Managing brakes (realistic)

[lnomsim]

How to do?

I went from the harbour to Food Factory and Tow, DE2, only 4 cars, 100T, I started reducing speed when approaching the big descent (the circular one in the tunnels), I had to put both hydraulics braked at maximum and even activate manual brakes, the train still arrived at 60km/h at the station and derailed.

I'd love to apply less brake to prevent them from overheating and slipping, but I can't even imagine how fast I would arrive at the end of the descent.

So far, I haven't been able to finish even a single delivery, I always arrive way too fast even by driving slowly each time there is a 4 or 3 turn. I never manage to slow down below 50.

[Azige]

Did you open the valves of brake pipe? This is the last thing I can imagine from your description. You just overheat the brake on loco and brakes on other cars were not working at all.

[schutt]

We now have brake fading then the brakes overheat and it sounds like you got that, so basically you need to slow down enough in between to be able to release the brakes for a while to cool them off. When you go into the external view and look at the brakes you see them glowing then they are hot and do less braking.

So you need to be slow earlier and make sure your brakes dont overheat, on the other engines you can use the dynamic brake... but de2 has no dynamic brake, so to prevent overheating you somehow need to slow down and cool them.

Another point is that wet tracks get slippery and if you did brake to late maybe you went to fast to slow down. It seems that adhering strictly to the speed limit is no longer the only thing to worry, need to go slower in some cases.

Sanding also does help braking in my experience, but i am not sure if it only helps on the locomotiv or if the cars get benefit from the sand as well.

[Nake]

It's really very strange, I can't think of a valid reason for it, it's hard to brake sometimes but I find it incredible that you can't stop the train. I just can't think of any ideas. It would be nice if you could share your screen on discord so that those who know (I'm not one of them) can help you better. This is the link https://discord.com/invite/altfuture

[Wiseguy]

Originally posted by Vortex:

the ind brake is well simulated now due to heating (before it was too op to stop a complete train).. so it will never stop a train now.

I'm not sure it was intentional, but that was a HUGE quality-of-life feature. The train brake took forever and a day to recharge, so I hardly ever used it. The independent feels a lot weaker (even when just driving the DE2 around) but at least the train brake recharges a lot faster.

[Russko]

don't use a shunter for mainline

[lnomsim]

Originally posted by Russko:

don't use a shunter for mainline

Yeah, good advice, but... I kind of need both a license and a loco to not use the DE2...

And so far, I have only found either DE6 or steam engines.

[Mama Cel]

One other thing to remember, if the wheels have broken free and are sliding, no amount of braking force is going to slow you down. All the brakes can do is resist the wheels spinning and it's the friction force between the wheels and the track that's going to actually slow you. If there's no longer friction because you are sledding down the mountain, the brakes are gonna be useless. So you might need to actually release the brakes fully to let the wheels start spinning again, apply sand, then more slowly apply the brakes so they can more gradually slow down.

Dunno if this may have had anything to do with it or not, but just a thought. It's something I have had trouble with recently in this game since the update, but also in the past in TSW too.

Alternatively, reload a save from the top of the hill, and take it at less of a clip to start, so you can manage it better on the way down. It does make very frequent autosaves now. And I think that you will be stopped when you reload a save, no matter if you were moving or not when it saved.

And if you want to find the other engines spawned, I've had the most luck in the bigger areas, like Harbor and Machine. They often have several different locos sitting in the roundhouse and nearby in parking. The DM3 does take some getting used to with shifting, but it has engine compression braking in addition to the usual brakes which helps a lot with the big hills. And FYI, the train brake in DM3 is NOT self-lapping. So you pull it back two positions to start applying, then move forward one position to lap and hold it at the current set. Move it all the way forward to the original position to release. But overall I've found the DM3 a lot more useful than the DE2. It still chugs going up hills, but it'll make it, albeit slowly. And it's much more tolerant with overheating than the DE2. Not perfect, but it's much more affordable than the DH4, which requires train length 2 license to buy its license.

[lnomsim]

Originally posted by Akhenaera:

One other thing to remember, if the wheels have broken free and are sliding, no amount of braking force is going to slow you down. All the brakes can do is resist the wheels spinning and it's the friction force between the wheels and the track that's going to actually slow you. If there's no longer friction because you are sledding down the mountain, the brakes are gonna be useless. So you might need to actually release the brakes fully to let the wheels start spinning again, apply sand, then more slowly apply the brakes so they can more gradually slow down.

Dunno if this may have had anything to do with it or not, but just a thought. It's something I have had trouble with recently in this game since the update, but also in the past in TSW too.

Alternatively, reload a save from the top of the hill, and take it at less of a clip to start, so you can manage it better on the way down. It does make very frequent autosaves now. And I think that you will be stopped when you reload a save, no matter if you were moving or not when it saved.

And if you want to find the other engines spawned, I've had the most luck in the bigger areas, like Harbor and Machine. They often have several different locos sitting in the roundhouse and nearby in parking. The DM3 does take some getting used to with shifting, but it has engine compression braking in addition to the usual brakes which helps a lot with the big hills. And FYI, the train brake in DM3 is NOT self-lapping. So you pull it back two positions to start applying, then move forward one position to lap and hold it at the current set. Move it all the way forward to the original position to release. But overall I've found the DM3 a lot more useful than the DE2. It still chugs going up hills, but it'll make it, albeit slowly. And it's much more tolerant with overheating than the DE2. Not perfect, but it's much more affordable than the DH4, which requires train length 2 license to buy its license.

I redid almost the same route with a heavier train (but still a DE2) and this time managed to slow down enough. And that portion is actually tricky. During the tunnels, the slope is going down, until it reaches the switch.
And then... it goes slightly up, meaning with a 'heavy' train, we still need momentum to reach the last tunnel, and of course, after the last tunnel, the slope goes way down. So it's not even possible to slow down enough to prevent the brakes from overheating.

About the DM3, I'm going nowhere near it. That manual shift is a thing made of a nightmare. I already have to take care of enough things in a very limited time to have to manage the sticks of deadly hell that can blow the engine.

I'm definitely saving for the DH4. Until then, I'll take my chances with DE2 MU and go extra slowly on steep slopes.

[Mama Cel]

Aye, that's fair. I can understand it being daunting with the shifting, it definitely takes some getting used to. And the DH4 license isn't a lot really, especially if you aren't going to bother with the DM3. I think it's like 80,000 total including the two train length licenses you need prior to the DH. I haven't used the DH yet so I'm not sure how it performs, but I'm pretty sure it'll be better than the DE2 =) Good luck!

[ovidiurosb]

Originally posted by lnomsim:

I redid almost the same route with a heavier train (but still a DE2) and this time managed to slow down enough. And that portion is actually tricky. During the tunnels, the slope is going down, until it reaches the switch.
And then... it goes slightly up, meaning with a 'heavy' train, we still need momentum to reach the last tunnel, and of course, after the last tunnel, the slope goes way down. So it's not even possible to slow down enough to prevent the brakes from overheating.

About the DM3, I'm going nowhere near it. That manual shift is a thing made of a nightmare. I already have to take care of enough things in a very limited time to have to manage the sticks of deadly hell that can blow the engine.

I'm definitely saving for the DH4. Until then, I'll take my chances with DE2 MU and go extra slowly on steep slopes.

Glad you managed the brakes. With time you will get used.
As for DM3 is so fun to drive and easy after you get used with the gearboxes. And the sound of that engine, priceless. I blow up the engine twice because i down shifted by mistake from the highest gear. :D

[zcaalock]

Did you open valves when attaching carts? it sounds like rest of the train don’t get pressure in brakes.

[Mama Cel]

Originally posted by ovidiurosb:

Glad you managed the brakes. With time you will get used.
As for DM3 is so fun to drive and easy after you get used with the gearboxes. And the sound of that engine, priceless. I blow up the engine twice because i down shifted by mistake from the highest gear. :D

I agree, I really like the DM3 too. And the sound is sweet =) I get that it's not everyone's cup of tea tho. I'm just one of those oddballs that really enjoys the more complex mechanical systems like that.

[Russko]

the dm3 is a beast, it's a crawler under heavy weight but pull super hard and is super fun to drive. i just a note with the right order of gearing. i put it here so if someone need it

1-1
1-2
2-1
2-2
3-1
3-2
2-3
3-3

[Nake]

Originally posted by lnomsim:

I'm definitely saving for the DH4. Until then, I'll take my chances with DE2 MU and go extra slowly on steep slopes.

The best idea if you ask me

Also remember that it is called Derail Valley for a reason, remember that derailing and destroying everything is a game mechanic. My first day I derailed a DE2 at 35km on a curve in a town less than 10 minutes into the game. I didn't see any point in that but hey it was a welcome reminder of what I'm playing. There are some curves that at more than 30km you can derail, don't get frustrated if that happens to you, just take screenshots, enjoy the moment. Try to save often and you can try again if you have an accident

[lnomsim]

Originally posted by Nake:

Originally posted by lnomsim:

I'm definitely saving for the DH4. Until then, I'll take my chances with DE2 MU and go extra slowly on steep slopes.

The best idea if you ask me :lunar2019coolpig:

Also remember that it is called Derail Valley for a reason, remember that derailing and destroying everything is a game mechanic. My first day I derailed a DE2 at 35km on a curve in a town less than 10 minutes into the game. I didn't see any point in that but hey it was a welcome reminder of what I'm playing. There are some curves that at more than 30km you can derail, don't get frustrated if that happens to you, just take screenshots, enjoy the moment. Try to save often and you can try again if you have an accident

Except I'm playing in realistic difficulty, so no rollback. If I run out of money, it's game over.