I am looking at what North American dlc to buy next but there's so many options and I don't know what to choose.
You might get a better recommendation if you include what routes you already own, and what type of operations you are interested in. My personal picks for NA are SPG for freight and HAR for passenger, although, I do also like NEC-BP and the Acela is probably coming out for it soon, but I would expect not for TSW2.
If you like freight. Then spg, clinchfield and Sherman hill. Spg has lots of variety, fun activities and nothing compares to it these days. Sherman Hill is empty scenery wise and not a lot of variety, but it has really good braking physics and mechanics. If you are on a xbox series console, you get longer consists up to 100 freight cars. Clinchfield is also good. The journey mode is really well done cuz it flows using the branch lines and spurs. Part 1 2 3 4, etc so you just continue where you left off. If you like passenger, then Harlem and Boston Providence. And maybe peninsula corridor. Harlem is a good route although it's short length wise and there's red light issues. Boston Providence is good too with high speed runs and commuter runs but the signaling systems aren't good. Peninsula corridor has only diesel runs and the f40 is quite challenging to master. The gp38 has local freight runs and unique services. The mp15 dlc has unique and interesting runs. The mp36 is also a great locomotive. There are some timetable issues but peninsula corridor is well done.
Just what I was wondering myself. I have been thinking about Pen Cor but not a passenger fan and would only buy it to add the MP15. However you make the FP40 sound like I should give it a try despite the psger operations. i had also been looking at SPG but the thread on derailments has me questioning it.
I personally wouldn't recommend horseshoe curve because it does not have good braking physics or mechanics. I haven't touched horseshoe curve for a while for that reason. It's a major step back from sherman hill. The sounds of the es44ac are not great. The environment is more colorful than other freight routes and it is well done. You get end to end runs, runs to cresson, runs on the south fork branch, coal loading and runs with the gp38 that are basically like end to end runs. Not a lot of shunting. If you are going for more realism, then horseshoe curve is not it.
Yea, the interesting thing about the f40 and cab car is the manually lapped braking which takes practice to learn to know how much to apply, when to apply, etc. It is quite fun. Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier.
Is this the same as in Clinchfield on the F7? I notice when you brake it goes to First Application, then Lap, then Full Service, then Emergency Application... I never understood this Lap thing and it seems as if it does nothing. Can you explain or link me to some explanation?
In the f40, the brake has release, holding, lap, service, handle off and emergency. Release is releasing brakes. Holding allows you to refill the main reservoir and brake pipe. Lap holds the current brake amount that is in the brake cylinder Service applies brake so you will see your brake cylinder go up. Then handle off and emergency which are self explanatory. So if you want to stop, you would put the brake into service until you reach a certain brake amount. Let's say 20. If you want to hold that, you go into lap. If you want to release, go into release. The good thing about the f40 is that you can refill your main res and brake pipe as you are sitting in a station. Remember, your brakes become less effective with the same amount as your main res and brake pipe go down and if you run out, you get no brake. So putting the handle into holding when you've stopped at a station, allows you to fill the main res and brake pipe back to full so you can have effective brakes. The link below is a braking tutorial Matt did a while back in tsw2. Jump to around 2:55:00 where he does a run on peninsula corridor and explains what he is doing and the braking.
Want a working M7 & M3 that are improved over the LIRR versions then the Harlem Line is for you. Be aware that you can get a Stop Signal Overrun the US Terminology for a UK RAIB TSW 3 SPAD during the AM & PM Peak services due to heavy PTC action.
What rennekton already explained very thoroughly and just to add: My very same troubles with the lap brakes (BR363) stopped when I started to figure out that it is all about TIMING. Meaning it is not about how FAR you push/pull the brake lever when in lap, but about HOW LONG you apply that lever in a certain position. You need to watch the brake pressure building up, best in the HUD, and return the lever to "lap" if you see a certain amount of pressure at the gauges. Always mind the delays in pressure building (at least with the older locos like the F7) and return the lever, If not, you might soon reach the "emergency" stage. And releasing brakes from that stage can be a real pita. To the OP fizpix : I second former posters when they state "Sand Patch Grade for starters" and "Clinchfield for some real excitement" (handling a 5000t coal train with the aged F7 on a 3,4% grade with goose bumps guaranteed ) If you are into freight, that is ...
Thanks guys. That video instruction was pretty good. I have a better idea of this whole Lap thing now.
