I've heard a couple stories but no that definitely wouldn't slide now days . Normally I struggle up to Runcorn because I slow down and the vacuum is still releasing so I normally go up at about 45-50 mph. 73 mph is extremely impressive and at least you slow down I kept going and let physics slow me down
matt#4801 when I checked the HUD I was going past the factory and I was going 73 mph then. Is this when you slowed down
Yes, they had it much, much harder back then but I imagine it would have been just as rewarding. These are stories of the ER and so I think (and my knowledge of anything steam usually has many holes in it so probably thinking wrong) by the 50s and 60s the big 'speedy' locos had or were being fitted (didn't A4s have speedos from new?). I do reckon there were many more than a few occasions where those limits magically didn't exist as they are, as you say, in the most inconsiderate places.
I think they fitted speedos to the express trains they think would break the speed limit and crash fatally. For example (I've circled where I think it is) : LMS' Coronation Classes LNER's A4s Or that could be for the lubrication GWR's King I don't think SR had any and probably used the new fancy ones If I'm wrong please tell me
Well, I’m hooked and had another go on SoS I ran the Merseyside Express (Crewe - Liverpool non-stop) departing Crewe at 21:10. Managed to get to Liverpool at 21:59 - pretty much spot on 50 minutes. And that was with 12 coaches instead of 10. (Edit: 10 coaches after all. Don’t know how my brain could focus on running a steam loco but not read the pause menu correctly ) Two emberassments I will confess to: I didn’t slow down enough for Weaver junction - judging decelartion in the dark with no HUD is quite hard, who knew? I had a quick stop on the descent into Liverpool Limestreet. Applied to much braking force that didn’t release in time. Big shout-out to matt#4801. I tried your magic 17% on the cut off and magic it is, indeed. Massively helped me. Some variation of 17% cut off with 20/40/60% regulator has quite a bit of punch while still being conservative with steam consumption or even building it back up. Sprinkled in some 25% cut off with 40/60% regulator to open her up when I could afford it. All in all, I’m quite satified with my run. As you can see, it’s nowhere near perfect, but I got my train to its destination in time. Driving in the dark with no HUD and only the firebox as a lightsource has a unique charm to it that I really enjoyed. Took some pictures as well for those interested Spoiler: Pictures
Impressive run with 12 mk1s. matt#4801 knows his magic I think I might try it because I had 20% cut off and 20% regulator
That's a good run with 12 mk1s Lamplight mate. I have got one last day off before going back to work Tuesday so I am going to go back and have another go on the Liverpool to Crewe with the Runcorn stop to see how much the 17% cut off will affect my timings on that run and I am yet to meet the real timetable, so will be sure to report back on how that goes. I know I have said this, but this thread really has rekindled my love for SoS so very grateful for you making it James. Anyhow, it is well past my bedtime so I won't rabbit on as I am sure no one wants to read anymore babble than needed!
But I've just loaded the Merseyside Express and it has 10 mk1s not 12 did you spawn 2 extra in free roam or did you add the tender+engine
Well, I must admit, when I first saw the graph the speed through Weaver Jn did stand out a bit. Then I read that you’d done this HUDless in the dark! I really don’t know how you did that - I would have had no idea where Weaver Jn was! Your route knowledge must be pretty extensive. The climb to Sutton Weaver looks particularly impressive - over 30mph at the summit with 12 on. I’m also interested to know how you added the extra 2 mk1s in timetable mode (if I’m understanding correctly).
edward#5859, lcyrrjp Ah, mea culpa. I probably looked at the pause menu and it said 12 (loco + tender + 10 Mk1s). Sorry for any confusion Not as extensive as you might think I had the advantage of bending time and space via photo mode. That way, I could at least check which stations were flying by as I took a shot. From there on, it was mostly lucky guessing and as you can see, I misjudged Weaver quite a bit. As it turns out, it was 10 after all, so sorry about that. Don’t know if it’s still a good climb. Still, in the spirit of trying to learn from each other, here’s what I did: I think the 17% did all of the work honestly. Due to coasting and braking, I was pushing 200psi at Weaver junction and was probably pushing 225psi when the gradient started. I did not really fight the first, shallower gradient but tried to keep my boiler pressure up while maintaining some speed. It was only when the gradient started properly (around 1%, I believe?) that I started using my boiler pressure up. Some 25 cut off and 40/60 regulator didn’t seem to work all that well (even in short bursts) considering how much steam was used, so I switched to 17 cut off and 20/40 regulator. Tried 60 regulator as well but I’m under the impression that 40 regulator is already enough to fill the steam chest. So, 17 cut off up the grade with some 25 mixed in when I had some pressure built up and felt like I was losing speed too fast. All of that is me winging it though. I really don’t have any proper knowledge when it comes to running kettles
Thanks Lamplight. No problem, and still a really good run and climb to Sutton Weaver. I think we’re all learning by trial and error with the combinations of cutoff and regulator, (otherwise known as ‘winging it’!) and this is more good information.
Another benefit of free-roam is being able to easily put steam locos onto other routes, and run them with some AI traffic around. One of the routes which seems most appropriate for the Jubilee is the 'Northern Transpennine' from Manchester Victoria to Leeds. While the era isn't quite right, it has a mix of semaphores and colour lights which fit well with the last years of steam, and most of the buildings are very much from the steam era, the route having had little modernisation by the time the route is set. The Jubilees were regular performers on this route. Here's 45562 Alberta, at Huddersfield in July 1966 (photographer Patrick O'Brien). The other interesting thing about the route is its long and steep gradients, which make it a real challenge with a steam loco. I had a look at the 1958 timetable and noted the normal running times on the fast and semi-fast services, which seem appropriate for this class of loco. Looking at various photos, 7 coaches appears to have been a common load for a Jubilee on this challenging route, and it's a formation which is available as an option in Free Roam, so I went for that. A realistic schedule is as follows: Manchester Victoria (d) 06:15 Stalybridge (a) 06:29 Stalybridge (d) 06:30 Huddersfield (a) 06:57 Huddersfield (d) 06:58 Dewsbury (a) 07:11 Dewsbury (d) 07:12 Leeds (a) 07:31 You can drive this schedule in Timetable mode and it will give you some AI traffic without you getting stuck behind anything. If you find the diesels break the immersion, you can drive it in Free Roam mode of course. Either way, when setting up the Free Roam, as well as your destination at Leeds, you need to select two waypoints: 1. In one of the two Down (eastbound) platforms at Huddersfield (otherwise it will route you around the avoiding line). 2. On the Down line which goes under the 'dive-under' at Heaton Lodge Junction (2 miles West of Mirfield). If you don't do that it will route you over the flat junction at Heaton Lodge, which means you then have to go through a 20mph crossover at the junction at Ravensthorpe to get onto the Leeds line, which will cost you a minute or so. So that's the challenge: Achieve the above schedule with a Jubilee + 7 Mk1s (loaded), without using more than 25% on either the front or rear damper. Free roam mode won't give a 'Performance Breakdown' graph so for those who want to have a go, we're on our honour to comply with speed restrictions etc (to the best of our ability!) and report back with a bit of detail on running times and how it was achieved. I'll give details of my first attempt (which wasn't great...) shortly.
Challenge accepted, though I don't think I'll have a chance until Friday, so I may be able to gauge how others get on first.
Here are the gradients - taken from 'Gradients of the British Main Line Railways' published by Ian Allan.
Man Vic - Leeds - 1st Attempt We made a steady start from Victoria, observing the speed restriction through the pointwork before tackling the steep climb to Miles Platting. On the initial, slightly less severe part of the climb we maintained 16mph with 51% regulator and 21% cut-off and boiler pressure did not drop too fast. The final section of 1 in 47 really took its toil, however, and we had to extend the cut-off just to keep moving. By the summit we were down to 11mph and boiler pressure had deteriorated significantly. We passed through Miles Platting in 6 mins 8 secs from the start. On the flatter section beyond we regained some speed, but boiler pressure had little time to recover before for the climb to Ashton and at the summit at the junction with the Oldham, Ashton & Guide Bridge Railway (marked "OAGB Jc" on the above gradient profile) we were down to 28mph. From there the short descent gave us a faster run through Ashton, but I braked too early for the 15mph speed restriction at Stalybridge Junction, and lost vital time. Arrival at Stalybridge was at 06:33:50 - nearly 5 mins down on schedule, and it felt as if the task may be hopeless. We made a careful start out of Stalybridge, conscious of the need to maintain boiler pressure for the long climb ahead. Much of the climb to Standedge was at 44% regulator and 21% cut-off, and this held speed around 30mph, or a little over. We entered Standedge Tunnel at 06:49:55 at 30mph, with boiler pressure low but with a long descent to come. Initially we accelerated gently through the tunnel, knowing we had the 40mph PSR through Marsden. Once clear of that we used the last of our boiler pressure in accelerating quickly to 60mph, then closed the regulator, and made a fast run downgrade to Huddersfield. Given our performance on the first section, it was something of a relief to arrive there only having lost 1 more minute - now 6 minutes down on schedule. After Huddersfield we accelerated hard and reached 61mph before shutting off for Heaton Norris Junction. We were routed across the flat junction rather than through the fly-under (see the note in the post above about placing a waypoint to avoid this happening) meaning we had to slow to 20mph to pass through crossovers before Ravensthorpe to get onto the Leeds line. Even so, we made up a little of the lost time to Dewsbury and arrived there five-and-a-half minutes late. After Dewsbury we made a vigorous climb to Morley Tunnel, entering the tunnel at 33mph, then accelerating quickly to 50mph, through the curves at Morley, and up to 60mph on the descent beyond. After this fast running, the usual crawl into Leeds brought us to our destination just over 3 minutes late. There's certainly more time to be had here. Some of my braking wasn't great, and I had the 20mph through the crossovers at Ravensthorpe which probably cost me close to a minute. It looks as if the key is going to be working out how to avoid losing too much time on the initial section to Stalybridge, in order to be able to make it up by Leeds. It's not going to be easy, but I think we're in with a chance. The journey as a whole was very enjoyable. The route looked great in the morning light and the running felt realistic, with a contrasting mix of tough climbs and fast downhill running. I'm looking forward to a second attempt - and to reading about how others get on.
NTP is perfect for steam. Had a nice run with an unbraked 8F coal train on it (Descending to Manchester Victoria down from Miles Platting was interesting, even with almost all of the hand brakes pinned down a fair bit). But that was with the auto fireman before this thread. I’ll report back when I had a chance to tackle this.
The wheel slip at high speeds is close to eliminated in the Jubilee with the latest steam physics update I thought. The 8F still does it a bit. It reduces if you lower the cutoff closer to 0.
I tried a Leeds - Victoria run with a Jubilee and 10 coaches tonight. Haven't played NTP in a while and it showed, going as horribly as possible (well, worse actually). Left Manchester at 10:20, got multiple yellows along the way (including chasing a freight, I believe, in the climb out of Leeds, babying the boiler trying to maintain 150 psi, and a couple conflicts with oncoming traffic on the flat crossings), completely missed the speed restriction at Mirfield and slightly oversped into Huddersfield. The low point of the journey was, essentially, death by boiler explosion as I passed Stalybridge. The safety valve had been blowing for the last mile of the grade down into the station and then pressure suddenly jumped way off the scale, engulfing me in a thick cloud of steam and seizing the locomotive brakes. It eventually died down, pressure falling to 30-40 psi and staying there whatever I'd do, I eventually coasted into Victoria at 11:44, having a hard time managing the descent with the slowest releasing vacuum brake and no pressure available for countersteaming. I'll need to try that again leaving earlier (got distracted by a phone call while setting up) and hopefully without blowing up along the way!
Presumably a bug (TSW doesn't do random failures of this kind to my knowledge) but it's a very strange one. I'm impressed you managed to get the brakes off at all at 30-40 psi. Well done for persisting! I remember by Dad used to say that with a diesel or electric, in most cases once it's failed, it's failed - but with a steam engine, you could almost always limp home. Perhaps this proves the point!
Yes, I most definitely consider this a bug and indeed quite an interesting one! Regarding brake release well... Does 17 (maybe 18) psi to the brake pipe qualify as released? All I know is that it was enough to get it moving again and the terrain did most of the remaining work. I wouldn't expect the TSW steam physics to have been anywhere close to accurate post bug for what it's worth. It's sort of the issue of systems getting more modern and complex: They perform better and fail less frequently but you're screwed when they do fail. While the maths behind a well designed steam engine are probably beyond the average driver & fireman's competence, the logic behind their operation is quite trivial and as long as you can maintain some pressure and aren't missing your wheels or part of the transmission, you can find a way to turn that pressure into forward momentum and limp home. A blown transformer, diesel engine or traction motor isn't going anywhere until towed. I'm a signalling engineer myself (mostly dealing with subways and trams) and similarly, our systems can be built either relying on safety programmable logic controllers or electromechanical logic circuits built out of railway safety relays (the kind that is bigger than both your fists and weighs around a pound per relay). The former fits in a small cabinet where the latter may require a dedicated 15 m² room, the former requires a software engineer, ideally the one who programmed it in the first place, when it fails, the latter a multimeter, functioning eyes, pliers and a screwdriver.
It’s the same story with modern vs classic (for lack of a better term) locos post steam. With traditional electric locos, a driver could still do a fair bit on the move to get her at least rolling into the next depot - of course barring catastrophic failures like transformers. With modern three phase AC electric locos though? There’s almost nothing that can be done on the move. If it’s just a glitch in the software, a restart might fix the loco or opening and closing a suspicious looking fuse - that’s all you can do really.
Yes, the amount of faff needed these days is just horrendous. I mean a simple failure where you know exactly what's wrong now takes phone calls and train delays and cancellations just because you need x, y or z's permission to press a button which you could have pressed minutes or sometimes hours ago and been on your way, perhaps a minute or two down. I never really worked with anything older than HSTs but the amount of times over the years where I have limped to my final destination on one PC or 'fixed' faults with them just to not cause needless delays just can't happen with the new technical computers on rails we have now. That is one of the most admirable things about the kettles, they really don't give in. I am going to give the NTP run a go tomorrow and certainly looking forward to the challenge!
Thanks lcyrrjp for some intelligent thinking, and jetgriff for the real life experience. To control the steam generating inferno, I've been driving in manual, with 50-75% dampers anyway, without having any knowledge of real word operating procedures, so I'm happy to switch to 25-50% total, for a realistic experience. I'm on TSW3 and I created a scenario, but I'm getting pathed on to slow lines with 20s over the points. Could you let me know how you're setting it up ? I got 57:24, maintaining near full pressure, driving on the reverser, which I believe was the LMS/LMR way. From this, it looks as if I'm going to have to change my driving style. It'll be interesting to work it out.
For Spirit of Steam we did it using Timetable Mode. There are a couple of Crewe - Lime St non-stop timetabled services I think, but one of them is the 10:43 (or something close to that). Select that, and it’ll give you the correct route on the fast lines.
Man Vic - Leeds - 2nd Attempt Knowing how best to tackle the climb out of Manchester Victoria is one of the trickiest things about driving steam on this route. Knowing that, even once through Miles Platting, there's plenty more climbing ahead to Ashton, makes me reticent about using up too much steam at the start. I used 44% regulator and 22% cut-off most of the way up, holding 16mph until losing speed on the final steep section, down to 12mph, passing through Miles Platting just 11 seconds quicker than on the first attempt. Once clear of the speed restriction at Miles Platting I used 42% regulator and 24% cut-off and passed the mini-summit at OAGB Junction at 26mph. My braking was better into Stalybridge Junction, but none the less an arrival at Stalybridge was 6 minutes late and only a few seconds faster than my first attempt. I may try being more aggressive next time, but I'd be interested to hear what others do. Starting out of Stalybridge, I tried to retain boiler pressure better for the later stages of the climb to Standedge Tunnel, and as a result the early part of the climb was slower. It paid itself back with higher speeds later in the climb - 34mph entering the tunnel - but the passing time showed a 20 second loss for that section compared to the previous attempt, so back to the drawing board. From there the fast descent to Huddersfield and slightly more practiced braking through the tunnels got me a few seconds back and we arrived in Huddersfield five-and-a-half minutes late - a slight improvement overall, but nothing to write home about. The start out of Huddersfield is an interesting one - being followed by a long period of coasting, so you can give it everything. I did that, and got up to 63mph before braking for Heaton Norris. This time I'd set the route to go through the fly-under, and the benefit of avoiding a 20mph speed restriction through the crossovers at Ravensthorpe felt significant. Arrival in Dewsbury was less than 3 minutes late - nearly 3 minutes made up on schedule, and also over 2 minutes better than the previous run. Having felt slightly gloomy up to that point, I suddenly sensed some hope. A tardy passenger cost me a few seconds at Dewsbury, and the climb to Morley Tunnel was similar to the previous run, entering the tunnel at 32mph. However, my braking for the speed restrictions into Leeds was better, and gained a few more seconds back. Arrival at Leeds was at 07:31:55 - just 55 seconds late, and 31 seconds of that accounted for in station dwell times, so on the running itself just a whisker over schedule. Although this second attempt represents a significant improvement over the first, most of the time was made up through improved braking and correct routing to avoid the 20mph speed restriction at Ravensthorpe. I made no real improvement on the climbs, and I'm convinced they can be done better, so plenty still to go at here, and I'm certain the booked time can be achieved.
Finally had time for a proper attempt at NTP and oh my, what fun it was. It had been some time since I last played NTP and the route has held up so incredibly. Such an atmosphere, especially in a kettle Anyways, here are my timings: Miles Platting (pass): 6:21 Stalybridge: 6:32 Standedge Tunnel (enter): 6:48 Huddersfield: 7:01 Dewsbury: 7:13 Leeds: 7:32 Quite happy with how I did. Since I don’t have a speedometer, I have attached screenshots after the two major climbs out of Victoria and up to Standedge Tunnel: For the climb to Miles Platting, I used the magic 17 cut off with 40 regulator until the even steeper bit comes. There, I used 25 cut off with 40 regulator. I tried to save as much steam as I could since we continue climbing afterwards. In hindsight, I probably could have pushed the old girl a bit harder, but it seemed to work. After the sprint to Miles Platting came the marathon up to Standedge Tunnel. I think I might have found another magic number: 20 cut off with 40 regulator carried me up at decent speed while keeping the pressure steady at 175psi. No adjustments needed. I found that 17 cut off was lacking a bit and 25 was burning pressure too fast for my liking given the marathon, so I tried 20 cut off in between and it worked like a charm Same for the similar, but shorter, climbs around Dewsbury. 20 cut off with 40 regulator at 175psi worked really well in my opinion. Spoiler: Pause menu showing the result of 20 cut off 40 regultor on the way to Standedge Tunnel For the downward bits, there’s not much of interest. Burn through the pressure at 25 cut off 60 regulator if you only need a bit of a push, 25 cut off 40 regulator if you need to gain a lot of speed. 17 cut off with 20 regulator builds pressure back up really nicely while still accelerating. Works best on the flat though. I’ve got more pictures of the pause screen at stations, but I don’t think they add much. Hope I didn’t forget anything. Definitely a lot of fun!
And here are some impressions for those of us who like pictures. The colour ones are also good (some better even), but I decided to upload the black and white ones keeping with the previous pictures. Spoiler: Impressions
So which dampers are you meant to use? From some very brief fiddling it seems like you're meant to use the ones in the same direction of travel.
Manchester Victoria - Leeds Jubilee '45623 Tonga' +7 MKIs Attempt 1 I eventually got round to finding a nice gap to give this a shot and it were very much worth it! I started off from Man Vic without a slip in sight at 0615 on the dot and prepped myself for the uphill sprint ahead, I went into this with 35 regulator and 20 cut off which took me to 16mph and down to 205 PSI by the 1:47 section, where I put 45 on the reg and 22 cut off which took me down to 12mph and 190 PSI. I made it to the summit in 6 minutes but do feel I was way too gentle especially as by the OAGB junction I were blowing off. By Ashton I had got to 40mph but the short steep section there took that down to 34mph and 175PSI. I then rolled into Stalybridge at 06:34.30 5 and a half minutes down. I departed Stalybridge with no fuss at 06:34.30 with the safeties lifting just before departure and knowing the long, hard slog ahead prepared by going with 25 reg and 23 cut off which by Standedge got me to 34mph and down to 175 PSI. In the tunnel I reverted to the good old 40 17 combo which brought my pressure up to 200 PSI and speed to 48mph before braking (surprisingly well may I add) for the 40mph PSR out the tunnel at Marsden. From there down to Huddersfield I kept the reg on 40 but increased the cut off to 19 which seeming to catapult me up to 65mph, and 225 PSI, where I resisted the temptation and put a smidge of brakes on to keep speed between 64 and 66. Then after some more out of character good braking on a kettle I came to a halt in Huddersfield at 07:03.45 6 and three quarter minutes down (25 reg and 23 cut off won't be a method I'll be using again!). Determined to make something of the run I thought I'd get away at 07:04.30 but I were too determined and had some slippage meaning it were 07:04.45 before any progress were made. Down the 1:147 to Heaton Norris I went again with 40 reg and 17 cut off and once again worked a treat getting me up to 65mph and keeping pressure at 205 PSI before braking for the 50 PSR through the fly under and going on another sprint before Ravensthorpe. For this sprint I were a bit more aggressive and went for about 60 reg and 19 cut off which took me up to 63mph but down to 175 PSI before braking for the 45mph PSR at Ravensthorpe. Knowing Dewsbury were round the corner I then took her up to 55mph before beginning my not so good braking curve for Dewsbury which I came to a stand still in at 07:15.30 making 2 and 1/4 minutes but still 4 and a half down. Slightly disheartened after feeling like I'd made up more than a couple of minutes on the last section I departed with a full head of steam at 07:16.15 with and after getting to 10mph set the cut off to 26 and regulator at 40 which quickly took me to 31mph and down to 200PSI where I reverted to 31 on the regulator and 23 on the reverser which held me at just above half a mile a minute (which I knew I had to stay above if I wanted a chance) and kept the pressure and about 200 PSI going into the tunnel. I went back to the magic 40 17 combo which took me to the 50mph by the 50mph PSR at the other end of the tunnel. I then went back to an aggressive 19 cut off and 60 on the regulator once the limit rose to 60mph and by 'eck did the old girl like that taking herself to 63 before the brakes took their effect and speed down to 59/60 again. The painful crawl into Leeds really did take it's toll on my time but I still made it into Leeds at 07:32.30 only a minute and a half down meaning in the 8 or so miles between Dewsbury and Leeds I made up 3 minutes which I am more than happy about. I have got one more day off tomorrow before going back to work on Tuesday so may give it another crack tomorrow as I do feel I'll be able to make that schedule providing I learn from my mistakes.
Great effort, Lamplight. Some of your climbs look better than mine - I’ll try the regulator / cut-off combinations you mention. I love the pictures, particularly the one in front of the cooling towers and the silhouette on the viaduct. They really bring home what a great route this is, and how well it suits steam.
Really interesting run, Matt, and a great write-up. It looks as if we’re all in a similar place, working out how to minimise the time loss on the climbs, sufficiently to be able to recover it on the descents. It feels as if we’re not too far away from the first on time arrival in Leeds. Safety valves lifting at OAGB Junction is miles away from where I’ve been with boiler pressure at the point, so you’ve obviously been very successful at preserving steam and - as you mention - can probably afford to take advantage of that in the later stages of the climbs. It’d be great to hear about a second attempt.
Thanks mate, it is the climbs which catch you out and after these early runs from a few of us surely someone will get it soon. I think perhaps too successful at keeping the steam, so as has been said, definitely need more aggression in the next attempt which I am already looking forward to.
Thanks, I really appreciate your kind words! I liked these two best as well. I’m really surprised with how they turned out. I have a really hard time taking screenshots that actually look passable, but photo mode has motivated me to try again. And every once in a while, one turns out well
For the purpose of trying to create more realistic performance we’ve settled on a maximum of 25% on both dampers. In real life you could use either or both, but Jetgrriff, who actually worked on the locos, has said that normal practice was to open only the rear damper, to no more than 50%.
Ah, in that case it depends what you mean by “meant to use”? If you mean what will achieve the best performance, then the answer is opening both dampers to 100%. The performance will be outstanding. Not realistic, but spectacular. If you mean what will achieve the most realistic performance, then the answer appears to be opening both dampers to 25%.
Are you certain of that? Have you compared opening both dampers to 100% vs. opening one damper to 100% and leaving the other closed?
I’ve done a fair amount of messing about with dampers and my experience is more dampers = more steam. However, generally my aim's been to create realistic performance, and it was quickly apparent that that meant tempering the Jubilee’s ability to maintain boiler pressure, not maximising it. I haven’t done a scientific study of all 25 damper combinations, so if in your experimentation you find something different, it would be interesting to hear about it.
Manchester Victoria - Leeds, Jubilee +7 MKIs Attempt 2: On the back of the so close yet so far run I had Sunday, I went for another go Yesterday afternoon at this rather tricky route for a kettle. I made my departure from Man Vic at 06:15.00 and knowing I could not be losing time got to 10mph swiftly and the same with getting to 15mph. I then used, and slightly adapted Lamplight's 40, 20 combo to be 45 regulator and 20 cut off as I knew I wanted to be a bit more aggressive on this climb and more aggressive I were! I reached 18mph, swiftly, with my pressure dropping to 200 PSI before attacking the last, brutal, section of 1:47 up to Miles Platting with 40 reg and 25 cut off which saw my speed drop to 13mph and Pressure to about 175 PSI. This extra burst of speed on this section saw me pass Miles Platting at 06:20.37 exactly half a minute earlier than my last run, so a good start. I then went to the trusted 40, 17 combo which took me to 40mph before Ashton which, like on the last run, dropped to 34mph and pressure to 180PSI. I then knew I couldn't do anymore on this section to improve my time so I pulled into Stalybridge feeling quietly confident but still being 4 minutes behind schedule arriving at 06:33:00, though better than before. I then mentally prepared myself for the slog up to Standegde tunnel, remembering Lamplight's method, and set off from Stalybridge at 06:34.00 again making the acceleration swift and plunging into the tunnel. I then attacked the climb with the reg set at 45 and 20% cut off praying all would be well and well I were! My speed rapidly got to 35mph, in half the distance it took in the last run and I decided to hold it there reducing the reg to 30 as this had knocked pressure to 160 PSI. I then entered the tunnel where my pressure had built to 180 and accelerated, like a bat out of hell up to 49mph before braking for the 40 PSR at the other end of the tunnel. I then left the darkness and rolled down the hill keeping speed in the 64-66 margin with the safeties blowing off constantly. Although the numbers say it were slightly faster I did feel it were slowing so was nervous as I got closer to Huddersfield. I had lost some time now being 4 and a half behind as I stopped in the platform at 07:01.30. My departure from Huddersfield at 07:02.30 were better than last time with the slip staying under control and so I reach the 15mph swiftly once more and got ready to just rag it on the fastest section of the line and so the best section to make up time. before braking for the 50mph PSR at Heaton Norris I had reached 68mph and down to 175PSI with the reg being at 70 odd and 17% cut off, though I think most of the thanks must go to the nice steep downwards gradient of 1:147! After going through the fly under I then went to 55 reg and 18 cut off which took me up to 61mph and down to 190 PSI before braking for the 45mph PSR at the junction. I then went to 19% cut off and 55 reg which got me to 53 before braking for the stop at Dewsbury. I then positively rolled into Dewsbury 2 down at 07:13.00. By this time dynamic weather had it's effect and so it was now raining heavily and so at 07:14.00 I slowly made my way out of Dewsbury however the gradient and wet rails combined to make it a real task with 0-10mph taking a whole minute. Once I started to make some progress though I really did crack on with it using 40 reg and 20 cut off reaching 30mph by the tunnel and then meeting the 50mph mark as I left the tunnel with the good old 40 reg 17 cut off being used. Once the limit increased to 60mph I were away with the old lass creeping up to 62mph at one point. I then started my braking curve, knowing I were tight for time, but wary of leaving it too late because of previous experiences with the Jub's brakes and met all the PSRs on the Leeds approach. Crawling across the various sets of points I saw the seconds ticking down knowing I couldn't do anything else. I hit the end of the platform and rolled towards that danger signal on 5a and came to a halt at exactly 07:30.56, 4 seconds early! There are still, I would say, another 2 minutes that can be made on that but I think for now I'll take the on time arrival! I will put my little table below and I have some screenshots but have just looked at the time and have got to go to bed as I do have to work tomorrow!
Fantastic run, and first to Leeds on time - great effort, Matt, and thanks for all the detail in the report. Comparing your times to your first run, the difference really was in the climbing. The descent from Huddersfield to Leeds was actually slower (it sounds as if that was due to the weather) but you’d gained so much time on the climbs it didn’t matter. I’m looking forward to giving this another go to see whether I can match your efforts. It sounds as if I need to get more aggressive on the climbs.
Congrats, matt#4801. Like lcyrrjp said, the climbs seem to have made the difference. Looking at your time, seems like we were roughly in the same spot at Dewsbury, but you got to Leeds early(!) in adverse conditions while I arrived late, so that seems to be somewhere I need to be more aggressive. In regards to our climbs overall, I notice that the 4-minute delay at Stalybridge was carried forward to Huddersfield in your run. I wonder if there’s a strategy we’re missing to get to Stalybridge on time.
From some very brief fiddling it does seem that "only front damper at 25%" does produce more steam than "both front and rear dampers at 25%". I'd be interested to hear if you get similar results.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the read, as there were a lot there! Thanks, the climbs were certainly what done it, especially the acceleration into the climbs because, as I mentioned, it were taking approximately half the distance to get to the same speed, and then holding it there kept the pressure stable enough too. Yes, it took a whole minute near enough just to get the loco, tender and two coaches off the platform at Dewsbury and must admit braking for Ravensthorpe and Leeds were a bit shabby but as you say once I got the traction the climbs got the time back. On reflection I would even say 3 mins early could be achieved but that would obviously be providing no mistakes were made (so that rules me out of it!). You really did crack it with the 40, 20 as I would have been nowhere without it especially on that last section where as I have said the rate of acceleration of that loco was excellent (in kettle terms) and will certainly be one I bear in mind when driving PFR. I think it is the aggression as that and my use of 40, 20 were the only major changes compared to the first attempt. The thing that kills chance of getting to Stalybridge is that initial killer of a climb up to Miles Platting, so if the time it takes to go up that is reduced in theory we should be able to significantly improve the timings of the rest of the run. I am currently on my way home and so when I get there I'll upload the screenshots I took of the jub (that photo mode is excellent!).
