TrainSim.Com Train Simulator FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About MSTS
3. OPERATIONS QUESTIONS
CAN YOU COUPLE/UNCOUPLE CARS YOURSELF, OR IS IT DONE BY THE SIM?
You can couple and uncouple cars yourself. Uncoupling is done by
selecting an option in a dialog box; you view a simplified image of
the train and double click between the two cars you want uncoupled.
Cars will couple automatically if pushed together.
CAN YOU THROW SWITCHES YOUSELF, OR IS IT DONE BY THE SIM?
It depends. If you are running an activity using switching or if you
are in Free Mode, then you can throw switches yourself. On activities
involving a haul along the main line, then the switches may set for
you.
When throwing switches yourself there is a pop-up box that shows the
setting of the one closest switch in front and in back of your train.
A keypress lets you change either of these two switches. If you are
too close to a switch, even though you seem clear of it, the switch
may not change.
HOW WILL YOU KNOW DISTANCES WHEN BACKING INTO A SIDING OR MAKING UP A
TRAIN?
Different views are available which depict the train from almost any
direction. You can just select a view which shows the back of your
train, and you will see what you need to see, all while you're still
driving from the front of the train. In addition, the coupler cam
view displays the distance to couple numerically.
CAN YOU USE A JOYSTICK WITH MSTS?
The sim does not directly support use of a joystick. Some people have
been successful using programmable joysticks, where the stick, top
hat, buttons, etc. can be programmed to generate the keystrokes that
the sim is expecting.
Some users have found "JoystickCursorTool" useful. It can be found here:
It allows a joystick to generate keystrokes
WHEN I TRY TO RING THE BELL ON THE GP38-2 IT ONLY RINGS WHILE I HOLD THE
"B" KEY DOWN, BUT ACCORDING TO THE MANUAL IT'S SUPPOSED TO TOGGLE ON AND
OFF. HOW DO I MAKE THE BELL STAY ON?
To get the bell to ring continuously, press the "B" and hold it down.
Then press and hold the Shift key, release the "B" key and finally release
the Shift key. The bell will now stay on until you hit the "B" key again.
ON THE DASH 9 THE BRAKE RELEASE EARLY AS SOON AS YOU START TO PULL BACK
THE LEVER. HOW DO YOU FIX THIS?
In the Dash 9 .eng file there is a line that looks like this:
Notch ( 0.3 1 TrainBrakesControllerGraduatedSelfLapLimitedStart )
It should actually be:
Notch ( 0.3 1 TrainBrakesControllerGraduatedSelfLapLimitedHoldin gStart )
This is in the EngineControllers section. Notice the word "Holding"
is missing from the first statement.
With this fix the brakes do not release and the air system does not start
to recharge until the automatic brake valve handle is placed all the way
back to the release position, which is how it works in real life.
HOW DO I MAKE THE GP38-2 THROTTLE WORK PROPERLY WITH 8 NOTCHES?
There is a mistake in the GP38's .eng file. Open the file
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\TRAINS\TRAINSET\GP38\gp38.eng
with WordPad (important; do not use Notepad). Look for the line that
defines the throttle, it looks like this:
Throttle ( 0 1 0.125 0 0.
There is an extra zero and period on the end that is preventing the
throttle from working properly, using 8 notches. Remove it so the line
looks like this:
Throttle ( 0 1 0.125 0
Save the gp38.eng file and the throttle will now work properly.
CAN I GET A HEAD OUT THE WINDOW VIEW ON DIESELS, LIKE THE VIEW THAT THE
STEAM LOCOMOTIVES HAVE?
Yes. It involved adding one line to the diesel's .eng file. For example,
to change the default GP38-2 use WordPad to open this file:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\TRAINS\TRAINSET\GP38\gp38.eng
Look for the line that defines the cab view file:
CabView ( gp38.cvf )
After that line, insert this:
HeadOut (1.8 3.7 5.1 )
This new line adds a head out the window view, and defines the coordinates
where you are looking from. The three numbers are the x, y, z coordinates
from the center of the locomotive and can be adjusted if desired.
HOW TO I REFUEL A DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE?
On the GP38 the refueling point is just behind the engine's center fuel
tank. If you center the GP38 in front of the Whitefish fuel pump and hit
the "T" key, nothing happens even though this is what the manual tells you
to do. Through experimentation it's been found that the point on the
engine is just behind the tank. This would be the side of the tank closest
to the rear wheels.
Move your engine very slowing toward the back of the center fuel tank. Do
this while holding the "T" key. At some point the fuel will begin to flow
into the GP38. To confirm refueling you might hit the F9 TRAIN OPERATIONS
KEY displaying your engine, then double click the engine and it will show
the total amount of gallons of fuel onboard. In the refueling operation,
if you have found the right spot next to the tank, the number of gallons
reading will begin to increase. You can also hit the F5 key twice to
display the fuel load in the HUD display.
WHAT DOES "SELF LAP" MEAN AS IT APPLIES TO BRAKES ON THE TRAIN?
Self-lap is a feature in the 26L and newer generation brake valves.What
happens is as follows:
In the control stand, attached to the air brake system is an equalizing
reservoir (ER), a small device that contains air at the same pressure that
the brake pipe is set to. When an engineer wishes to make a brake pipe
reduction, he/she uses this device to measure the amount of air to take
out of the brake system in order to apply the brakes. Because this vessel
is so small, an engineer can make accurate reductions which are then
reflected in the brake pipe. So, the engineer moves the brake valve to the
desired postion using the equalizing reservoir for measurement and the ER
then exhausts the amount of air that the brake valve has been set to. The
brake pipe (BP) will then exhaust its air according to the ER reduction.
Inside the brake valve and ER there is a diaphram that moves back and
forth according to air pressure. When the BP is higher than the ER, air is
exhausted out of the BP to the atmosphere through an exhaust port until
both are equalized. When this point is reached the diaphram has moved
closing the exhaust port so that no more air is discharged from the BP,
at this point the air has lapped.
In previous generations of air brakes (24RL, such as found on old GP9's
and F's) the engineer would move the brake valve to set the brakes (still
using an equalizing reservoir for measurement) but there was no diaphram
feature. Instead there was a lap position on the brake valve itself that
the engineer would have to pull back to in order to stop the air from
exhausting from the BP after the desired reduction had been made. (Closing
the exhaust port "manually").
So with the newer generations of brake valves you move it to the desired
position and the diaphram automatically cuts off the BP exhaust when that
point is reached, hence the term "self lap".
DURING THE MIDDLE OF AN ACTIVITY OR AN EXPLORE ROUTE SESSION CAN I CHANGE
FROM DRIVING ONE LOCOMOTIVE TO DRIVING A DIFFERENT ONE?
No, this is currently not possible.
WHY DO I KEEP GETTING ACTIVITY OVER BROKEN COUPLE IN THE MARIAS PASS ROUTE?
There is a problem at some places in the Marias Pass Route. This can be
cured in two ways:
1. The couplers as they come have a value of 1.7e7N or something close to
this. These values can be changed to prevent the broken coupler syndrome.
The general recommendation is to the value to 5.1e7N, which takes a
nuclear explosion to break. A value of 3.7e7N for is also used by many,
you will break the couplers with really bad train handling. Engmod 1.4
from the download library, can be used to modify the coupler values on all
the rolling stack at once verses doing it one at a time in Wordpad.
Though you need to be careful because some of the files have the read only
attribute turned on, these can be turned off in the file property screen.
All of the autorack's have this.
2. You can delete the bounding boxes for the #10 switches/turnouts
Just edit the following four files using Wordpad, found in
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\GLOBAL\SHAPES
A1tPnt10dLftMnl.sd
A1tPnt10dRgtMnl.sd
A1tPnt10dLft.sd
A1tPnt10dRgt.sd
Delete the ESD_Bounding_Box line in each of the files. Do not leave a blank
line where you deleted the parameter.
WHAT IS THE GOOD OF THE DYNAMIC BRAKES?
Dynamic brakes are best suited for maintaining a speed on a downgrade. The
cannot be used as a "parking brake" as they are only effective when the
train is moving.
What happens in dynamic braking is that the power to the traction motors is
cut. The traction motors continue to be turned by the wheels, but act as
generators. The electricity they generate is passed into resistor grids,
where it is converted to heat, which is dissipated by fans. In the process
of acting as generators, the traction motors put out a resistive force to
the wheels, which helps slow the train, or at least keep it from
accelerating.
When dynamic braking is active it releases the automatic brakes on the
locomotive, since both braking systems would result in too much resistance
and cause the wheels to slide, which would cause flat spots and shells on
the wheels. The exception is blended braking, which is used on some
locomotives to make braking even more efficient.
Blended braking is controlled by computer and will use some automatic brake
while in the lower range of dynamic braking. The greater amperage the
dynamics generate the less automatic brake cylinder pressure is used. In
full dynamics the automatic brake will still be completely released.
Blended braking is tied into the wheel slip and tractive effort monitoring
subroutines in the locomotive computer systems.
The use of dynamic brakes greatly increases the life of brake shoes.
As far as dynamics being "locked out", to engage them, you must reduce the
throttle to zero, then wait anywhere from 10-20 seconds, before trying to
engage the dynamics. If you try to engage them too soon, they simply won't
engage.
