I just went to try the cement scenario with the 363 and I noticed the brake pipe mechanism still isn’t working when you connect to the cars or locomotives. This seems to be why the wagons seem like they’re so heavy, as if the brake pipes not connecting means the brakes will not release. This has been something I’ve noticed since the beginning of the 363 DLC.
Have you tried re-coupling? I think that way I fixed it the last time. But because the scenario is fixed I'll try with cement again tonight and report back
I thought the same till I learned how the train brakes on the 363 work. As all pretty well have probably figured out, they are not self lapping, but the confusing portion is position labels. “Driving” equates to what most would call release that well, releases the brakes by charging the brake pipe. “Release” on the 363 is really overcharge which does what it says overcharges the brake pipe. Below is a quote from another forum discussion “The release position is used to overcharge the brakes which is to say increases the brake pipe pressure above the standard 72.5psi (up to between 76-78psi). The purpose of this is to cause any distributors and hence brakes which may have gotten stuck on to release (hopefully this never happens). On returning the handle to the running position the overcharge is bled off very slow taking about 2-3 minutes to do so, this has to be done slowly otherwise the distributors will apply the brake. Misuse of the release position can result in the brakes dragging. If an application is made while an overcharge is in effect the control reservoirs will seal at the pressure they were applied at, meaning that distributor will not release the brake until the brake pipe pressure is above the control reservoir pressure (so if you apply the brake at an overcharge of 75psi, you will have to create above 75psi to release the brake fully again). Since the running position will only create up to 72.5psi you would need to use the release position to release the brakes. If you suspect dragging brakes the correct procedure is to hold the brake handle in the release position for around 30-60 seconds, before letting the handle back to the running position. Once there the brake handle must be left there for 2-3 minutes, if you do apply the brake you will need to do the whole procedure all over again” The problem with the 363 is that once you have held the brakes in “release” for a period of when attached to a consist and have overcharged the brakes on the cars, and the 363’s small compressor can not build up enough pressure to overcome the higher charge on the cars,. Just re-ran the cement scenario and never used “release” and all worked fine.
Thanks, LeadCatcher, even though I'm not sure that I've understood everything you wrote yet and, if memory serves, some of your information differs from the instructions in the 363's tutorial. I'm going to rerun that just to check. Why DTG can't be bothered to provide manuals for DLC is beyond me.
I only use driving and I wait until the brake pipe is at 0.0, maybe the switcher is just more underpowered than I thought
