So I have run into some F7 issues on the Journey for Cajon Pass. A couple of the F7 journeys that leave San Bernadino cannot make the uphill climb on the 2.2% grade, they just bog down and if you were to inch along, it would take a couple hours when it should take half an hour if the trains could reach speed. Now I have started a Journey in Cajon Pass, G-SDGABQ5-04 from San Diego to Albuquerque, again out of San Bernadino. It is 14550tons and 96 cars long. It has 8 of the large modern engines, 4 in front, two in the middle and two at the end. After getting out of speed limit in San Bernadino and going full bore, I hit 31mph before hitting the 2.2% grade and now I am slowing losing speed, now down to 18mph. Speed limit is 55, mostly, and it is going to take a long time to travel the 16miles to my destination. This cannot be real life accurate, can it? Or are some of these routes not properly run through and tested? I cannot imagine IRL, that long trains like this would be hobbled. Is the physics off in the game? It the journey not properly configured? I want it to be fun, not a slow slog that may never get to the destination. Wondering if anyone else has run into this. For the two journeys with the F7, I did submit a ticket to DTG. May have to submit one for this as well. Yes, Banking comms are on and the rear most engines are showing power on the monitors when looking through the window. Just looking for your thoughts. Thanks.
That speed is normal for the 2.2% grade in CJP. The average is 15-20 mph with those lengthy consists. The F7's are only 1,500 horses each, so they will struggle on the mountain, even with those comically short consists, especially since DTG failed to equip them with banking com which would have enabled helper locos. Same problem as Clinchfield, never fixed, though the AI trains sprint along, of course, as they also do on CJP.
These trains are not built for speed. A canadian engineer we talked to during development said that on his railroad it was even more extreme - they'd often get given a train that had barely enough power to make it up the grade, and crawled along at 8 or 9 mph until they hit the top. Remember it won't be the whole way - once you hit summit you're on a low gentle down hill all the way to Barstow where you'll find your train has the opposite problem - trying to keep it to speed. In this case, remember that above 30mph you really dont have dynamic brakes to speak of and will need to rely on those horrendous air brakes entirely. I'd recommend sticking to 30mph personally Matt.
Thanks for the reply Matt and the info. I was aware of the 30mph max for effective dynamic breaking as you had it in the Training Center! Before TSW3 and the Training Center, I was unaware of that 10-30mph effective range for the dynamic breaking. Much appreciate the response.
Literally punching the air right now for joy, love it when people come back and confirm tutorials helped, genuinely happy, thanks for the feedback
Great, but I have to say that I get effective dynamic braking at speeds above 30 mph. I was just coming down the Eastern slope of SPG and, when slightly speeding at around 40mph, was able to bring it down to 35 mph and from 35 mph to 30 mph, just using the dynamic brake. So there is some leeway there, don't you agree?
Just to add to the joy: I can't remember if I said anything at the time, but the time you took in your initial Sherman Hill stream to explain and hands-on demonstrate downhill braking in those massive trains was very helpful to me in getting the hang of controlling the less massive Sand Patch trains on the long slope. I was kind of managing (though definitely not getting any points for style), but hearing the logic and purpose behind each different piece of the process while seeing same in action made a great deal of difference. I've done the same, and I think 30 is more a soft cap than a hard one. Maybe it's also possible that, Sand Patch being the very first route, the built-in physics are a little different.
It's a fall off of efficacy rather than a cessation, kinda peaks 30 to 34 ish then drops off, they are still kinda doing something even at 50 but not much and not enough to have a material impact hence guidance to stay around or slightly under max at the slower end because the minute you need to drag in more air you're in for a tougher time Thanks for the feedback on the video too, much appreciated- I wanted to share what I found was the joy of us freight downhill and enjoyed doing the stream so I'm glad ita been of value too
Also realize that the train lengths are like 50% shorter in spg compared to Sherman Hill, hsc and cjp, so the load isn't like super heavy and 10000 tons. Heavier trains, you want to go much slower so you don't lose control
