Knowing the total length and weight of your consist will help guide you on how much power/brake to apply. I saw this in the new TVL manual, but I fail to find explanation on how to get and use this information.
Count the wagons, and the more full wagons you have the heavier the consist will be. You can also do "brake checks" from a known speed to gauge how quickly and smoothly the consist loses speed This is helpful when chasing yellows or entering areas where the signals come closer together (ie there are places where 4 signals going from green to red could be closer together than 2 signals going from double yellow to single, so slowing down would be beneficial)
'Sounds good in theory, but whether closed wagons are empty or full can't be determined by looking at them, can it? My guess is that experimenting gently with the brakes is the only solution, but perhaps I'm missing something.
Well... there aren't any closed wagons in TVL, so... I guess that makes it easier here? (Of course, would still be good to know for other routes)