Making The Grade

[Shortliner]

So one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced in ORTS is getting a long train up a steep grade. So far I have been unsuccessful. I either let the wheel slip too much, I lose all of my momentum or my sanders get blocked.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get a long freight train up a steep grade?

[derickavery]

So one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced in ORTS is getting a long train up a steep grade. So far I have been unsuccessful. I either let the wheel slip too much, I lose all of my momentum or my sanders get blocked.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get a long freight train up a steep grade?

Is this a self made consist or is it an activity by someone else? It depends on how much power you have? Is your power (locomotives) all up front? Do you have helpers? Is it a wet track you are dealing with? All these could play a factor in making the grade. Once you make the grade going up, will you have sufficient power on the decline to keep it from running away from you? I've watched things on YouTube where some trains stalled and had to request for addition power to be sent out to help them make it up a grade. I've also enjoyed playing activities where this has happened. Those guru's who's job it is to assign the correct power needed to get the job done, my hat's off to you.

[geepster775]

Two sliders under the experimental tab set the likelihood of wheel slip or other adhesion variables. Defaults are 130 and 10.

Sanding line in ENG file sets the max speed at which sanding cuts out (by getting blocked). Should be set somewhere between 15-20 mph.

[geepster775]

Climbing the old line on Rogers Pass with a 6,000 ton autorack with 3 SD40-2s


Departing Golden on a day with threatening weather






Passing Beavermouth




Increasing overcast as we pass the 5 unit helper at Rogers helper station, taking a run at the hill unassisted. During the SD40-2 era kept a 5 unit pack for non-coal or grain trains, and a 6 unit SD40-2 helper for grain and coal.




On dry rail approaching mid-grade siding of Griffith, speed is down to 12 mph and I'm in the red zone.




That pesky variable weather in ORTS starts a sprinkle about 2 minutes later, and wheel slip hits me fast.




Stalled on the 2.4% on account of wet rail.




Helpers scramble to the rescue.

[geepster775]

On the move again with helper on the rear.







Head end over Mountain Creek bridge





Rear end over Mountain Creek bridge





Passing Griffith siding





All 8 SD40-2s putting out 3,000 HP and capable of holding 23-27 mph in Run 8. I had to modulate throttle between 7 and 8 in a few places on account slackening grade.





Arriving at the top of the hard grade at Stoney Creek siding, slowing to stop to cut off helpers.







Head-end can continue unassisted into the (old) big tunnel

[R. Steele]

You send consider converting to OR native physics for the player consist. You have a PM.
Gerry

[Komachi]

I, have no idea myself other than changing out the SD40s for something with a bit more oomph. Hope you can get it figured out as I KNOW that is not helpful, lol

[baldwin]

The MSTS eng file is underpowered in OR. This is because the MaxPower line in MSTS is lower tham true max to allow for power losses in the drive train. OR does this automatically so it is making the locomotives even less powerful than they were in MSTS. The initial simple solution is to change the MaxPower line to the true hp or kW of the prime mover. For the SD40-2 that would be 3000hp or 2237.1kW.

[geepster775]

Not only are most locomotives under powered, but the vast majority of railcars are over weight, too.

Look at these tri-level autorack specs on BNSF's website

http://www.bnsf.com/ship-with-bnsf/ways-of-shipping/equipment/pdf/Tri-Level-Specs.pdf

The empty car weighs 106,000 pounds. Maximum weight of autos that can be carried is 73,000 pounds, which averages 4,867 pounds per automobile based on 15 sedans per tri autorack, or 2.4 tons per sedan. All reasonable weight figures.

Combined empty car and full complement of autos cannot exceed 179,000 pounds, or 89.5 US tons.

If you look in the wag file for any SLI autorack like the one's used in my screens, the loaded car is given a weight of 86 US tons. Unfortunately, this sim uses Metric tons, not US tons. 86 US tons is only 78 Metric tons. If the intention is to represent a car that weights 86 US tons, which is in the ballpark of normal (very seldom are they maxed out), then it needs a weight value of 78 in the wag file. Instead, the sim reads the wag file as 86 Metric tons, which equates to 95 US tons. 95 US tons is 190,000 pounds, so each individual autorack is seen by the sim as 11,000 pounds heavier than the maximum gross weight permitted per the BNSF diagram.

[R. Steele]

Not only is it what baldwin and geepster mentioned, it is also this particular.
There is no real understanding of the coding used in MSTS for adhesion, resistance and tractive force. Even if the values given in the engine files are accurate ( and many are not - higher or lower given the model makers predilections ) there is no way to know how MSTS used those values. There has been some very inspired and knowledgeable guesses...and the OR developers have done a marvelous job of coding backward compatibility to msts. But the end result is a best guess about how it was all used in MSTS ( evidently not too well as shown by all the hacks and work-arounds devised since 2001 to arrive at even a simplistic approximation of real world operating physics)

Take the advice by baldwin & geepster - examine and correct those parameters in the msts files and also learn how to implement OR physics with the use of the ORTS Diesel Engine block, ORTS Max Tractive Curves, the Curtius Kniffler numbers, and the Davis Numbers.

[=FI=Ghost]

The MSTS eng file is underpowered in OR. This is because the MaxPower line in MSTS is lower tham true max to allow for power losses in the drive train. OR does this automatically so it is making the locomotives even less powerful than they were in MSTS. The initial simple solution is to change the MaxPower line to the true hp or kW of the prime mover. For the SD40-2 that would be 3000hp or 2237.1kW.

This is very interesting. I had no idea about this.

What I do with every piece of equipment before I use it in ORTS (previously in MSTS) is that I upgrade it to Bill Prieger's physics. However, I didn't know about the under power issue. I guess I have to correct all of my locos now in this section as well.

Thank you very much!

[derekmorton]

The MSTS eng file is underpowered in OR. The initial simple solution is to change the MaxPower line to the true hp or kW of the prime mover. For the SD40-2 that would be 3000hp or 2237.1kW.

An AC6000 has 6000/6250hp
An SD90mac-h2 has 6000/6250hp
An Ac44 has 4400/4520hp
An EMD 1010-12 has 4500/4600hp
An EMD 1010-16 has 6000/6300hp

An SD40-2 may have 3000/3150

All of my OR sd40's have 3150hp, the 150hp allowing for power used for ancillaries in the loco.
This does not count for transmission inefficiencies.