Xbox One Dynamic Brakes Problem - Sand Patch

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by hawks5896, Mar 5, 2021.

  1. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    I recently purchased Train Sim World 2 and am working my wat through the Sand Patch Route. I have ran into a problem doing the "Cumberland Charge" Scenario specifically with the Dynamic brake performance on the GP 38-2 on the downslope from Sand Patch to Cumberland.

    I am pretty sure the 4 locos are set up in the proper MU format as I made it uphill from Salisbury with no issues - and all 4 locos show exhaust from the smokestacks.

    But I noticed with the 2 Geeps running down to Salisbury that the Dynamic brakes weren't working as intended which foreshadowed problems with the coal train running down to Cumberland.

    As I proceeded down to Salisbury the speed began to build and I wanted try the dynamics so I put the trottle in neutral, put the dynamic level in "Set" after 10 -15 seconds, and after another 10 seconds engaged the dynamics at notch one. The result was nothing - a very very tiny orange bar appeared and the amps read "43" - it had no effect on the speed. there was no whine or engine acceleration at. least. In fact cycling the dynamics form notch 2 to notch 8 produced just a small (very small) increase in the orange bar and a very small increase in the amp reading - topped out at "127" after reaching notch 8. Again no whine or engine acceleration noises.
    Needless to say that this again occured during the run down to Cumberland. Just after the first tunnel with speed at 29 I again engaged the dynamics and watched nothing happen -
    Notch 2 - very tiny orange bar, lightning bolt dial reading 34%, no effect, amps at 32
    Notch 3 - same orange bar, lightning bolt dial reading 42%, no effect, amps at 43
    Notch 5 - slightly larger orange bar, dial reading at 58%, no effect, amps at 64
    Notch 8, orange bar about 1/8" long, dial at 100%, no effect, amps reached 127 maximum

    I eventually reached the speed of 92 mph and tripped a red signal about 11 miles from Cumberland - the dynamics had absolutely no effect on the speed of the train - the only way to slow it down was to enter emergency which I did once then restarted down the hill.

    Has anyone encountered this before - is it a bug, something particular to the Xbox, did I set something up incorrectly? I have seen youtube videos of the way the dynamics are supposed to work and am disapointed and frustrated that it doesn't work properly.

    Any info that anyone has in relation to this would be greatly appreciated

    Mark
     
  2. L89

    L89 Well-Known Member

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    I'm not entirely sure what the amps should be reading but have you enabled banking comm (your loco only) and the radio fuse in the banking loco? When done correctly, the lead banking loco should move throttle and dynamic brake levers when you do. If their trailing loco is set up properly, then you should hopefully have a decent amount of power for the dynamics.

    Small amount of automatic brake should be used with the dynamic brake as dynamics isn't always enough. The effects of your braking won't be noticeable for a while so it's best to plan ahead.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2021
  3. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    I turned on the banking comms in the lead loco as per game instructions. The 4 loco consist pulled the cars up to Sand Patch with no difficulty and I saw exhaust from all 4 locos during the ascent. From this I can only surmise the trailing locos are receiving the radio instructions from the head end. I would have to walk the length of the 57 car train to find out for sure if the radio is on in the trailing unit - judging from the videos I've seen I think it is set correctly as the person did not walk to the rear of the train in the video.

    As far as planning ahead I watched the person in said video engage notch 4 of the dynamics immediately after exiting the tunnel - no 10 second wait to set up and heard an immediate whining noise and saw a large orange bar appear downwards on the HUD with an amps reading approaching 500 - a far cry from my 64 amps at notch 5 with no noise. My 64 amps came after waiting 10 seconds to set up the dynamics

    At one time careening down the hill I had Dynamics at notch 8 - 127 amps, independent brake at 100% and Automatic Brake at Full Service (100% on the dial) all to no effect - the train continued to accelerate from 80 to 92 mph before passing a red signal about 11 miles from Cumberland and ending the scenario.

    Thanks for the suggestions
     
  4. met_cui98

    met_cui98 Member

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    Keep in mind that after applying the Automatic Brake, you will need to Bail Off the Independent Brake (one step beyond Release) so the locomotive brakes are not applied. Dynamic brakes slow the train by converting the energy of the rotating wheels on the locomotives into electricity, so if there is braking force applied to the locomotive wheels through the air brakes, it will diminish the effects of the dynamic brakes.
     
  5. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    Coming towards Viaduct Junction as we speak....bailed off the independent brakes in dynamic now at 6 wopping 32 amps

    Mark
    2 emergency stops later holding steady at 26 mph 0.5% grade
     
  6. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    I haven't run down the grade in a couple of days, but to my knowledge no update to Sand Patch has been made since Jan 11. Certainly my game files don't have a March 2 modification date other than NTP (I don't own SEHS). I have had no problem with dynamic brakes.

    Keep in mind, with a heavy freight dynamics alone will NOT hold speed on a significant downgrade; you have to periodically apply the train brake, bleed off 5-10 mph, release, let speed build, lather, rinse, repeat.

    (As an aside: don't bale off too early. You should do it just prior to releasing the train brake, not before).
     
  7. met_cui98

    met_cui98 Member

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    I just ran a test on Xbox, and it appears that something in the latest core update has affected the dynamic brakes on the GP38. After entering setup and getting some amps, further increasing the dynamic brake notch had no effect on the dynamic brakes. Others in the Technical Reports forum are reporting similar issues with the GP38 and SD40-2.
     
  8. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    You're right. Just tried it, DBs do NOT work! And not just the 38, but ALL EMD diesels- Peninsula Corridor as well as Sand Patch.
     
  9. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    Oh dear! I'll have to check this out and see for myself. This would not be good. How could an update that doesn't even involve SPG or PCR break the DB's? Could it be a console thing? I don't see how. I'm on PC.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2021
  10. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    I'm guessing that they did something in the core in preparation for Clinchfield's ancient EMD diesels.

    But it stinks, because for the time being I can't run my favorite route, except in the rather sterile 4400.
     
  11. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    And that loco's dynamic brake doesn't work properly either, even before the update.
     
  12. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    Doesn't work correctly compared to RL, but at least it functionally slows the train down.
     
  13. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    I just completed the Power for America Scenario Parts 1 and 2

    The 4400 dynamics worked perfectly during part 2 - I varied them from notch 1 to 8 and was able to keep the train at a steady 26-30 mph all the way down the mountain - just small applications of train brakes needed from time to time to keep it near the limits.

    Same can't be said for the unit on the rear of the train - this 4400 was nothing but dead weight did no pushing or helping to stop. This despite having the distribution power fuse on and the banking comms set to on as well in the lead loco.

    If there was anything I missed in the setup of the lead unit let me know for next time else its a bug in the game.
     
  14. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    If you also have the brake valve set to "freight" and MU2A to "Lead or Dead" on the lead loco, you should be good to go. I recall this is done on the IFD for the AC4400CW.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2021
  15. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    The lead unit of the banking pair should have its brake control valve cut OUT, not in: the manual is wrong. But that only affects the train brake, not engine power.

    Did you turn on the radio fuse in the banking lead?
     
  16. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    Also, count yourself fortunate that you played this scenario after it was "fixed" by removing the half that didn't work right. Many of us were kept awake at night struggling with this one.
     
  17. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    Thanks Guys for the info. I thought the Distribution power fuse was the radio on the 4400. Where is the radio switch on the big GE unit?
     
  18. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    The distributed power fuse just turns on distributed power. For banking comms, first you need to make sure the radio fuse is on (on the back wall), and then turn on the radio itself (above the windshield)
     
  19. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    Thanks - really Appreciate it
     
  20. matthewbguilford

    matthewbguilford Well-Known Member

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    • Helpful Helpful x 1
  21. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    Just played coal scenario with the C40-8W on the Xbox One and can report the dynamics worked perfectly using this engine
     
  22. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    The C40-8W was never affected by the bug. Only EMD engines.
     
  23. david5150

    david5150 Well-Known Member

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    I’m just on this now and have just made my fourth emergency brake application. The only way to slow this thing down. Painful.
     
  24. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    The bug was fixed over a week ago. You should never need emergency brakes coming down Sand Patch: full dynamics, plus service application every once in a while to bleed off 10 mph or so.
     
  25. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    This is not true. The bug was not fixed. It may have stopped occurring for some people (and as far as reported only on PC) but for most people, and I dare say everyone here in console land the issue is still very much a thing.
     
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  26. david5150

    david5150 Well-Known Member

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    Well said.
     
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  27. tim#3727

    tim#3727 New Member

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    Really makes SPG very unenjoyable. I hope they fix it for Clinchfield. I’m really looking forward to the F7
     

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  28. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    Definitely not true. I played 2 timetable services with the GP 38-2 on Friday and I made it down the grade with a 1465 Ton train and 2 Geeps with no emergency stops no dynamics (not working). The second one with a 3397 ton train required one emergency stop to make it
    down. Still earned gold medal for both. But definitely not fixed - either GP 38 or SD40-2
     
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  29. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    Hmmmm. It's a bit confusing that the bug would have been fixed on one platform and not the others- but there it is: dynamic brakes work fine on PC. (Well, except that the AC4400 is as wonky as ever)
     
  30. rhysrobinson336

    rhysrobinson336 Member

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    I recently had this yesterday driving service Q352 with a pair of GP38-2s. After passing sand patch summit I put throttle to neutral and dynamic brake to setup for around 10 seconds and then proceeded to apply it other than a few amps in the negative, the engines didn’t rev up and moving dynamic brake lever didn’t do anything.
     
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  31. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    Yes the GP 38 and SD 40 engines dynamics dont work
     
  32. rhysrobinson336

    rhysrobinson336 Member

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    I recently drove a pair of SD 40s and the dynamics on it worked fine.
     
  33. hawks5896

    hawks5896 Member

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    I concur at least on the Xbox the SD40 Dynamics are working fine
     

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