Woodhead Route Class 76 How To Drive It?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by sjmlancs, Apr 29, 2019.

  1. sjmlancs

    sjmlancs New Member

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    Hi All

    I'm a bit of a woodhead route enthusiast so took the plung & purchased the route pack. I've followed the instructions to drive the loco but I'm struggling to get the loco above 40mph. The brake level is always at 13% & I'm struggling to work out if that is meant to be that way or am I doing something wrong.

    I know the 76 is a complex loco to drive & not as simple as a class 47 for instance. I'm using the steam version if that helps.

    Cheers

    Si
     
  2. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    The Woodhead loco's start with the traction motors connected in serial which is best for starting and low speeds. Once you get to about 30mph you should power all the way down, switch to parallel and power up again. In the original route's EM1 and the EM2 (Class 77) you can make the switch by pressing B but I can't speak for the newer Corporate Blue era route.
     
  3. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    A lot of locos have brakes in "running" rather then "off" so it's normal to have them at a small percentage of around 15% in that running mode.

    With regards to high speeds, as JJTimothy says older locos (especially the electrics) worked in different modes when working at low and high speeds so I'd re-read the manuals and chekc again as there's likely something you've missed (such as going all the way to power OFF when switching between modes which you don't have to do in other model types)
     
  4. sjmlancs

    sjmlancs New Member

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    Thanks for the reply chaps I shall give it another go this evening & see where I get. I have had trouble in the past with bugs in some routes & wondered if it was one of those hot it's no doubt me driving it wrong.
     
  5. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    Although the HUD shows around 12% the needles showing the brakes are Off.
    Just try a Free Roam to get used to the Loco
    Put the Direction Leaver to FWD and the SER/PAR handle to SER.
    Notch up until you are on Full Power then move the Handle back to Notch 1 and Change to PAR
    You can now notch up again to get higher speed from the loco(s)
    This might help -

    Peter
     
  6. inversnecky

    inversnecky Well-Known Member

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    Is the 76 one of the hardest locos to master, I wonder....
     
  7. Cat

    Cat Well-Known Member

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    As with most things, once you know how it's easy. The Class 86/87 is the more difficult to master and has a pretty unique method of driving.
    Perhaps Peter might correct me on that. ;)
     
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  8. inversnecky

    inversnecky Well-Known Member

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    I haven't tried the 86 yet. I have a 73 which I need to read the manual for as when I tried it on the fly, I couldn't get it to move.

    There's also a discussion here:

    https://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?f=359&t=122269

    There seems to be disagreement over whether the power control has to be put to off or R1 in moving from series to parallel. Probably both work, but one is more realistic?
     
  9. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    No, I agree with you.
    Once you have mastered the Class 86 and 87 they are fun to drive but you have to keep an eye on them
     
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  10. Peter Hayes

    Peter Hayes Well-Known Member

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    Eric
    when you have mastered driving the Class 76 look on YouTube for Class 76 regenerative braking as that is part of the fun in driving this unique loco.
    For the class 86 - I wrote a small tutorial on UKTS
    Class 86 Driving Instructions UKTS File ID 39562 (earlier versions - can also relate to Class 87 too)
    Note the Class 76BX (Woodhead Blue) is a different beast to drive
     
  11. ntypeman

    ntypeman Well-Known Member

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    I really don't have a problem driving the 86/87's but the Woodhead electrics really freak me out...!!! :o

    Eric
     
  12. inversnecky

    inversnecky Well-Known Member

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    It’s the sort of loco you need to have read the manual to know the controls, the series and parallel arrangements, full field and weak field, plus the regenerative and rheostatic braking.

    Not Woodhead, but the 73 looks similarly fun, being not only third rail electric with series and parallel setups, but also diesel. Its manual includes some of the information that the Woodhead 76 should really have done, and can shed some light on its controls:

    https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/258659/manuals/Class_73_Gatwick_Express_Manual_EN.pdf
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2021
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  13. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead Well-Known Member

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    Take a look at this walk through... it's covered in here.
     
  14. inversnecky

    inversnecky Well-Known Member

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    Not sure if this is slightly OT, but I've been reading an interesting book about the history of electric trains in Britain, and I've learned that electric locos such as the 76 had a number of notches due to the need for more precide control compared to multiple units. EMUs tended to have, for example, just four - shunt, series, parallel and weakfield notch settings, with the resisters being switched out automatically.

    There's reference in the book to "notching current", whereby the driver would notch up only when the current had fallen to ca certain value, but I son't think any of TS trains, even the AP versions, include that sort of precision!

    It certainly adds to the enjoyment of driving these in TS, to know a little more about the real life operations.

    9E199771-7721-4DB5-8353-601BAC5DA4FE.jpeg A2D93AFF-C413-4C89-A5FE-686F004CCB2A.jpeg EFC23235-3D23-45BA-9574-8AAF42F37A00.jpeg 5BB0E915-0E1F-4F9E-AF70-327D8F678191.jpeg 7108711B-4288-413A-AD8B-2FE1A98DF732.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2021
  15. inversnecky

    inversnecky Well-Known Member

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    Here's the rest, as you can only have five photos per post:

    AD4F9F24-873C-4B42-AD40-982DE3B5AD25.jpeg A782D446-608E-4E87-A353-EB052CFEB8E6.jpeg 89DFFC20-F67E-403E-B05A-8DB508BE8B53.jpeg 3C696082-E345-43DD-ABC3-D9FBF6EFF161.jpeg 429615FE-7578-46EE-A530-B28B283DAFB4.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2021

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