So I recently jumped from PS4 to PS5. I mostly play US freight. On last gen it seemed train size usually capped out around the mid 40s far as cars go, and now am dealing with 90 or more. As you might imagine this gave me a rude awakening the first time going southbound on Cajon Pass. What are some good tricks to control speed well taking a really long and heavy freight down a grade that steep?
1) Keep it down to 30 mph 2) add brake in small increments; a heavy train paradoxically needs gentle handling 3) Start with a minimum reduction and then add air a couple of pounds at a time, until it will hold speed with roughly 50% dynamics. Now leave the air brake alone and use the dynamics to fine-tune your speed. You really don't want to release the train berake until you're off the mountain
30mph is very much an upper limit, ideally if you're not confident I'd keep it below that as the dynamics have already started to lose their effectiveness by 30. I'd also recommend re-running the tutorials for Cajon as there is a specific one for setting up the train for the downhill run and balancing the dynamics/auto.
I was thinking 20 or less till I get more comfortable. Much fun as flying into the yard at warp speed is.
There are some YouTube tutorials explaining how to control long trains. Trainsimulator driver and schnauzapowahz has tutorials on their channel
Basically this. One important step to remember (especially on Cajon Pass and Sherman Hill) is to bail off independent brake every time you add air/automatic brake. If you don’t bail off the independent brake your dynamic braking won’t work.
1) The dynamic brake is most effective at 10-30 mph, so keep between these limits. The first time I managed to take the train downhill was at 18-20 mph 2) when applying the automatic brake, you need to hold the independent brake in bail off position, otherwise, the dynamic brake disengages when the locomotive is braking (or something like that, not an expert on US trains) 3) don't wait until you are overspeeding, you need to brake early to keep control of the train. Ideally, you want to find the optimal position of the automatic brake and then regulate your speed with the dynamic brake, but that's easier said than done.
I tend to keep dynamics in the low-mid 20s. If I see it starting to inch up past 23-25 I increase it a notch until it starts going down again. 30 is basically the maximum you absolutely don't want to let it get to.
With very long trains, you need to be extra careful when cresting the hill, as your level indicator may say you're going down, while the back of the train is still going up. I found that going slower around the summit gives me better control. Sherman is twice as tricky, since it has an extra mini-summit between the real summit and the Hermosa tunnel.
It can indeed be deceptive when it looks like your braking is enough, but only 2/3 of the train has yet crested the hill. Another reason to err on the side of caution.
Don't forget to bail off the independent brake each time you increase the train brake. Otherwise you dynamic brakes will not be working properly.
So started playing Clinchfield again as practice. Well the trains are nowhere near as long they are heavy, the grades are steep, and the locomotives are less modern.
Clinchfield is the least difficult US freight route, in my opinion. Spoiler: Clinchfield harder runs The only services I had some trouble with were the ones starting at Elkhorn, in the rain, with a slightly underpowered consist. I let the train roll backwards to smaller gradient portion, so you can gain speed going up the hill.
The services that start with no brakes applied on a steep gradient are a bit of a surprise the first time though.
Not saying it's not enjoyable, because it is. Clinchfield has arguably the greatest journey mode of them all, because each is like a story, or a long scenario. Going in with an empty train, doing all those moves to leave empties and take cars full of coal from along each spur, then driving it all back to whence you came: it all adds up to the most complex scenarios anywhere in TSW2. The caboose alone is adding so much to the complexity of the missions. Hmmm, I'm getting the itch to go back and do it all again on a new profile!
Clinchfield's journeys are amazing. I wish something similar could be created for the other U.S. freight routes, but it wouldn't surprise me if Clinchfield's ended up being such a time sink to put together that it's unlikely to happen again. The caboose punctuating a long freight train is such an iconic visual that I'm still bummed seeing trains without them after all this time. But after Clinchfield showed me what it was like having to juggle the caboose as an extra step when breaking and reassembling trains, I now understand why they were phased out. They're not totally gone, though. On the Metra line I live near, I've occasionally seen a tiny freight train--one to four cars or so--go by, sometimes with a beat-up graffiti-covered caboose on the end. No idea what the story is there.
Cabooses still see use on small work trains and stuff like that. Also trains that have to back up a long distance.
Well it's a start. Was only a 60 car manifest, but I made it down Cajon Pass without breaking 33 mph.
