Problem with TS Freight Cars

[motormaster532]

I dont know if anybody else has had this problem. I made a custom Activity for Bob Wirths' Raton Pass 3. When entering the Raton Tunnel,I get a broken coupler and naturally the train goes into Emergency. The problem is that to combat this problem, I put 10,YES 10 locomotive on it,6 up front,4 in the rear.The train itself is 85 cars,about half empties.The trouble cars are the "Boise Cascade" paper cars. This has cropped up before with other TS cars,but when I was able to re-add,the problem was solved. I have tried everything here,different throttle settings,no throttle settings,same result. Question: Is there any way to disable this feature? Thank You Brian

[R. Steele]

Options Button\Simulation Tab ---- uncheck "Break Couplers" box....or rework the couplers troubleshooting the current values and integrate current OR coupler standards and parameters into your rolling stock. Either option will work. Have Fun.

[motormaster532]

Thank you Gerry! Should have known that! Must be the heat! Brian

[CSRX]

I feel like 6 locomotives up front and 4 on the rear of an 85 car train is the problem... Not the cars. I feel like that's too much push/pull force for such a small train.

Have you tried maybe two up front, one on the rear or somewhere split in the middle?

I haven't seen something like this with the TS cars, except when I exceeded the train forces on a Mullan Pass activity, releasing the brakes and rolling back and when trying to start up the hill again, with independent going on... Yeah, that's not a good decision.

With that said, the only thing I have unchecked is the derailment feature.

[derekmorton]

>This has cropped up before with other TS cars

Most likely as the cars have realistic coupler break settings.

Your train is not set up in a realistic way.

[motormaster532]

Thank you Derek and Shawn for your replies! Originally,I was running 5 SD45s on the point with 2 SD40s as pushers. Underpowered and pulling too many amps,so I assumed that was the problem,even though with the helpers, I should not have snapped a coupler,even after throttling back. I put on all of that extra power to compensate for the high amperage,no diffence,they snapped,the same cars at the same location,no matter what amperage that I was pulling. Train was assembled,textbook{never seen THAT for real in 30 years running} of heavy loads,loads and empties,in that order. I will follow Gerrys advice and uncheck "Break couplers". Also as an aside, the derailment notification goes off repeatedly,but that should have nothing to do with the problem,or maybe it does. Anyway,Thank You all for your replies and excellent advice. All the best. Brian

[CSRX]

Thank you Derek and Shawn for your replies! Originally,I was running 5 SD45s on the point with 2 SD40s as pushers. Underpowered and pulling too many amps,so I assumed that was the problem,even though with the helpers, I should not have snapped a coupler,even after throttling back. I put on all of that extra power to compensate for the high amperage,no diffence,they snapped,the same cars at the same location,no matter what amperage that I was pulling. Train was assembled,textbook{never seen THAT for real in 30 years running} of heavy loads,loads and empties,in that order. I will follow Gerrys advice and uncheck "Break couplers". Also as an aside, the derailment notification goes off repeatedly,but that should have nothing to do with the problem,or maybe it does. Anyway,Thank You all for your replies and excellent advice. All the best. Brian

Which ORTS version are you using by chance?
I haven't had any of these occurrences since using 1.5.1.
However previous versions threw fits all the time with derailed cars or stressed knuckles, even with my own cars I specifically cloned to work correctly and behave well with TS's stock.
I haven't tested the orts Testing version though, or the monogame versions. I like keeping things stable and not questioning why things have become broken yet again...


Also, having a bunch of empties on the rear aren't wise for train handling either. I've witnessed first hand having knuckles or drawbars breaking when we have 50-60 empties behind 50-60 loads. Brakes love to lock up quicker and easier on a ton of empties. Better to have the loads and empties spread out throughout.

[motormaster532]

The problem is solved! Gerrys' suggestion,which I SHOULD have known already!!!!,solved the problem Anyway,the ORTS version I am still using is 1.4,due to the fact that I was getting unsatisfactory frame rates on 1.5. FINALLY hooking up my new Alienware computer should solve that problem. Like you, I was also having consist problems like the ones' you were having using this version,but,as I have said,I rolled back to solve the Frame Rate problem. For your last point,I understand what you are saying,which is why I use and have used the Dynamic[when I had one}extensively and then very little service brake applications. Thank You Shawn for your interest,response and advice,as you should know by now,it is ALWAYS appreciated. Take Care-Brian

[c44d9w]

Like others have said, the cause may be realistic couplers / derailment and too much power. Tractive effort increases as the speed decreases (at constant power).

Where does the train break? When near the front, it is likely a broken coupler, because of too much pull. When near the rear, it is likely a derailed car, because of too much push. High tractive effort from the pushers can push a car off the rails, particularly when the rear cars are light and long.

Later versions of OR have the Force Information display. Open it with Alt-F5, then use Shift-Alt-F5 to get to the Force Information display. It will show you what the pull/push forces are, and the derailment coefficient will tell you if a car is at risk of being pushed off the rails.

[motormaster532]

Thank You for your reply. I solved the problem by using Gerrys' solution.which I SHOULD have known to do. Getting old!!! Brian

[R. Steele]

All the suggestions were right on the mark, especially those about marshaling the freight train, too light or too heavy in a specific spot in the train can cause coupler breaks, also too much power and also placed in the wrong position....all factors...but sometimes you just wanna run the activity and let the realism slide a little...no problem with that, enjoyment sorta comes first.

[motormaster532]

Exactly Gerry! I had 30 years of realism and NEED A BREAK! It is true about putting the train together correctly,but i experimented literally with EVERYTHING,Train broke apart in the same place at the same time. So I hoisted the "white flag",used your suggestion and solved THAT problem. I have to say that THIS set of Activities is one of the most problematic that I have created in a long time. I hope that I am not losing my touch! Anyway,as ALWAYS,Thank You for your assistance. Brian

[CSRX]

There is obviously several ways to do it... glad it worked out regardless how you worked it.

[motormaster532]

Thanks Shawn. Starting to TRY to keep things as uncomplicated as possible,with middling success! Brian

[amtrak115]

When I was working on the activity for the 1995 version of the westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief, I can across a reference at that time, Santa Fe was still running a coal drag east bound from a coal mine on the west side of Raton for deliveries to power plants in the upper midwest. I tried to work out the activity to "Double the Hill" but I really think that I should have broken the activity inot 2 parts rather than try it all together. The loaded coal drag had something like 110 or so coal hoppers with a midtrain helper of 3 loco's with 3 loco's on the front. The activity had you build the train at the mine and take it to Raton, Split the train there, put the mid-train helpers on the rear of the first section and go over the hill. Once on the east side stick the coal hoppers in a yard and then the six engines go back over the hill to Raton to pick up the second section. it was an interesting activity that I added as a second activity to the west-bound Amtrak SW Chief activity...I just couldn't get it to work right....maybe I need to go back and work it again....anyway....that's my story with Bob Wirth's Raton Pass route...... Thanks to Bob, I was able the take the 1995 SW Chief from Chicago to LA using basically all his routes...with the exception of the final push into LA. For that I used the latest Cajon Pass route here on Trainsim....

later

Amtrak115