Abstracted from the current discussion about steam locos, there are now questions being asked about whether or not diesel traction units (locos and DMU's) actually consume fuel in TSW. As there is no HUD indication of fuel level as in TSC it will be necessary to find a sight glass or gauge on the tank and note if the level has dropped following a run. Post your findings in this thread. I will start the ball rolling by mentioning the Class 45 on NTP etc. does not appear to have modelled any visible means of checking the fuel.
It seems to have been discussed before, with mixed findings. https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/fuel-consumption.32838/ https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/can-i-see-electricity-fuel-use-data.20822/
There is a scenario on Maintalbahn where you have to manage your low fuel level and make it to the refueling point. But dunno if it also works in service mode.
The Class 66s have a fuel readout in the onboard computer. IIRC, the MFDs on the AC4400s and ES44s also do. I'm pretty sure that Matt on a stream once explained a glitch (HST?) whereby somehow the game code interpreted passengers as fuel and started consuming them, since the weight of both is tracked. Certainly fuel weight is calculated, and drawn down.
I have noticed that every time I've looked, the external fuel gauges on all diesel loco's\unit's are always showing full whether I've driven them any distance or not.
That may be true (although, let's face it, 30 miles won't make a dent in a locomotive's fuel tank)- but that could simply be that the gauge isnm't animated, not that the program isn't tracking fuel weight and consumption.
I can confirm that on the Metrolink F125, there’s a fuel quantity read out on the main display and it does indeed decrease during the run. Whether it’s actually simulated that you’d have the engine shut down if you got to ZERO is another story. But the quantity does decrease.
Does everyone remember this video? Have a look 20 minutes in and see Matt create a scenario with a low fuel loco (and suggest that he won't get very far if he doesn't refuel). TSW: Editor Premiere Stream - YouTube
All the US locos have fuel being used up, as read from the MFD screens, those that have screens that is. For those that don’t have screens, I’ve never bothered to look as you spawn with a full tank in all timetable services and are never going to have to worry about running out.
It does on the AC4400 but I'm gonna be driving a VERY long time till it affects me... so I suppose it's kinda useless.
Good results so far. Agree about the short routes meaning fuel shortage won’t normally be an issue but it’s a point of detail that should be present in a product calling itself a simulation.
How far should dtg go into a simulation. Do they simulate every single button and control? Do they simulate every button and control or do they simulate the important stuff.
I would say simulating fuel consumption ramps fairly high up the priority list, more so with steam locos. Otherwise it’s a glorified arcade game, might as well go back to running 12v OO models on a layout.
Yes fuel consumption is simulated, its just with such short services it barely makes any dent in the fuel level. The 08 for example holds nearly enough fuel on board for a week of continuous shunting 580 gallons in the main tank, while the service tank holding around 80 gallons which is generally enough for an entire shift or even day of intensive shunting. Heck the railway I volunteer at the 08 running for 7-9 hours only uses between 10 and 20 gallons of fuel (granted most of the time it spends running idle). The bigger BR diesels, the Class 45 for example use about 500-600 litres per hour at full power. The fuel tank holding 3600 litres near enough it would take about 6-7 hours of running continuously on full power to empty the tank, so an hour long service of intermittent power isn't going to make much of a dent in the overall fuel supply.
