Been playing a bit of Arosa today and had a question on braking. I ended up in a downhill run towards Chur, and for some odd reason I don't recall doing one at all. The uphill runs are easy as the giant wheel thing has the exact speed limits in the notches, but downhill I found quite tricky. The question I have is, what would be the "proper" way to slow the loco down on the gradients? I tried using both the vacuum brake and the braking using the giant wheel, and both did the job (though I found the vacuum brake easier to use), so would the real thing be one or the other, or some combination of both?
You should be able to keep the speed in check using the loco dynamic brake, just watch the sudden gradient changes. Blend the vacuum brake in and dynamic out when making a station stop.
I find the level of dynamic brake that keeps me just below the speed limit (giant wheel option) and I also like to add in a touch of vacuum brake when going round tight bends just to go a bit slower still. Then, after the bend I release the vacuum brake and if the gradient hasn’t changed the speed will return to the speed it was before as the dynamic brake is still set as it was. This means I get to be a bit slower round the bends but don’t have to keep finding the same dynamic brake level although I still need to adjust for gradient changes. That's how I do it but it may not be the correct way.
I usually try and keep 2 or 3 km/h under the speed limit, keep a margin in hand. Same going uphill, I'll normally set the wheel to the value one below the posted speed limit. Of course we don't know how accurate Rivet made the physics on the locos, as acceleration seems almost instant even running uphill.
Ta Vern, I tried out using both and both were able to hold the speed, was just curious what the real thing method would be. You're right about the changes though, I ground to a halt at least twice when the gradient flattened out and I wasn't quick enough releasing the brakes ha
I usually use about the same amount/percentage of both brakes (think it's about 30-35% each) then adjust dynamic brake as the gradient changes.
Actually the throttle wheel is a AFB(something like that) It maintain train speed Just set to the correct level and enjoy If you need to stop , shut to 0 and use train break
I remember a thread re this subject. Somebody appearantly "in-the-know" explained RL experience. Hint: Do not read if you fear dissapointment! -----» Arosalinie Braking
When departing Arosa i go no more to 15 kph until the down hill start, then apply dynamic brake to keep speed at limit, when approaching stations i use to slow down by applying more dynamic brake and train brake to stop, then open doors and release dynamic brake
That's a nice thread thanks! I hadn't considered gravity on the rear coaches at all, so with that in mind blended would absolutely sound the way to go in real life since dynamic would only brake the loco. I don't mind that its not simulated though, as while heavy, 3-4 coaches wouldn't be as likely to clatter into each other in the same way that eg. a mile long consist on Sandpatch does! I enjoyed my downhill run on Arosa, it was quite challenging compared to flattish passenger routes, though very difficult to keep to time
