With the latest DLC including compulsory safety systems, I've been trying to rise to the challenge - and generally getting on well with them. One thing I cannot seem to avoid under any circumstances, and that is triggering an emergency brake when ATC Forestall requires slowing down to a lower speed. Regardless of how heavy/light I apply the brakes, the wheels just slide - this means the braking doesn't register to satisfy the safety system, and after a few seconds the emergency brake applies. I don't ever have this problem in other weather conditions, since the automatically-applied braking isn't an issue - but in the snow, it happens every time. In terms of how to avoid, I can imagine that slowing before the ATC Forestall light goes on should help (ie, track knowledge, essentially) - but is there any other way to avoid the emergency brake by driving purely on the HUD?
Sand? Also, I may be dreaming but I thought in one of the streams Matt pointed out a snow-brake button.
Ah, that's a very good point. I looked for sand, couldn't find anything - but I did find a snow brake, so I'll give that a go!
Route knowledge for the track speed changes- probably impossble without the HUD at first since they're not all signed trackside. Also, generally you just need to drive slower in rain/snow on this route for ATC braking purposes- maybe try 60mph max for rain and 50 for snow and see if that helps at all? Maybe slower on downhill sections tbh.
Correct ATC requires a certain deceleration rate to not trigger a penalty brake application (so called Brake Assurance Rate that is indicated on the right screen, TOD, and illuminates in green if satisfied). This is quite a harsh requirement so when the rail conditions are really poor the train might not be able to satisfy BAR leading to an emergency brake application (since penalty for ATC means dumping the brake pipe, in contrast to ACSES that applies max brake). If you can anticipate cab signal downgrades you can start to brake before ASC intervenes and thus not risk getting a penalty brake application. Many times the downgrades are predictable, like approaching Penn Station or Jamaica, but sometimes they are a surprise (like if you are moved to a different track), at least in the game. To avoid the surprises leading to penalty brake applications, or just to make it easier to anticipate you may want to reduce the speed in snow/ice conditions. 10 mph would be sufficient most of the time since this will mean that you reach the underspeed setpoint before the ATC time limit has finished. Snow brake only helps to warm up the brake pads, it won't increase the adhesion (which is the main issue encountered in this thread). EDIT: Oh and something I forgot to mention is that if you move the master controller to the "Emergency" position the wheel slide protection is disabled. In a situation where the train is struggling to keep "grip" that will surely lock the wheels and just increases your stopping distance. Best to keep it in Max Brake during the penalty brake. If you need to perform an emergency brake application yourself and the rail conditions are poor, you can move the MC to "Emergency" to dump the brake pipe, and then move it back to "Max Brake"
Yep, the ASC is set a tad bit strong. To avoid sliding during cab signal drops (because of a train ahead), you’re expected to operate unreasonably slow in order to avoid ASC kicking in during a downgrade. The M7s do indeed slide a good bit during snow and heavy braking irl . Though It usually isn’t a complete emergency brake inducing wheel lockup.
I just drive slower in the snow. I drive at 5 or 10 mph faster than the next ATC speed down from where I am. This means I can slow to below that speed quickly without any wheel lock and avoid an emergency break application. I'm not even finding myself very late, as there appears to be enough slack in the timetable to allow for driving to the track conditions.
Not sure if you meant ASC is set too strong in the game or IRL, but without divulging too much the number I tuned the trains for is based on some quite credible information EDIT: Also, in the worst case adhesion in TSW, the wheels do not lock up when the speed control brake request kicks in. If the wheels locked up you would see the wheel slide indicator bar go red and fill the whole box. The wheel slide protection is still working to keep the wheels from locking up. Only if you move the master controller to "Emergency" does the WSP disable and make it possible for the wheels to lock up. The emergency brake application is simply due to the available adhesion not being sufficient to allow the train to brake to the Brake Assurance Rate.
