Clinchfield Journey Help

lol.. I am pretty sure if this happened in real life, they would call another loco for backup. Imagine, a train engineer desperately moving the throttle lever forward and backwards for like 20 minutes straight. I hope they will look at it and either add another loco for power or make the conditions a bit non slippery. As of right now this is unplayable.

 

IRL sometimes such actions take much longer. Of course, this is just a game - I understand your caveats

 

Well, it does happening in Real life....

 

Just for your viewing enjoyment.... another whoopsie....

 

Indeed. You would not risk expensive damage to the wheels or traction gear of a loco by abusing it in this manner. An assisting engine would be required. Likewise in the scenario Limited Power, if you had insufficient horsepower to operate the train you wouldn't be gung ho and have a go, you'd ask the traction controller to provide the necessary power.

 

As one of the comments on the video, a 43 year engineer veteran stated you can lie to me about the tonnage, but you can’t lie to the locomotives. The second video shows what should be done, no helpers available, you double the hill. Plenty of videos showing that stalling is not an uncommon event.

 

Not technically "unplayable," just tedious.

I agree it needs fixing- but the easiest way of doing that would be to remove some cars and reduce the train weight. Helpers wouldn't help in the route's present state, since apparently DP isn't functioning. (Also, the issue isn't power- we get plenty of that! The issue is traction.)

 

I even thought about it, there is a parked SD 40 nearby. But I would have to abandon this scenario.
Or not? I haven't checked. It's worth trying to add 'DPU' / more MU

 

There is sufficient horsepower for the scenario, and in fact additional traction is provided (note that the AI F7 comes and takes away the first cut of cars). Splitting the train takes longer, but it keeps the job within the capabilities of the available power.

 

I've come up with my own solution to this journey service.

At the start of the service, slowly back down the 1.5% slope. It won't even out completely but it does eventually go down to 1.1%. Once you get to this point, stop the train and build up amps in notch 3 before releasing the brakes. The train will pull off slow but it won't have problem building speed.

Once I got back to the starting point of the service, I was in notch 7 doing 11mph and still gaining speed. Think I got to 16mph by the time I reached the tunnel.

 

very good idea - bravo

 

Interesting. I will give this a shot. Beats switching 3 and 4 rapidly.

 

That worked. This is genius. I was able to get to line speed quickly.

 

Glad it helped!

 

Thank you. I had to stop playing because I have to complete the Journey in order. I realize that everybody doesn't have to, but I have to. So completely stopped playing that route. This will finally let me get me going in this route again.

 

SonicScott91, our savior! \o/

 

Is this a case where using the manual transitions would help?

 

There is one important thing. You need to wait quite long till the train brakes are released, so watch the brake pike, it really takes minutes. Once the BP is above 75 you can start moving very slowly. It should work then.

 

It gets deeper and deeper...
Good question - does anyone already know how it works?

 

Well the strange thing is I just started this run, albeit in clear weather, and other than having to wait for the brakes to come off I moved away quite easily in Notch 3, up into Notch 4 fairly quickly then incremental increases up to Notch 8 at about 30 second intervals. No jumping around between notches.

 

Well I tried to figure it out with mixed success. I used this manual as my source. I tried it out with an F7, not an SD40 though.

First problem I had was trying to figure out when to transition. A 1-to-1 copy of the manual instructions doesn‘t really work as the F3 maxs out at 700amps and the F7 at 825amps.

Next problem I had was that transitioning didn‘t seem to do anything. If you‘ve got the F7 in auto transition, you‘ll notice the amps change at ~19mph and drop to zero at ~25mph. When I transitioned manually, the amps didn‘t change at all. I‘d be grateful for any input on this matter.

Another problem. The manual says that you can‘t transition from 2 to 3 while in notch 7 or 8. I could only transition from 2 to 3 while in notch 8. Anything lower than that and the transition lever wouldn‘t budge to 3.

Last odd thing. When I hit 30mph, the amps dropped to zero like they would at ~25mph in auto transition. As I manually control transition, why would it do that?

The behaviour of the F7 definitely changed in manual transition mode, but as you can see, there‘s a lot happening that I don‘t understand. If anyone with more knowledge on the matter could clue me (and by extension the forum) in, I‘d be very happy.

 

Unsurprising: traction in the snow was always the problem, not lack of power. In the slippery you can't use much of that power.

 

No. Manual transitions aren't really like a manual transmission!

Besides, the SD40 has no manual mode, unlike the F7. The selector lever controls non-automatic locos in trail, but not the lead SD-40 itself, which is always automatic. For game purposes, it doesn't matter where that selector is as long as it isn't Off or Brake.

 

Therefore there is an easy, easy fix for DTG to apply to this scenario: simply relocate the train's starting position farther back on a flatter grade. Done and dusted.

 

I shall retry it in the snow!

 

Did you change the transition switch on the back cab wall to manual?

 

I actually tried releasing the brakes, putting the train in notch 3 (as high as it would go without wheel slip) then went away and ate supper. I came back about 90 minutes later and the train hadn’t moved an inch. Sand on, spring clear weather conditions.

I would still say something is not right here, even in the sim Run 8, which has the most realistic physics and train systems of any sim out there, I’ve never had so much trouble starting a train on a grade.

 

That's the problem. You need to rev the engine first, then release the brakes. Run it up to about 860 amps. (sort of like a drag racer).

 

To be analyzed for young efficient minds I failed yesterday...

F7 MANUAL
--------------
Unit Selector Switch

Transition Lever

SD 40 MANUAL
--------------
Unit Selector switch (is it presented in-game?)

Selector Lever

good luck \o/

PS There is also the most important issue - how it works in the game

 

Sorry I wrote that in the wrong order, notch 3 first, then release the brakes so I don’t go sliding backwards. The train just stays in place.

 

Key part

 

How 'automatic' or not are CRR locos?

 

Try this: put on full automatic brake to hold the train. Release train brake- now wait for the BP pressure to rise to at least 80 psi (it takes a long time for the brakes at the back of the train to release). Now after you rev up, you only have to release the quick-acting indy brake, rather than pull against the gradual release of every car in the train.

 

Yes. I changed it on both A units in the consist. That‘s why I wrote in my last paragraph that it behaved differently. Changing it to manual transition definitely does something, I just can‘t make head or tail of what I experienced. It‘s one of those situations again where I‘m not sure whether I‘m doing something wrong or if it‘s not accurately modelled.

 

Matt is probably laughing right now and thinking - the dazed ones think it works and even sees the difference! It's called fantasy!

 

Watch the video!

 

Maybe turning the trailing cab to manual means that cab is expecting local manual input rather than taking it from the lead?

Or maybe the problem is that you can't do anything with the B units, which should be set to manual but in game you can't do it.. Maybe play around with a solo A and see what you get.

 

That‘s an interesting idea. I‘ll report back once I‘ve tried it out.

 

Just did some testing with a single F7A solicitr. It showed the same behaviour - No amp changes when transitioning and the mysterious amp drop to zero at 30mph.

 

Hmmm. It's possible manual isn't modeled?

In normal auto operation there is a transition at 24 mph: amps drop to zero for a moment, then come back up in the new setting,

 

I‘m afraid that is what my findings seem to lead to.

I know. For some reason, the same is happening in manual mode but at 30 instead of ~25. <picture me scratching my head here>

 

Check this out. True rail grinder. This must be one of the worst things you can do when you don't get enough traction

 

this approach worked well for me, thank you!

 

Try mix this tactic with the great solution below if you don't have a lot of time BR o7

 

And that, boys and girls, is why railroads went to six axles on road engines.

 

Well, he polished the rails nicely /o\

 

Though BNSF still wants to be weird and use C4 variants of the ES44 and ET44 for some reason.....

 

This was one thing I did try. But ended up in the same situation. However letting the train slide down for about 400 yds and starting from there worked.

 

So true, cant agree more! Actually I love these occasional hard challenges from DTG (especially when they are not bugs and can be completed). Feels like solving the puzzle every time, looking for loco instructions, guides and advices... Thats more exciting than just running another smooth all green service at least!

 

Here is another video of a tough climb, this time on the CRR, South of the area depicted in TSW2 and under CSX