Hello Having mainly focused on the GWR route so far I'm now trying to get the knack of the S Bahn roure. My question is does anybody have any tips for optimal acceleration and braking when driving the talent 2 units? At the moment I'm hopeless at keeping to time, my passengers would be demanding compensation. I think I may be being a little conservative with my acceleration from stations. What percentage would you advise to put the throttle at when pulling away which would give good speed but not jolt my passengers around too much? And when in the underground section where stations are very close together how fast would you generally be pulling into a station? Grateful for any tips Cheers
Hi, when i accelerate i put the throttle to 40% until about 15/20 kmh and then gradually to 100%. When i brake i use the same technique gradually to full power if i'm at 160 km h and when i'm almost stopped, brakes to 30/40%. In underground section all the same way till 80 km h. Anyway you should practice.
HappyJose Hello there! There is one major thing you need to pay attention to when driving on RT: The brake performance of the Talent 2 is quite unpredictable to the untrained driver. When slowing down below 20kph you must be conscious of the fact, that the Talent 2 will change brake methods from dynamic to air brakes. This means, there will be a change in how the train performs. So, you'll get consistent brake performance at higher speeds, but a sharp change at lower speeds. Most people won't believe me, because they're more experienced drivers and no longer notice it, but, for beginners, you must keep in mind this change in brake effort. Besides that: The Talent 2 is a very modern unit, don't worry to gun the throttle, the train will accelerate safely and smoothly. Most real life drivers just punch the lever to 100% and let 'er roll. I was in Talent 2's and 100% acceleration is really subtle to the passengers. Brakes: Here's a rough estimate on the brake performance of the Talent 2: Max brakes (not emergency brakes) applied at: - 160kph will need ~1.2km to fully stop the train - 120kph will need ~0.8 to 1km to fully stop the train - 80kph will need ~0.4 to 0.6km to fully stop the train - 60kph will need ~0.2km to fully stop the train any less: View distance These are very optimistic values, make sure to always brake on a curve above what I've just described. With practice, you'll be able to feel for the brakes. A good tip is to listen for the speed - at speeds below 100kph with a little bit of practice you will be able to tell how fast you're going by listening to the pitch of the motor. Looking out of the window can be deceptive, as the talent 2 has a fairly tight FOV. I'll be working on many tutorial projects in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for beginner how-to's Cheers, Prof
Will look forward to the tutorials. Cheers One thing as a noob that confuses me is that there are several different types of brakes on different engines. For example, driving on the New York route in the passenger services I am sometimes expecting when I press L2 that the brakes will go to 'Minimal Application' as in the tutorial and I can start a gradual stop. However sometimes I do that and it's a different brake altogether which really throws me off. Hope I explained that as intended. I don't really understand how the brakes swap around I think. Is it certain brake to come down from a certain speed? One brake for engine only and another for a train that has coaches which also assist in the overall braking. Not sure.
Hello TinTin_57 ! It's a tough one to understand Dynamic brakes: Resistor banks create resistance in the motors causing them to slow down rapidly. However, this can only work if there is electricity flowing through the motors, thus it will only slow the train to about 15kph. Air brakes: Clamps around the wheels are pressed against the wheel to slow the train. Air pressure keeps the brakes applied. This system works poorly at high speeds, cause the brake pads are torn away instead of clamping on the wheel. On the flipside, they are efficient at bringing a train to a stop at low speeds. And there are other weird brake types but these are the ones that are imprtant. I also know I butchered the explanation, but just to give you a rough idea. The Talent 2 uses dynamic brakes for higher speeds. Dynamic brakes are very consistent in power. If you apply them to 50% you'll get the same performance every single time. As the train speed falls to where dynamic brakes are inactive, air brakes apply. Air brakes are less consistent, as it depends on friction. This change throws off beginners and they wind up missing the station by small amounts. Hope I clarified, Cheers, Prof. EDIT: The independent brake on the Talent 2 circumvents the speed restrictions and applies air brakes no matter the speed. This system, however, shouldn't be used at higher speeds unless the dynamic brakes are faulty. EDIT 2: The brakes on NEC are different - the dynamic brakes are meant to be weak - to help guide the train down a slope. The air brakes are meant to be powerful.
