Hello, I am very new on train sims. Actually i played previous versions years ago but just to watch some eye candy. I am a flight simmer and generally playing DCS World. And i don't like game aids like gauges, messages on the screen. So i need some help on playing this sim while game hud is completely off. * Speed limits, there are 2 speeds on some signs. Which one to obey? * Speed limits, Are these signs becoming actual limit as soon as i passed them? Because sometimes i notice that, although i passed a 50 mph sign, my hud shows 35 mph limit * Signal lights, Some of the signals more than one light. Which one to obey? * Signal lights, as soon as i pass i red light, missions fails. But how am i suppose to stop that fast? (assuming signal dıstance help is off on the hud) * Brakes, there are hell of an amount of brakes. Which one to use?
I hope i can answer some questions. Speed limits: higher speed limit for passenger trains and the lower for freight trains. The speed limits are valid as you pass them and if you are in 30mph zone and a 50mph comes the 50mph are only valid after the complete train passed the speed limit. Signal lights: you have to obey all lights, every light has a meaning. A signal showing green-red-red has another meaning then a signal showing red-green-red. And a red light signal has allways a signal before that showing the next signal will be a red light. Mostly it's a yellow or double yellow signal. You have to Google for some signal guides, this is very complex and every country has different signal systems. Brakes (example here is US-freight trains): dynamic/electric brake: is mostly used in downgrades so you don't overheat the wheel brakes. locomotive/independent brake: this brake only apply to your loco and not to the wagons. automatic/train brake: this brake applies to all locos and wagons on the train.
Thank you very much for these valuable answers. I will look for a tutorial for signal lights. For ordinary slowing down process, which brake should i use?
The automatic/train brake (red handle in the freight trains). The dynamic or Independent brake won't stop your heavy freight train so fast ;-) A good starters guide for TSW can you find here: https://www.hollandhiking.nl/trainsimulator/
On brakes... Review the guide Daniel linked. Also, look for Youtube videos for lots of examples. It is kind of a complex subject and much of the nuance of how to use different brakes will just come with time, practice, and learning. But a summary, there are 3 kinds of brakes: - Automatic/Train brakes - apply brakes for the entire train. This is the fastest way to slow or stop the train, but in normal operation, not the ideal brakes to use for controlling speed. You'll need to understand the automatic brake lever positions as well (release, minimal reduction, apply, full application, handle off, emergency). These positions vary a little from engine to engine. The auto brake doesn't work like an automotive brake. You have to apply to a certain level (using Apply for example), and then back off to hold the brakes at that level. If you want to reduce the brakes, you have to drop the lever all the way back to release, then reapply to a lesser level. It is the needles on the two braking/air/brake pipe gauges that tell you the braking force, not the position of the auto brake lever. - Independent brake - This brake only affects the brakes on the engine, not the train. You would normally only use this for when the engines are by themselves, not connected to a train. In fact, when you use the train brake, the engine brake is applied along with the brakes on all the train cars, but you need to "bail off" the engine brake by holding the independent brake lever in the bail off position (pulled all the way down into the sprung area). This causes the brake cylinder (BC) pressure needle to go to 0, which indicates that the engine brakes are off even though the train brakes are still applied. This is often important because the train may push the engine and lock up the engine wheels. The engine has greater breaking force than the train, but due to mass of the train, the engine brakes alone cannot effectively slow the train. So the train will overcome the engine's traction and slip the wheels. Hence we bail them off to prevent this. I'm not sure how well this is modeled in TSW, but generally speaking, this is how you use independent brakes on locomotives. Dynamic brakes - This is not a friction brake (like brake shoes), but is instead an electrical brake. It attaches the locomotive drive motors to resistors so the motors become generators, and it uses the resistive load on the motors to slow the engine down. This is primarily used for controlling train speed on down hill slopes, not for stopping the train. Think of it more as a reverse throttle rather than a brake. To use dynamic brakes, you shut off the throttle, then apply dynamic brakes. You would never use both at the same time, and in fact, in some engines, you cannot move to the dynamic braking until you have shut off the throttle. The reverser must be enabled, though. Different engines have different combinations of these brakes, or may label them with completely different names. Most of the above is generically applicable to US diesel locomotives (GP38/GP40/SD40) and similar. Some engines have the throttle and dynamic brake combined in a single lever (Amtrak ACS-64 in NEC NY, AC4400CW in CSX Heavy Haul, Class 166 in Great Western Express). Same concept except combined in a single lever. Some engines don't label the brakes as above (Class 43 HST and Class 166 in Great Western Express). The Class 43 has a brake lever and a throttle lever. They work as simply as you would think just like an automobile brake/throttle. The Class 166 is the same, but has only one lever which is either throttle, or braking. The key to understanding brakes aside from understanding which one to use is to understand the braking indicators. Brake pipe (BP) pressure, Brake cylinder (BC) pressure, and equalizing reservoir (ER). Most engines display this information in one way or another. Seek out videos on their meaning and read the Wikipedia pages on general locomotive air braking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_air_brake). It is simple how they work, but a little odd to wrap your head around it. Understanding how the actual braking components on a rail car work (from the wiki page) helps you understand the needles much better as well as how to use the automatic brakes. It will all make sense, and be a lot more enjoyable using them vs. the frustration you are probably feeling right now.
There is also a quickie UK signalling guide on the Dovetail website although it's worth pointing out that the flashing yellow lights mentioned still do not work in GWE. https://live.dovetailgames.com/live...stern-express-signalling-a-brief-introduction
Hello there (My second Kenobi quote gosh) Guerra For playing on German routes, refer to my German signalling guide in my signature below (shameless self-promotion). You should be able to play hudless in no time :P Cheers, Prof
