Just wondering what the general recommendation is for speed on Sherman Hill especially when the speed limit is 67 miles an hour. I wouldn’t think of taking it that high and I would think it would be almost impossible to stop at that speed. Which brings up the question best way to stop. Do you just use the automatic brake?
Uphill - as fast as it‘ll go (as long as I‘m not approaching a summit). Downhill - no more than 30 mph. Any faster than that and your dynamic brakes will lose efficiency at a rate at which you‘re quickly dealing with a runaway train. I don‘t know how prototypical it is what I‘m doing, but it depends on whether I‘m stopping downhill or uphill for me. If I‘m stopping uphill (or on a long stretch of flat), I‘m using the auto brake while keeping the locos (bailed off) in notch 1 to keep the train stretched. Downhill, I also keep the locos bailed off and use the dynamics together with the auto brake to stop. Once I‘m too slow for the dynamics to do anything, I gently apply the independent to match the reduction in the brake pipe.
It's advisable when cresting a summit to let gravity slow you to between 20-25, then observe carefully the point where the train weight transitions from uphill to down, gradually bringing on dynamics to control it and then train brake (baled off) if dynamics in Notch 5 or 6 won't hold speed. Once the whole train is headed down, you can gradually ease off a bit until you are doing around thirty, but always under control- and don't think you are going to recover from an overspeed with anything less than full suppression if not emergency. So go slow and easy- this isn't an Electrostar you're driving!
