)

I did experiment a bit to see if I could resolve the issue (just couldn’t help myself), and as a result of that I did discover that I could hookup to the cars in the large yard first, and then back these into the other smaller load of cars by the assembly plant. And after all of them were hooked up in this way, the engines had no issues getting quickly up to speed and behaved normally as far as I could tell. This whole thing smells like a bug to me, and unfortunately this issue renders this scenario completely useless for me with no way to complete it. Not what I expected after spending add’l bucks on the Oakville Sub, beyond what I already spent on the game.

(Developers- any comment on this issue? Is this a known issue? If so, how soon can all of us expect a fix for this?)

 

I also noticed a post on this same issue in another thread here. In that case, someone posted there might be some sort of issue (bug) with a switch located right underneath one of the first 3 cars in the second group of cars we couple to. I walked back there to check it out with the flashlight- didn’t see any issues with the switch... also confirmed all brakes were released on that set of cars.

 

One more time: the solution -- very simple -- is to turn on Banking Com, as noted in my post above, complete with a screenshot.
I've found this solution helpful in other Oakville Sub activities as well. This is neither a "bug" or a "known issue", just a simple control that DTG only hints at in the route's user manual.

 

...I actually tried turning on Banking Comm btw, and that did not work for me. And Banking Comm (from what I’ve read about one banking solution, GE Locotrol) is really intended for use when you have trains with power distributed throughout the consist, not when engines are all directly connected. When the engines are directly connected, the large MU cables between them handle all of the throttle and braking sync between them and the Banking Comm radio shouldn’t be needed. Not sure if DTG implemented it that way... that’s another story.

 

...some info on the GE ‘Locotrol’ banking solution if anyone is interested, there are youtube videos on it as well.

https://www.railwayage.com/cs/the-long-and-the-short-of-distributed-power/

https://www.ge.com/digital/sites/de...ssets/GE-Transportation-LOCOTROL-20160824.pdf

 

Thanks for your research work, Stockton Rails. Despite skepticism, however, as a Missouri native I remain convinced that Banking Control does indeed function in the engines of the Oakville Subdivision route. Perhaps some DTG expert could chime in here?

 

Maple Leaf Motoring start to finish:

 

It certainly seems buggy and I've spent over an hour just trying to get the train moving! When you leave the first cab (this loco then being setup as the trailing loco) you have to make sure that you turn off the Engine run, Generator field and control and fuel pump, this will give full power and full brake control to the leading loco. This isn't covered in the instructions given in the scenario but it is covered in the manual. You don't need banking coms with locos that are directly connected to each other. However, even after setting up everything correctly I couldn't get the train to move until I uncoupled 5 cars, moved forwards with those 5 cars, then reversed to couple them back up. This seemed to reset something which allowed me to move off.

 

Yep, this is what fixes the issue for me every time- uncoupling the set of cars you brought out to the main yard from the rest of the consist, then coupling them all back up again.

I remember DTG Matt mentioning on one live stream some time back that they thought it was some sort of issue with the AI in the game not opening up the brake line petcocks on the two cars that couple up (they don’t visually open and close in the game, but they are opened and closed by the AI). And in a later live stream, he said the devs are having a hard time tracking down the cause of this because the problem doesn’t always occur after coupling up. Just sharing what I’ve learned about this issue, after having to deal with it for several months... for me it’s a non-issue at this point.

P.S. I see you’re new to the TSW forums... welcome aboard!

 

I'll note it again: Switch on the Banking Control!!! [See my previous post several slots above.]

Why doesn't anyone want to accept a simple, effective solution, as opposed to screaming "broken" and "bugged" at every little challenge?

 

Thanks Stockton Rails. Yep I just did the Petrochemical Chaos scenario and when I coupled up to the last 5 cars again I couldn't get them to move. I uncoupled and coupled back up each car and this fixed it for me so definitely an issue with the coupling not releasing the brakes. If this is not what DTG intended then it is a bug. I don't believe I was screaming and shouting BUG LastTrainToClarksville just stating what I and others have experienced. Banking control doesn't fix the issue for me.

 

Ok, time for me to respond.

First, even if turning on the banking comm radios worked for you (and I’m assuming it did at least once- not sure you tested more than that)- this solution did NOT and does NOT work for me- and does not seem to work for many others here. In the real world, and I’m sure in the sim, the Banking Comm radios are used *only* to control locos that are distributed throughout the consist and not directly connected together. Even DTG Matt himself said in two different streams there was an issue with this after he ran into the same problem during the stream. And how did he fix it— he uncoupled the cars and recoupled them which resolved the issue. He never laid hands on the Banking Comm radios.

So... you seem to be the only person around here as far as I can tell pushing the notion that it’s not a bug and it’s all related to the banking radios- while numerous other folks, incl Matt, acknowledge the issue and resolve it by uncoupling and recoupling the cars. I guess everyone else must be wrong... not likely.

 

Okay, so I'm willing to accept that there's more than one way to handle this situation, if others will do the same. Since I "discovered" the use of the Banking control, I have successfully applied it in several activities on the East Coastway route and have never resorted to uncoupling and re-coupling a consist's cars. I have run the Maple Leaf Motoring activity several times, Stockton Rails, each time successfully using the Banking Control to get the assembled train moving. I'd seriously like to know where you found the information about its being used to control locos distributed throughout a consist.

 

First, thanks for taking the time to respond back... and for responding the way you did.

Interesting about your test results in the East Coastway route, where simply turning on the banking radio has resolved your issues every time. Just curious- have you ever had this issue in the Maple Leaf Motoring scenario in the Oakville Sub route, where turning on the banking radio resolved it? By comparison, all of my issues with getting the train moving after coupling up have occurred in Oakville Sub so far (most of them in the Maple Leaf Motoring scenario, with a few in Petrochemical Chaos). And every time my banking comm radios are all off and I resolve the issue by uncoupling and recoupling the cars. I also ran at least 10-12 tests in Maple Leaf Motoring to see if the issue getting the train moving after coupling up occurred every time... it did not, and only occurred about 25% of the time.

Q: I wonder if this issue is resolved differently depending on the route you’re in? Maybe I could try and reproduce it in East Coastway (not sure I have that route, will have to check) and you could do the same in Maple Leaf Motoring- assuming you have the Oakville Sub route. Might be interesting to compare notes after that kind of testing.

As far as the remote control of distributed locos in a train are concerned, just check out my earlier posts on that in this same thread. GE’s ‘Locotrol’ product is just one way to handle this, and I suspect Motorola ‘Astro Spectra’ radios (which look very similar to the radios used in the train sim) are used along with that. I’ll see what else I can dig up on all of this later.

Update, 7/5/20- slight rewrite of this last paragraph, incl info on Motorola Spectra radios

 

I just attempted to complete Maple Leaf Motoring last night on Train Sim World 2 and I can confirm this issue still occurs. After coupling up to the second set of auto racks, I could barely move with the throttle set at 8. I will try the uncoupling trick and hopefully that will help. This is certainly a bug in the scenario and I am 100% certain the locos were set up correctly. Also, banking comm being turned on doesn't help either (believe me, I tried). The banking comm is barely explained at all, but it is meant to be used when you have locos at the front of the train and locos at the back of the train. You really learn how to use this thing when playing Sand Patch Grade because without it, you'll never finish most of the routes. Banking comm should only be turned on in the lead engine you're driving and it simulates that a second engineer is in the locos at the very back of the train providing you extra power to move. The banking comm acts like a radio that simulates you communicating with the back engines, asking the imaginary engineer to provide more or less power. If you have no engines connected at the rear of the train and they are all connected together at the front, then banking comm is not necessary and the MU-2A valves set in the proper position are all you will need to power and brake the train. I know one of the training tutorials in Oakville has you turn on the banking comm, but it shouldn't be needed. Turn it on if you'd like, but in reality, you shouldn't need it when directly connected. Hope this helps and I'm glad I learned about the uncoupling trick. I'm sure it will help.

 

What? This myth still persists?

 

There is a bug with that set of autoracks when you couple to them. I passed the scenario by coupling to them, waiting for the next objective to appear, then upcoupled them and finished the scenario. There were some occasional warnings about not having the expecting consist, but it didn't stop me finishing the scenario.

 

That actually worked thank you very much

 

Sorry for the ancient thread bump but I'd just found this from being in the same situation - brakes were still on, but the BC gauge was showing 0 PSI after coupling to the second set of autoracks in the Maple Leaf Motoring scenario. I uncoupled and recoupled without touching banking comm and guess what... I'm on the move now. It's clearly not a myth if it works.