Hi all, I have a question regarding driving technique when driving an electric locomotive with a tap changer throttle, for example, Class 86, 87, etc. When should I use the "notch up" position on the throttle and when should I use the "run up" position? Am I correct in thinking you should toggle between "run up" and "hold" up to a certain speed (15, 20, 30 mph?) or is it acceptable/realistic to use the "run up" position from a stand (provided of course that I don't trip out the motors)? Thank you in advance.
When starting off use notch up & watch the amps climb to the top of the green, for abit more of an enthusiastic start middle yellow is ok, when you hit 50 mph you can run up to 100% power, if you see the neutral section ahead sign use run down then off when at 0% power go to off, when power is back on use run up to return to where you want the power at. You can use the run up whenever you want as long as you keep an eye on the amps. Hope this helps.
Notch up and Notch down are for small incremental changes during running. The run up/down is for applying constant increase/decrease in power delivery until required. The three gauges on the right are used for these.
