Guide Acela: Tips And Tricks

I thought I'd start a thread sharing some of the stuff I learned about the Acela during development and also point out some of the physics/systems peculiarities that I implemented that might trip some people up.

1. Cruise control: One major thing you will find different about driving the Acela compared to other trains is the cruise control. The Acela lacks a dedicated dynamic brake lever. Instead you can apply dynamic braking by setting the cruise control to a lower speed and then manipulate the effort with the throttle lever.

I find that when driving the Acela I often don't even use the train brake and instead use the cruise control to decelerate to an upcoming speed restriction. It is not as strong as the friction brakes but if you brake well in advance it works quite well, and it's eco friendly too!

2. Traction lock and blended braking: When the ABCL (train brake handle) is moved to Minimum Application or greater the traction motors transition to braking mode. When this happens the throttle will control the dynamic braking effort rather than tractive effort. This dynamic braking effort is based on the level of train brake application and the throttle setting. Note that the throttle commands effort rather than power so the braking effort should be relatively constant, independent of speed.

For example, if you make a minimum application the dynamic braking effort will increase up to around 12 klbf at a throttle setting of around 34%. Any increase in the throttle above this level will not yield more dynamic brake effort (unless the cruise control is also active and a lower speed is set).

If the dynamic brakes are not providing enough effort for the train brake application (either due to the throttle level being lower or because the traction motors are already at full power) the control systems will automatically apply friction brakes to make up for the lack of dynamic brake effort.

3. Dead sections and main circuit breaker: On Boston-Providence there are several dead sections. Before these sections the engineer will open the main circuit breaker (MCB). One interesting thing that cActUsjUiCe explained to me is that opening the MCB will automatically apply rheostatic braking and engineers often use this to brake for smaller speed restrictions. This mechanism is implemented on the Acela! If you open the MCB the power cars will apply a small amount of dynamic braking all the way down to about 23 mph when the rheostatic braking cuts out.

4. Wheel slip, slide and braking: The speedometer on the Acela power car is linked to the rotational speed of the axles. This means that if the wheels start slipping (or sliding) the speedometer will show a value that is more or less than the actual speed. While getting the wheels to completely lock up is quite rare the speed might drop quite a bit while braking harshly in low adhesion, especially if you fully utilize the blended braking. Be warned: this might mean that you release too early while slowing down for an ACSES speed restriction or ATC cab signal downgrade.

The sander might come of use in situations like this. It is not automatically activated by the WSP unless you make (or have forced upon you) an emergency brake application.

Also, the train will brake worse in snow or rain so if the weather is poor, make sure to start braking early!

5. The rear is drier than the front: Another feature relating to low adhesion/WSP is that since the rear power car has the benefit of... well being last so the tracks beneath it's wheels will be drier. This means that the adhesion is slightly higher on the rear than the front. This is simulated and should be visible on the MFD in rain/snow.

6. Some extra bits of information that don't involve features (or bugs) that I have worked on but that I know are implemented:
(a): If you initiate an emergency brake application (or have it forced on you) you need to move the ABCL to Handle Off before the brakes can be released.
(b): This is a bug and may be fixed (I'll update when/if): make sure to enable safety systems after you unlock the reverser and move it forward (or backwards) at New York Penn Station on NYT. This should prevent strange things from happening.
(c): Remember to both acknowledge and make a suppression application when you get an ATC cab signal downgrade or you either intersect the alert curve of ACSES (i.e. when the speed on the ADU, the panel with all the ATC/ACSES indications, starts to decrease).
(d): Even if you never intersected the alert curve (i.e. you started braking before the ACSES brake curve) you still need to acknowledge the reduction in the max authorized speed (MAS).

If you want to learn ATC, ACSES and the signal system on Boston-Providence in depth, you really owe it to yourself to watch Brandon's (cActUsjUiCe ) excellent tutorial!


7. Lastly: Make sure to use the snow brake regularly (about once every 20 minutes or before an upcoming station) when the temperatures are sub zero and there is snow on the tracks or in the air. That's all I'll say about this for now

EDIT: Degraded brake performance in cold weather should now implemented on the Acela in TSW4 (I can't confirm whether it is already a thing in TSW3 or if that will have to wait until the patch. It's been quite some time since I implemented this).
In freezing temperatures/snowy weather a layer of ice will slowly build up on the brakes which reduces the friction (and thus the brake force) significantly. Applying the brakes, either manually or using the snow brake, regularly will keep the brakes warm and clean from ice.

If you want to test it out in the game, my recommendation is to change the date to January and the weather pattern to "Snow Storm"

 

Yeah you did an amazing job with this train! Been a pleasure working with you. Thanks for this detailed write-up!

 

It's a great guide! But I have a question.

Do you know if there's a button that is responsible for opening and closing doors?

I don't mean (TAB + Open Doors) or ("U" keyboard key). I'm talking about real "in cab" button that I can touch by using my mouse (or analog on consoles) and move it forward to open/close the doors. I love all the locos that has that buttons because using "TAB" key just destroys all the immersion...

I must admit that I can't find anything like that. If there's no such a button how real train drivers of Acela do that?

 

I am not an expert, but from what I understand, Amtrak has conductors that will operate the doors, as well as take care of many passenger needs. It is not the engineer's role to manage the passengers in real life. The conductors would also communicate with the engineer via radio and/or hand signals in order to inform that the train is secured and ready to proceed.

 

Great post! And great train, I love it. I think it is my current fav in the game (two of my other favs are the Javelin and TGV so I guess it makes sense I'd like the Acela).

I love that it is a "high speed" train but still has a lot of operation tasks to keep you busy, combined with the fact that the routes it is on aren't straight shot auto-pilots. Also having 2 routes to drive it on from day 1 is a great benefit.

 

I noticed that when you open or close the doors on Acela, if you look just inside the door a little cover flies open which is where the guard panel is. So even though there aren't actual conductors in game I am thinking that panel opens up as a way of showing it is actually from there that the doors are operated. Nice touch.

 

I noticed that too! Nice touch indeed.

Really enjoyed reading about all these little details, the part about the rear wheels being drier than the front is fantastic also.

 

Wow, this is great.

 

When I have the cruise control on, the throttle handle doesn't seem to affect tractive effort, with the train just applying the maximum amount of power until wheelslip occurs as soon as I move the throttle into medium. It doesn't seem to matter wether I have 1% or 100% throttle, it will apply the same amount of tractive effort. This is kind of weird, because it causes quite some wheelslip in low adhesion conditions. Is this accurate behaviour, and if so, are there ways I can counteract the weelslip?

 

Really cool info- any chance we can get this stickied?

 

I just copied and pasted it into a Word document and saved.

 

Thanks for the tips ! Do you know where I can find a list of the dead sections on the route ? Thanks !

 

100% correct. That's where the side mirrors and actual conductors would come into play. Not only would the engineer use the side mirrors to see hand signals from the conductor, but he can also use them to look for any issues occurring on the platform.

 

I haven't been able to reproduce this issue. Would it be possible for you to make a video of the issue?

 

I'll see what I can do when I get home

 

There you go.

 

Can cruise control be assigned on a gamepad?

 

There are AFB controls when you hold down X on the Xbox controller. I don’t have the ACELA DLC, so I can not check if they are implemented for cruise control on the ACELA.

 

Ought to be; at least on PC, the same keys (R and F) govern Acela cruise control as govern AFB on German trains, and speed control on those British trains that have it.

 

Thanks for this great information. I’ve read through this section:

Several times and I’m still not sure I fully understand. Am I correctly interpreting that to slow down using a balanced air brake / dynamic brake combination you need to find the sweet spot where both are proportional to each other? Ie moving both back at roughly the same rate?

Thanks again…understanding all of these little nuances makes this a very interesting train to operate!

 

No, the system handles that automatically: dynamics first, supplemented by air as required for the indicated braking level. The proportion of dynamics can be backed off with the throttle, but there is usually no reason to want to do that.

 

When using the automatic brake, is there a typical throttle position you'd want to use for dynamic brakes? Or is it preference? I usually try to keep it on 10, but sometimes forget since often I throttle to 0 prior to using the automatic anyway.

 

Well, maximum dynamic effort is reached at 34% throttle, so increasing it above that (or decreasinbg it from 100 to anything above 34) doesn't make any difference.

I have no idea what Amtrak policy is; myself, I like to keep the dynamics maxed because (stemming from US freight experience) I'm reluctant to call on the Big Air unless I really need it.

 

Thanks, this part is where I get confused:

That sounds to me that it I leave the automatic brake at a minimum application then increase the dynamic brakes using the throttle lever it won’t go beyond a certain level of braking force unless I then increase the air brake as well?

Sorry if I’m being dense and missing something obvious here

 

Thanks for taking the time to make the video, very much appreciated! I have some good news: I was not able to reproduce the issue following your exact steps in both the editor and the beta build, and I tried it in several weather patterns and on different routes so I feel pretty confident that it has already been fixed (but not yet released)

 

Exactly same kind of problem

 

You're not confused, that's exactly how it works

Some more detail in case anyone is interested. When the train brake is applied the control systems determine a brake effort target based on what the brake cylinder pressure "would have been". The blended braking target effort is 100% (or 34 klbf) in full service.

Assuming the cruise control is not commanding dynamic brake effort this target effort value is the maximum effort you can achieve. The throttle (actually called "effort lever") also sets it's own effort target. Whichever is lowest is what the traction motors actually produce.

For example, in minimum application the brake cylinder pressure is circa 18 psi. In full service it is 52 psi. That means that the blended braking target effort is 18/52 or ~ 35%. If you set the effort lever to ~ 35% (like solicitr mentioned) then you are already commanding all the dynamic brake effort you can get for that train brake application.

In Suppression you need about 85% throttle level because the brake cylinder pressure for that setting is 44 psi and in full service you of course need to max out the throttle.

 

Oh by the way. Regarding "how much" you should set the throttle level to when making train brake applications: As far as I know there is no strict rule that Amtrak uses for this and I know for a fact that some engineers avoid the dynamic brakes almost entirely when making train brake applications. This is probably just an old habit but the dynamic brakes really strong on the Acela power cars in comparison to the train weight.

For a train set, assuming that the train is not slipping you have 68 klbf (maximum) dynamic brake effort. In suppression this means that the deceleration rate is almost 1.1 mph/s just from the dynamic brakes alone! Both ACSES and ATC use brake curves (former) or required deceleration rates (latter) that are based on 1.2 mph/s. So in suppression, if you leave the throttle in 85% or above the deceleration rate can reach almost up to 2 mph/s (as I have verified from the prototype).

With no dynamic braking blended in, the deceleration rate in suppression (dry rails) is around 1.6 mph/s, still well above what is required. So technically there is no need to use blended braking for the safety systems and if you do you might end having to coast at 45 mph or lower depending on what the cab signal speed was reduced to, since you cannot release the train brakes until you are below the new speed limit. I'm not saying that an engineer would intentionally brake less to not have to crawl up to the signal but in the game that is an option you have

 

Thanks very much for the detailed explanations, this is all very fascinating and cool that it’s all modelled in the sim!

 

Ah good to know! For now you can get around it by going to the desired speed without cruise control on, and then putting cruise control to the desired speed when you're nearly there. Thanks for your time investigating this!

 

I experienced this issue as well and look forward to the fix arriving.

The Acela is excellent; relatively easy to drive, but challenging to drive well. You have now played a large role in two of my favorite TSW locos, the Acela and the 101. Thanks for all the work and care you put into both.

Is there any way to adjust the brightness of the MFD displays in the front of the dashboard? I would like to turn them down just a touch when it is dark outside.

Thanks again for a really nice TSW loco!

 

There is a day/night switch just above the screen

 

Thanks for letting me know. I can’t find it, though.

 

Hi folks, wondering if it's a bug or just me missing something. On the Acela, the Pantograph Down button on the overhead does what you'd expect - but the Pantograph Up button doesn't seem to work. Anyone else experience this? I've tried various combinations of MCB/HEP switches as well, no luck.

 

And of course as soon as I asked I figured it out - so, for the benefit of anyone else wondering, you have to make sure the down button is released before you press the up button.

 

Looks like some changes I made to the brakes (snow/ice build-up on the brake shoes/pads) is now in TSW4 (hopefully it should be coming to TSW3 with the patch, but I don't have any information on this).

Amtrak Acela

• Fixed an issue that caused dynamic braking to delay releasing when going from cruise control.
• Brake performance will now start to degrade in high wetness and low temperatures.
• Reduced the power of the rheostatic brakes (applied when MCB is opened) based on data from beta testers.

 

Quick question- where's the switch for the number light?

 

There are no number lights

 

had literally no idea about this, might try it sometime

it is more than a year since those issues arose for some guys... I guess it has been fixed since then? I mean, I dont remember experiencing anything weird, but now after seeing this my OCD brain tells me to test it when I get home from work lol *mentally slams head to the wall*

 

tested this on a service from Trenton, now I am messing with it, trying to find the cause, but so far to no avail... tried some testing in Free roam, but there Acela wouldnt even budge, as I couldnt even move the reverser into neutral there for some reason :/

so yeah, I didnt even put Throttle into any %, just into Ready, and it went straight into 45 lbs or what is in US instead of kN ... dunno, either I have never noticed this or it has somehow been reintroduced as a bug in one of recent updates... but... it sucks... and man I had some Acela cravings last couple days... but knowing this bug is around I will pass for the moment...

 

I've had that issue with the Acela applying full power with the cruise control on from the start in TSW3 and its the same in TSW4, just as razmatus#2517 says it does it as soon you put the throttle into the Ready position. I'm surprised cwf.green could not reproduce it. I'm on the Epic Games version if that makes any difference.

DW

 

I am on Steam

 

It doesn't matter which platform. CC will always apply full throttle, so engage it later when already at speed.

Might not be prototypical, but the workaround is acceptable for me. Accelerate manually first.

 

in that case, just lalala cruise control and just set power or dynamic brake to an appropriate level, since CC is not worth the hassle then

 

Yes it is, just like I'm using it in my car I engage it at 80 km/h or higher only. It's a "cruise" control so I'm engaging it at cruise speed. Of course it's up to you how to play - I just don't think that a fix would be coming, as it's not game breaking. (You may see this differently )

 

well, I usually used it as a sort of AFB-like thing, like a fail-safe so I dont overshoot speed limit... oh well, dosto habits will have to kick in lol

 

I have tried the exact steps in the videos linked here to try to reproduce the bug in the editor and was unable to do so. I have also had at least two people (myself and a beta tester) not be able to reproduce the bug when following the exact steps in the beta build on PC. In my estimation, the most likely explanation is that the public version of the Acela is not "up to date", but that is only speculation and nothing I have control over or can check.

 

I tested it literally yesterday... on both Boston and Trenton routes, to make sure it is not route-related...

 

You've just given a very good picture of the core problem DTG has - they are not playing the same game they're selling to us.

I've marked the wrong steps and why you are unable to reproduce a thing that every single player experiences. Bug repro must always be done on the same build the customer is using.

I have no idea what is going on behind the scenes, but what gets released is obviously different from all your beta versions. Did it come to your mind to just download the game from Steam and check?

This explains a lot of things. Skyhook patch notes: MML 158 dial weathering fixed. Patch release: unfixed.

The reason why minutes after playing a new DLC huge bugs are surfacing, that apparently nobody can reproduce. I am sure the Reading / Paddington issues are not appearing on DTG's builds, that's why there's not been a single commentary or acknowledgement, not even by Matt himself.

Nothing personal, I know you're doing a great job but the company you are working for has serious management / process / organisatorial problems.

It's improved a little in TSW with the devs engaging in conversation, but the usual thing is after some time a Community Manager steps, the usual "We're looking into it", then silence, then the players feel being fooled, again a vague apology from the CMs and "thanks for patience" and then they avoid to ever return to the thread. See Catan. Often I wish the franchise would be taken over by another developer. DTG are getting away with things that would ruin other companies.

Again - it's just exemplary, though the Acela CC issue is nothing that's really annoying me. Each TSW product is flawed, even TSG stock, like nonfunctional indicator dimmers (too bright) on the 628 or PZB indicator issues.

Worried,

Pete

 

Was that question directed at me? If so I think you are mistaken about my role.