Epic Db Br 101 Instruments And Driving Help

I bought DBBR 101 as part of the new Epic sale and I find the train very enjoyable, though some of the buttons are nor covered in the manual, if someone could tell me what are these for I 's appreciate that.

1. What are those three switches bottom left? Do they have any affect on the driving?


2. What is this switch for?




3. Whenever I approach a station (without HUD - as always), when I go past the 500Hz magnet, it is saying something in German sound what I never heard before in any trains and I can't use the throttel any more , the train just slows down slowly.

4. When AFB on, how do you stop the train? With the brake levers or with the AFB lever or both?

5. When I set AFB and I use the throttle as Mat said ( to the maximum), wheels start to slip. Is there any indicator in the cabin beside that the train wouldn't accelerate properly I could figure out that the wheels are slipping?

Thanks in advance.

 

1.: NBÜ: Notbremsüberbrückung = Emergency brake bridging: is used for bridging the emergency brakes and make the train drive again, mostly used in tunnels.



2.: Multiple Unit Method: These are settings to let the train drive in double traction (zeitmultiplexe Mehrfachtraktionssteuerung ZMS); ZWS is Zeitmultiplexe Wendezugsteuerung which basically enables the possibility to drive the train from a cab car; ZDS BR 120 is another form of the ZMS which was introduced with the BR 120



3.: In the BR 101, when you go below 30 kmh, it says Türfreigabe which is a reminder to open the doors.



4.: You can use the AFB to reduce speed in general but if you have to stop the train, dont use it. Use the dynamic brakes and the air brakes.



5.: In the BR 101 you can either hear the wheelslip or if you look at the speedometer in the cab you can see the speedometer going up and down. In my experience you are good to go with a maximum of 40 KN when accelerating in the dry.

 

No effect on driving. From left to right: A switch for testing the battery, a switch to bridge the passengers’ emergency brake valves, and a switch to determine whether the brake signal is sent to coaches pneumatically or via electrics.

Not simulated (edit: see Maik Goltz’s post below). It’s for switching between different protocols of multiple unit controls (for controlling 2 locos or driving from a cab car).

If you’re hearing something in German you haven’t heard before while slowing down, it’s likely Türfreigabe - door release. It plays when reaching 30km/h to remind the driver that they need to unlock the doors for passengers. This shouldn’t lock you out of the throttle though, a video would be helpful.

Always with the brake levers, never with AFB. AFB is intended to help you hold a speed, it’s never used to apply the brakes by moving the lever to a lower position.

The 101 utilises something called super slip. The loco allows the wheels to turn slightly faster than the train is moving which maximises the amount of tractive effort you can put on the rails. This is pretty much never used in real life anymore since it causes a deafening screeching throughout, much to the annoyance of the driver, the passengers, and anyone living close to the line. Wear and tear on the wheels and rails is also increased by quite a bit. If you want avoid using the super slip, make sure to apply no more than 40kN of tractive effort per traction motor.

 

NBÜ: Specifically, it interacts with the passenger emergency brake handles in the coaches: if a passenger or train staff pulls one and the train stops, the driver needs to be able to override it and move the train if it comes to a stop in a tunnel, on a bridge or in some other unsafe spot.

Since TSW's passenzombies will never yank the handle, it's irrelevant.

 

Wrong. At least one mode is simulated for sure. It is the ZDS/BR120 mode and allows you to control a second BR101. If you have 2 locos and this is not switched to the mode on both, they don't know from each other and the second loco will not react. It is rarely used in TSW yet, only with the sandwich trains. But it works.

 

I can confirm that the ZDS/BR120 switch is working because you needed that for a mod that replaces the ICE on HMA with IC sandwich trains and it definitely is simulated.

 

Honestly didn’t expect that. I thought it was just a knob without function in TSW.

 

Thank you guys for the many useful info.

Just to complete the 'what is that switch' scheme, could you please advise on those circled with red?

 

Top one: brake mode selector: rapid, passenger or goods. With the IC car set, leave it in R

bottom left: battery test

under the brake mode selector: electric or pneumatic brake actuation. Always use E

the three square buttons have to do with lighting

 

The switches with G P R are for the brakes. Thats a feature that has been introduced with DRA and it is basically for brake timings. P and R are used for passenger trains and light freight while G is used for medium to heavy freight.
The "Batterie Prüfen" switch is for testing whether the battery works fine.
The switch with pn el pn is for switching between electric and pneumatic brakes.

 

Thanks again. I love this forum.
Back to ZDS R120/ZWS / ZMS - I understand that you use to select for different multiple unit configs.
But which one in which case?
There is a scenario (can't remember the name when there is one 10 pulling and one pushing. What is the correct setting there?

 

If you have a loco in front and a loco at the rear, you choose ZDS BR 120 in both locos.

 

And when do you use the others?

 

ZWS is when you are driving from a cab car with the 101 at the rear. Unfortunately the IC cab car isnt included in that DLC. ZMS is used when you have 2 locos pulling the train.

 

Fantastic, thanks for all these very useful details.

 

Not as i know, at least for the BR101. If you have two BR101 together they also use the ZDS/BR120 protocol. ZMS was never used on the 101s. I assume it was meant to being used with newer locos like the BR152 and maybe even the newer TRAXX for multiple formation (3+ locos) or non ZDS compatible locos.

 

Ok thats good to know. I wonder if Double traction was a regular thing on the BR 101 at any point. Thanks for the info anyways

 

It happened some times, but it is not much common because the train would be limited to 160kph (because of the short distance between pantographs). Do a Google picture search after "BR101 Doppeltraktion". There are just a few of them, some PbZ trains (long heavy trains without passengers to bring wagons to somewhere).

 

If we are talking about 101, is it normal that the acceleration is very very slow when it is raining? If I put throttle to 40-50% wheels slip. If I leave under it takes miles to gain speed let alone reach the 130km/hours limit. If this is the way it works I am more then happy with it, but it is a bit strange I have never experienced it with other locos though I usually drive DMUs, EMUs.

 

Matt was talking about going 250 km/h in the ICE under automatic (LZB) control. For the 101, you use as much throttle as you can before the traction dial starts suddenly slipping <-- and that's your in-cab indicator for wheelslip

 

The guys did the math here (in German) and when pulling 14 cars, a BR 101 would accelerate at 0.42 m/s^2.

Another website tells me with that acceleration, it would take 66 seconds and 915 metres to get to a speed of 100 km/h.

 

The problem maybe different and it is something I am missing despite watching several videos.

I drive with AFB on let's say 150km/h. I need to slow down to 100 km/h. What I do:
-throttle to off, AFB lever stays where it was (150)
-reduce speed to 100 with the train brake, then brake back to running
-throttle set back to ~40 kN traction force and......nothing happens. Train is seemingly coasting.

Any idea?

 

Yes, this is a very powerful loco. You’ll find even at 130-40kmh you might not get full throttle without a little wheel slip

 

Did you actually put the throttle to off or only to minimum?

 

I'm not sure if this prototypical but I move the afb handle back to 100. Most of the time the train will brake itself . You just increase afb when you want to speed up again.

IF you use brakes, you will have to put throttle back to off position when you have released brakes, you should see the red square round the throttle notch indicator turn to white again meaning you can continue

 

Thanks. That was it. I thought that was off. It needs another push back though interestingly it felt like it was off.

 

Yes, "off" is an additional notch beyond "0"

 

one thing - how do you check that the second loco is reacting as it should? I mean, I know where to turn on the ZDS in the head loco, but what about the rear loco? does it matter in which cab there you turn the switch on? the one on the direct opposite of your driving cab, or the cab near the coaches?

edit: the question about which cab was stupid, as I realized that only the lead cab has the MU switch anyway, how do you check that the MU method works? by the noise of the motor? or by readout on the other loco display (camera 3)

 

As far as AFB goes, my understand is (any German drivers please correct me if I'm wrong), but my understanding is that it is only used to prevent over speeding. Basically it lightens the workload for the driver.

Whenever I drive any train that is equipped with AFB, I still use the electric and air brakes manually. I also strategically coast to manage my kinetic energy, I watch the gradients and react to them accordingly, and I try to consume as little energy as possible. I'll still have AFB set to my target speed, but I'll allow myself to coast below that speed if it works for that particular moment.

When going down heavy grades, I'll set the power to idle, and let AFB manage the electric brake to hold my speed. Once at the bottom of the grade I watch what the train does and either continue coasting or apply power accordingly.

AFB can only control the traction motors and I find it it does it that aggressively, so I still drive the train as smoothly as I can. Too much dynamic braking force can actually derail a train but that's a whole other conversation.

I find that letting the train coast makes for a smoother ride. Coasting before a brake application also makes it makes it easier to stop in the correct place. Kinetic energy as it applies to heavy rail vehicles is extremely interesting to me.

https://www.youtube.com/@ic_lokfuehrer
This channel is interesting. You can see what controls are being manipulated in different situations.

 

ok, here is a question from me - I have been doing this service on Rosenheim - Salzburg:

departure time from Freilassing around 09:43

this is probably the only service in this DLC for BR101 that uses sandwich formation... so, how it should be done? I mean, I have been driving some time those sandwich formations, but now that I think of it, I would like to know if I am doing it correctly

(FIRST METHOD) should I FIRST set-up the lead loco and THEN turn on the ZDS BR120 switches in lead and trailing loco

OR

(SECOND METHOD )should I FIRST turn on the ZDS BR120 switches in lead and trailing loco and THEN set up the rest of stuff in the lead cab?

or are BOTH correct and should work?

second question is - how can I reliably, WITHOUT a doubt, check if the trailing loco is working?

some additional info: I tried the service first just setting up the lead loco and hauling the second loco pretty much as a dead weight and then I tried the proper sandwich stuff, using the second method... tested both from Freilassing till Traunstein... arrival times at Traunstein were almost identical... with the sandwich stuff, the acceleration and braking was a bit smoother... and one detail - when doing just front loco, the PZB showed notification that let me release (first couple hundred meters) and when doing sandwich, it showed nothing, but the indicators in cab blinked between 85 and 70

so, I would appreciate help in this... I know, not a big deal for some of you, but I like definite answers so I do it properly ... also, dont hesitate to write a more detailed answer )) thx

 

You need to turn the selector zds120 on both locos. In tsw you can check from the noise if the locos producing power. (On the 182 you can see the second loco in the display)

For me funny seems the fact all 3 switch positions seems to work.

ZMS: tested s consist of 3 br101, and all produced power in zms mode.

ZWS: dosto cabcar works too, even if the 101 wouldnt be in service with them

Maybe its a tsw4 change, to connect the vehicles without modeled switch.
The vectron can also be driven from the dosto cab car.

 

but do I need to turn on both switches BEFORE setting up the lead loco, or AFTER? does this really matter?

and question no.2 - from which angle/side do I check the noise? closer to raised panto or closer to the cab with the switch ?

anyway, I wish there was some indicator in the HUD or sth that would show if the second loco is producing power y know, my OCD brain is killing me... I have just spent like 4 hrs testing this, and while I am noticing differences, they are not clear enough I guess... or maybe I should get some sleep before doing more testing

 

not in my version of the timetable. the IC Köningssee (2082 and 2083) runs with only one 101 as it did and runs around at Freilassing. who doesn't love some shunting. I think that service at KWG does run with a sandwich service as it did irl. I think it combines somewhere. it also ran with 182's a few times I think. looking at vagonweb. some years it did run as a sandwich.

 

wcwood92, that sounds like perfect driving techniques except for this bit:

AFB holding the speed with gentle traction and braking is fine on the ups and downs of mostly level track but heavy gradients are exactly when control should be taken away from AFB - it’s as heavy-handed with braking as it is with traction.

 

guuuys, I know you are skillful drivers with lots of knowledge, so pls, anyone, can answer my questions from above?

I know I could probably run that service with just lead BR101 (not sure tho if the second loco is then just a dead weight or it at least provides additional power via pantograph to the lead loco), but I would really like to run the sandwich formation properly thx

 

Nothing more you can do than making sure the second loco is correctly set up, and both control switches are in the ZDS 120 position.

If that doesn't work, it may do so in the Expert 101. On the TSC vR locos, you got keyboard shortcuts and script messages telling you when ZSW communication is established.

I'll test this on the supplied sandwich consist on BRO, first playing the service normally and then with the second loco removed. That's IC 1933.

Too bad all this important stuff neither comes with a manual or tutorial scenario.

 

so it doesnt matter if you activate the switches before or after setting up the lead loco (before releasing the brakes and applying power ofc), it should work in both cases?

as for checking if the second loco works as it should in MU mode, do you only go by noise or are there other ways?

at home I will do some thorough testing, but am curious at your experience and such

 

See if you're arriving at different times. You could also check the traction display in the second loco by using the cab switch keys.

I see that, to my surprise, the IC1933 (12:29) has their pantos correctly set up. First constraint is to always keep them at maximum distance possible, so both locos have their outward pantos raised.

(Best to spawn on foot at Oldenburg 12:25 and take over the train from there, platform 7. It's already set up.) Use AFB for correct timing, throttle 80% is what I'm using on the 101.

 

Thanks for that bit of feedback! Good to know before semmeringbahn releases
I think I’ll do some practice in the Vectron tonight

 

Here is all I set up for top and tail 101 running:

1) In the lead loco, set the Multiple Unit Method switch on the back wall all the way to the left at ZDS BR120.
2) Set the pantograph switch from auto to 1.
3) Walk to the rear loco (I couldn't get the control shortcuts to behave and you have plenty of time) and set the rear wall Multiple Unit Method switch to ZDS BR120.
4) Control 0 back to the lead loco.
5) MCB switch to off. Panto down.
6) Panto up. MCB switch to on.
7) Set up your cab and leave on time

This works for me in one of my all-time favorite services to drive:

SKA Expansion Pack
IC1941 Berlin Ostbahnhof to Köln Hbf Stuttgart Hbf
DB BR 101

 

The question is, does the second loco actual supply traction? Its traction gauge stays at zero for me, you can use the 3 cam to look through the windows.

Just timed a checkpoint at km 8.4, now redoing the BRO IC1933 with ZDS disabled.

 

I have concluded my tests, result: ZDS is working

1st image shows IC1933 with ZDS enabled, 2nd image with the unpowered second loco. A time difference of 18 seconds before hitting Wüsting platform.

 

so, if I read it correctly... first image shows 50A, second 100A... does that mean that in the first image aka MU mode, both locos take 50A, with distributed traction, while second shows lead loco taking 2x current, so the trailing loco is basically just supplying juice to the lead loco?

and did you turn on the ZDS before setting up lead loco or after you have done other switches in there?

 

I looked it up on the 101 manual someone posted a few days ago. because now I want to know too. after coupling the first thing you do is put ZMS to ZDS BR 120. this is only for a sandwich with wagons in between btw.

I imagine if the expert dlc releases there will be some tutorials so the testing place is not just gonna be a circle around the area.

 

my German is a bit rusty, but tell me if I understand correctly - first you set up the ZDS switches in both locos and THEN you set everything in the lead loco?

 

practically ingame yes. the pantograph selector should already be in auto, and the brake key and reverser handle is in all the loco's, cab light is off standard and machine room inaccessible.

So turn the rear loco to ZDS BR 120. Set the lights to tail lights. release the parking brake if needed. then go to the front. turn the switch to ZDS BR 120 and set the loco up as normal.

 

thx will test all three options (lead cab only, lead cab setup and then zds, and zds and then lead cab setup will take notes (bought an actual physical notebook and a pen for that lol) and after some runs (might take 2-3 runs per thing to account for stuff like me sleeping for a sec on acceleration lol) will let you guys know

 

The ZDS120 is selected during preparation when coupling with lower pantograph. (For safety reasons the ZS will only be allowed to coupled on a vehicle without connection to the ohle, which means pantograph down.)

According to the sheets you prepare the slave unit first, but its more because it makes sense to walk to the master loco and enter train data, rather then having technical reasons.

So after the consist has been prepared (panto selection, zds selector, tail light
..), at least your federspeicher should be still on and you should be in the master loco starting the master key to forward and raise panto etc.

Also doing the braketests, which i perform in tsw especially when coupling.
- angleichen to ca.5.3 bar and wait for 5 bar
- service brake application to 4.2 bar and close the brake key (count to 10) If the brake pipe pressure is rising you forgot to close the valve at the end, which leads to significant longer brakedistance. Only a "schnellbremsung" could safe you after starting your trip with 2 active brake keys and lazy brake preparation

It happens in real, even more dangerous in tsw with self coupled sandwich consists.

 

In reality you would check brake continuity too. This is not possible 1:1 in tsw as it would be done in reality.

It means if you accidently kept close the red handle after the loco, you train could be total empty of air and unbraked.

This you would notice instant, making the brake continuity test.

 

I always wondered what Ancheicher activiert meant in the vectron. driving it feels like a light brake for when you are stopped at a station, but I expect that releases after you are driving over 3 km/h. at stations I always keep my brake at 1b or with a very light train the loco brake if I have to leave quickly.