With just one day to go until you can enjoy Spirit of Steam: Liverpool Lime Street – Crewe, we take you through a detailed guide on how to get the LMS Stanier Jubilee and 8F Class locomotives on the move, and how to get the most out of these magnificent machines. Read More : Spirit Of Steam - Driver Guide (dovetailgames.com)
Thought I’d add this for anyone who may find it helpful additional: Royal Train configuration is 3 along the bottom and 1 in the middle top (A combined with H)
Really interesting post thanks for that! Interesting it doesn't apply to the Southern region? Did southern have their own separate head code?
Southern didn't have headcodes as such, they used destination/route indicators instead: https://sremg.org.uk/headcodes/sheadcodes/04.html
Will brake application be the same as on the TSC version. i.e. small ejector on very slightly to prevent loss of vacuum, brake handle has to be feathered back to off to effectively lap the reduction (which may still leak off depending how far the small ejector is open) with the large ejector then used as the brake release? I am getting the hang of it now in TSC but while I love the Bossman stuff (plan to get the Merchant Navy next, when is that coming to TSW??) this particular aspect wasn’t well covered in the manual and involved a bit of trial and error on my part. Sort of train driving sudoku.
I was thinking Spirit Of Steam 2... Merchant Navy and West Country Pacifics with either: Salisbury to Yeovil or Yeovil to Exeter (for Honiton Bank), or Southampton to Bournemouth or Bournemouth to Weymouth. Mind Woking to Salisbury would be a good racetrack, too.
I would have to say Eastleigh - Poole what with 4 roads at Bournemouth two through roads used for the Boat trains and express goods) and the 1:80 Parkstone Bank (with Banking locomotives) out of Poole :p Eastleigh for merely the point that you have the huge depot / yard and you can have the Weymouth / Waterloo bound channel island boat trains screaming through on the up and down fast :p i also knebworthed Gatwick Station reading your post lol.
This will come in handy! Will save a copy for future reference Is there anything that states speed restrictions for each train classification?
Much as I am looking forward to steam this is a dreary route to choose in an unattractive part of the country ( yes, I used to live near the line). I can't help thinking the GWR coastal line between Exeter and Kingswear would have been a much better choice for an international product. GWR Kings and Castles and chocolate and cream coaches by the sea beats Stanier's characterless creations in the industrial wasteland of the north west any time...
Well personally I'm having a blast with the 8F across Port Road in TSC at present. Some lovely scenery, plenty of gradients to keep you on your toes would have been ideal, even if only Dumfries to Stranraer, yes @70 miles but the build time would be offset by most of it countryside and none of the big yards that will be dragging down frame rate on the chosen route. Yes train service was probably a bit sparse but then maybe that would have left more time to attend to the small details, Anyhow just got to slow down for Crossmichael, currently running 10' late but will have a go at making that up.
Found this on RM Web, might help: Class C (fully fitted) - up to 60 mph. Loco with driving wheels over 5', can be passenger loco. Class D -(part fitted) around 45mph. Loco typically what the Victorians called a 'goods' engine, 5'+ driving wheels 0-6-0 such as MR 3F, GW Dean Goods, all the main line companies had them and used them on what we would call mixed traffic work, passenger/parcels as well as goods. Class E, F (part fitted), and H ('through') - around 30mph. Loco may be 'goods' or possibly mogul Class K (stopping in section, branch pickup or local trip) -20mph Class J (mineral) lower than 20mph, very slow accelleration and braking. Loco usually not vacuum braked and driving wheels sub-5'. 8-coupled on long haul jobs, otherwise 'mineral' 6 - coupled.
Found this which might be interesting to some of you: It feels rather more in depth as a first introduction to steam (the 8F in particular in this case) compared to what DTG have supplied thus far.
I've also done some research into the subject and come up with similar results! Apparently fitted/partially fitted trains were around 40-45mph depending on the ratio of fitted to unfitted in the train. Although a few places stated that BR introduced a blanket 40mph due to 4 wheeled old style stock etc? (not sure if that applied to express freight like fish etc though) and for unfitted mineral wagons its says again around 20mph due to the heavy loads and unfitted wagons. But other sites said that due to lack of speedos it was largely up to the crews to judge the speeds they felt able to operate safely at. Again I may be wrong but I'm sure there are other people who can point out and know the differences buts its an interesting subject! One of the sites I looked at which is well worth a read: http://igg.org.uk/rail/7-fops/fo-intro.htm
Driving wheel size wasn't always a good indicator of operational speed or speed limit. Standard nines had 5' drivers and were often seen on slow mineral trains but could also be used on express passenger - and often were on routes like the Somerset and Dorset. By the BR period many steam locos were dual purpose. Midland 4Fs were goods engines but often appeared on passenger services at weekends and holidays when patterns of traffic demand required. Almost all BR standards were dual purpose, some having different power ratings for passenger and goods.
The video is very helpful, but it does suffer from YouTube breathlessness. Why so fast guys? Slow down, take a breath, let your audience think over what you’ve just said before moving on.
Well it will be interesting to see with the goods trains, whether the HUD displays the maximum train speed or maximum line speed. Ideally it should be the former. One thing I’ve noticed with the Bossman 8F in TSC is if you start trying to run at passenger speeds, the boiler requires almost constant topping up even at 30% cutoff and 65 or 70% regulator. If it wasn’t for the fact there seems to be a sneaky minimum cap on how low pressure can go (around 142 psi) you should really be running out of steam and grinding tona halt.
Matt said not all controls in the steam loco that move really do anything,So is there in in cab grafic to show this,so as to not waste time trying to keep track of what controls works and what doesn't,driving the steam train already hard enough.
I agree with you comment. Taking a breath to allow the viewer to process the huge amount of information would be very helpful.
That's the pre-nationalisation Southern Railway - BR(S) can be found here: https://www.bloodandcustard.com/SR-Headcodes.html The complex nature of the Southern network with multiple possible routings (especially for boat trains) required a more complex system.
He's a question i think could use some explaining"How do you release the brakes on a 2nd steam loco when you have two or more hooked together(So far all i can find to do is manually release the brakes from the 2 cab).But i see both loco are hooked up with what looks like a control line,so is there a way to operate both locos from the lead loco?
In reality steam locos only ever worked in tandem, i.e. as independent machines with their own crews. Brake application and release would be done from the leading loco, the inside loco effectively being part of the through braked train. However power would be applied and shut off by the crew on the second loco as required. What you see as a control line would be the vacuum brake pipe.
For those of you that prefer reading a document, I created the TSW Steam loco drivers guide. It is suitable for beginners in steam driving.and I tried to avoid too much detail. You can download it now for free at my website: https://www.hollandhiking.nl/trainsimulator
Thank you for another great TSW2 resource! For those new to this game, Rudolf’s TSW2 Starter’s Guide is an excellent starting point and user’s manual.
There is a separate section on speed limits, though it targets to freight. For passenger trains I will add it, once I find the proper information. Avoiding derailment is covered in the section on braking.
OK thank you! Your guide is really great and helpful! Thanks for the work you put into it. I was just able to complete a cargo service after having to save 5 times. I thought I had it under control now and started the next service. There I was supposed to stop just before a red signal, was less than 5mph fast and braked easily and precisely. When I came to a stop, I was derailed. That can't be right and as far as I understand, the problem is known at DTG and should be fixed as soon as possible! I don't understand why this works fine with the Jubilee but not with the 8f. What the heck did they shoot again? This is so very frustrating! Ok, other than that they did a really great job! I really thought it would be very difficult to drive these locos. But it's very easy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the controls. It's just great fun to drive.
DTG JD and TrainSim-Adam I am not really sure where to put this. Its kind of a request and I am unclear if its been requested by anyone else. Sorry if it has. In this foruth coming update for Spirit of steam can we have the option in Scenario creator to have a steam locomotive plus one coach (the Brake Second open). This would be used as a support coach for when the loco is moving around on the UK network (in the modern era routes) pretty much as they do in real life today from home depot to place where its to pick up its train. Also can we have the option to use the 8F as well in Scenario creator for passenger work and a support coach so we can prototypically run these along modern day routes. And yes before anyone mentions I know they dont have OTMR, AWS and all the upto date safety gubbins they should have. Cheers Hentis
It needs to be made considerably clearer that fireman should be set to automatic in settings to start getting used to the game. I found it considerably difficult to go anywhere without completely losing boiler pressure. When automatic fireman enabled it didn't take me long to get the jubilee up to 90mph and still retaining boiler pressure. One of the biggest put offs last night when I bought it I thought I'd wasted my money as I couldn't fire and drive at same time.
Great find. I found the same site while doing research independently and was just about to post it. For anyone not wanting to read the entire thing, here’s the relevant section for freight speed limits:
Can anyone tell how the reverser settings affect it? Basically I only notice a noticeable change at 75%, 50% and 0%. Everything in between doesn't seem to really make an impact?
...the reverser controls the passage of steam forced through the cylinders, reducing wheel spin and wear and tear on a real steam locomotive. If the boiler pressure is too low, the pressure can be increased again by reducing the passage or a lower setting. Driving a steam locomotive is a science in itself.
The Jubilee seems to be particularly happy at lower settings on the reverser. At high speeds, I have often have it in single digits. On the long flat stretch north of Crewe, I have found having the throttle at just under 70 and the reverser at 25 a great way to build up speed beyond 50 mph and maintain steam pressure on the Jubilee. At higher speeds, both the reverser and throttle need to come down. Otherwise, the steam cylinder back pressure gets in your way. It’s not unusual to be approaching 85-90 mph with the throttle at 25 and the reverser at or below 10. I have no real experience driving steam engines. This comes from learning how to drive the magnificent locos Smokebox made for TS.
I did believe I heard it mentioned somewhere that the reverser is not to be set below 25%, is there any truth to that, and if so, why?
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heusinger-Steuerung#Ziel_und_Zweck translated: This construction essentially fulfills three goals: Because the drive rod and slide rod move in opposite directions over a quarter turn, the position of the slide hardly changes due to the arrangement of the advance lever, so that it is possible for the filling quantity to remain at its maximum during this phase. This construction changes the movement of the slide rod, which essentially follows a sinusoidal oscillation, in the direction of a square-wave oscillation. This keeps the spool fully open for a longer period of time, increasing the efficiency of the drive [1] . Since the direction of movement and the stroke of the slide push rod can be adjusted from the driver's cab using the control rod, the working direction of the steam cylinders can be controlled - and thus the direction of travel of the locomotive: forwards or backwards. The capacity of the cylinder can also be controlled by varying the distance between the rocker arm and the pivot point of the rocker arm. I now understand it in such a way that, let's say, between 50-75% there is a sine wave, below that a square wave begins. This also means that the rectangular run also continues in reverse gear (when driving forward). Reverse gear would only have a braking effect here when running in a sine wave. Until then, the square run in reverse gear works but in a negative setting angle, which has a positive effect on consumption to a certain extent in forward run and keeps the speed? Exciting topic...
hey rudolf Just wanted to let you know that my friend is trying to get in touch with you regarding the usage of the semaphore signal images in the manual you made