Brake Cylinder Pressure Not Reducing in Train Status Window (F5 key)?

**duboc** · 06-01-2025, 10:19

A suggestion
In the eng file, search the line TrainPipeLeak, if this value is too high, the compressor cannot full the brake pipe. I don't know the real value for US engines but in France, the leak don't exced 0.3bar per minute. In the eng file, the value is in PSI per second.

**PeterB** · 06-01-2025, 21:25

Thank you for your suggestion.

However, there is no TrainPipeLeak statement within any of the engine files for the locomotives used for my activity. So that is not the answer, unfortunately.

I ran the same activity this time under Open Rails version 1.5.1 stable. This time the brake cylinder initial pressures were 33 PSI on the train status monitor and not 64 PSI as indicated on the train status monitor when running under Open Rails MonoGame 164 and Open Rails testing 1.5.1-1850.

So, running under Open Rails stable 1.5.1, the brakes did release when operating the locomotive and train brake levers, and the brake cylinder pressures as indicated on the train status monitor did eventually drop to 0 PSI as expected.

When running my activity under Open Rails MG 164 and then under Open Rails testing 1.5.1-1850, the brakes DID release (the brake cylinder pressures were actually reduced), because my train started to roll backwards as (part of) the train was on a positive gradient. That proves that the brake cylinders did actually drop in pressure (and release the brakes) but for whatever reason(s), the brake cylinder pressure reduction was not being indicated in the train status monitor window. The indicated brake cylinder pressures remained at 64 PSI.

So from this, it suggests there may be bugs in Open Rails MonoGame 164 and in Open Rails testing 1.5.1-1850, as my activity seems to run fine under Open Rails stable 1.5.1.

EDIT: corrected brake pipe to brake cylinder.

**pschlik** · 06-02-2025, 08:53

We need to see the BRAKE INFORMATION display of the (Shift +) Alt + F5 extended HUD to see where exactly the brakes are applied and released. The Train Driving Info shows the brake cylinder pressure of just one train car (not the front locomotive).

**PeterB** · 06-02-2025, 09:42

Here are two screenshots while running the activity under Open Rails testing 1.5.1-1850.

First screenshot is prior to brakes release. Second screenshot is shortly after all brakes released.

Open Rails 2025-06-03 03-34-27.png

Open Rails 2025-06-03 03-35-54.png

**CSRX** · 06-02-2025, 09:52

I can't really tell what is suppose to be displayed on that window screen of the locomotive. However I know that the boxes are suppose to read "Equiz Press", "Brake Pipe", "Rear", "Flow" and "Brake Cylinder".
I am seeing the F5 window showing 64psi in two sections, plus, 64psi under the "Engine Brake" info, which the locomotive screen does not. So that is my first concern, as it SHOULD be matching what is in the F5 window.

Seeing you are using NYMG, this is the result of physics once again being tweaked and rendering some older products broken, to the point we need to go in and tweak things ourselves in the engine files, yet again. It's a constant battle that gets tiresome.

I won't get into the massive boring details of how train brakes work, however I will say it can take 9 seconds for the pressure on the rear to drop from the initial set, and 10-12 seconds to increase from the initial release, depending on train length. Example, at work, I will tie onto a train of 130 cars, roughly 9000 feet. It will take almost 30 minutes to get back up to 85 pounds on the rear. This also depends on weather, types of cars, etc. If we have 15-20 log racks and 40-50 chip cars, it can take up to 45 minutes, due to those cars being so dated, beat up, and leaky.

In the end, if you are releasing the brakes, and you don't see something changing within this timeframe I gave. It's clear there is something wrong with one of the engine files or cars. Could be as simple as the code being off ever so slightly. I know the TMT/TT freight cars are a bit like this, and will not set up properly. I've had to edit those to work correctly in the ORTS 1.5.1 physics (The best physics set up to date I may add, for ORTS).

Edit:
Try using just ORTS 1.5.1 (stable) no testing version, see what it does. From what I see, everything according to that F5 section, is releasing normally.
I forget the quick key, but try "Ctrl /" and it should bypass to get 90psi and the BC 0. (Or is it shift /).. I forget, I am so used to doing the key commands that I don't even look at the keyboard half the time. haha

**pschlik** · 06-02-2025, 11:53

Ok cool the train car brakes are releasing fine, what you are seeing is the locomotive brake being stuck on for the DPU. It appears your setup has the train spawning in with the locomotive brake applied, and the DPU does that...then it doesn't know what to do afterwards because there's nobody in the cab to move the loco brake handle. Easy fix is to Shift + / initialize the brakes to get him to wake up and stop dragging.

At the moment, the other options (which don't require doing something different at start-up) are to add ORTSDPBrakeSynchronization("Apply, Release, Emergency, Independent") to these engines, which is actually what I'd recommend as a permanent solution since these modern things should have brake sync so the DPU listens to what the brakes are doing at the front end. Or the default locomotive brake setting can be changed to 0.

Of course I could fix the start-up locomotive brakes, but because I'm one of those evil dastardly OR devs I'll just let it slide because that makes people upset and that's my goal (or so I'm told).

**PeterB** · 06-02-2025, 14:12

Originally posted by CSRX

I can't really tell what is suppose to be displayed on that window screen of the locomotive. However I know that the boxes are suppose to read "Equiz Press", "Brake Pipe", "Rear", "Flow" and "Brake Cylinder".
I am seeing the F5 window showing 64psi in two sections, plus, 64psi under the "Engine Brake" info, which the locomotive screen does not. So that is my first concern, as it SHOULD be matching what is in the F5 window.

As I understand it, the train status monitor window (F5 key) should display what is shown on the locomotive display.

Originally posted by CSRX

Seeing you are using NYMG, this is the result of physics once again being tweaked and rendering some older products broken, to the point we need to go in and tweak things ourselves in the engine files, yet again. It's a constant battle that gets tiresome.

Actually, as per my previous posts, I tried using Open Rails New Year Monogame version 164 first, then I tried using Open Rails testing version 1.5.1-1850, and finally I tried using Open Rails stable version 1.5.1.

Originally posted by CSRX

I won't get into the massive boring details of how train brakes work, however I will say it can take 9 seconds for the pressure on the rear to drop from the initial set, and 10-12 seconds to increase from the initial release, depending on train length. Example, at work, I will tie onto a train of 130 cars, roughly 9000 feet. It will take almost 30 minutes to get back up to 85 pounds on the rear. This also depends on weather, types of cars, etc. If we have 15-20 log racks and 40-50 chip cars, it can take up to 45 minutes, due to those cars being so dated, beat up, and leaky.

In the end, if you are releasing the brakes, and you don't see something changing within this timeframe I gave. It's clear there is something wrong with one of the engine files or cars. Could be as simple as the code being off ever so slightly. I know the TMT/TT freight cars are a bit like this, and will not set up properly. I've had to edit those to work correctly in the ORTS 1.5.1 physics (The best physics set up to date I may add, for ORTS).

Thanks for the information.

Yes, I am aware that in reality that the entire train brakes can take some time to release depending on train length etc as you mentioned. Open Rails may not entirely simulate reality with respect to brake release times. But when running my activity under Open Rails New Year Monogame version 164, I waited literally about 11 minutes for the brake cylinder pressure indication in the train status monitor (F5 key) to decrease, but the indications didn't change. So that suggested a problem somewhere within Open Rails and/or maybe a problem with the locomotive(s) and/or car(s).

Originally posted by CSRX

Edit:
Try using just ORTS 1.5.1 (stable) no testing version, see what it does. From what I see, everything according to that F5 section, is releasing normally.
I forget the quick key, but try "Ctrl /" and it should bypass to get 90psi and the BC 0. (Or is it shift /).. I forget, I am so used to doing the key commands that I don't even look at the keyboard half the time. haha

Thanks again, but I have already tried Open Rails stable version 1.5.1, and the brake cylinder pressures did decrease within the train status monitor (F5 key) as expected when releasing brakes.

So, since my activity ran fine under Open Rails stable version 1.5.1 (brake cylinder pressures dropping in F5 window), but my activity did not run properly under Open Rails NewYear MonoGame version 164 and under Open Rails testing version 1.5.1-1850, that immediately suggests a coding issue with these later versions of Open Rails (ORNYMG 164 and OR test 1.5.1-1850).

**PeterB** · 06-02-2025, 14:26

Originally posted by pschlik

Ok cool the train car brakes are releasing fine, what you are seeing is the locomotive brake being stuck on for the DPU. It appears your setup has the train spawning in with the locomotive brake applied, and the DPU does that...then it doesn't know what to do afterwards because there's nobody in the cab to move the loco brake handle. Easy fix is to Shift + / initialize the brakes to get him to wake up and stop dragging.

At the moment, the other options (which don't require doing something different at start-up) are to add ORTSDPBrakeSynchronization("Apply, Release, Emergency, Independent") to these engines, which is actually what I'd recommend as a permanent solution since these modern things should have brake sync so the DPU listens to what the brakes are doing at the front end. Or the default locomotive brake setting can be changed to 0.

Of course I could fix the start-up locomotive brakes, but because I'm one of those evil dastardly OR devs I'll just let it slide because that makes people upset and that's my goal (or so I'm told).

Thanks for the comments.

I did some further brief testing of different combinations of locomotives, and conclude that having a DPU or remote locomotive not multiple unit connected to the lead locomotive does seem to cause problems with the brake cylinder pressure indication not working correctly within the train status monitor (F5 key). However, when running my original and modified trains under Open Rails stable version 1.5.1, the activity runs fine with the brake cylinder pressures indicating correct value and dropping in pressure when brakes were released.

The issue of the brake cylinder pressure not showing correct initial value and not decreasing when brakes are released, seems to ONLY occur when running under Open Rails testing 1.5.1-1850 and also under Open Rails New Year MonoGame version 164.

That suggests that there is now some issue with the coding within these later releases that has prevented the brake pressure indications within the train status monitor displaying correct brake cylinder pressure values.

Ideally, the code for these later releases has to be changed back to something like it was for Open Rails stable 1.5.1 where brake cylinder pressures were displayed properly (within train status monitor) regardless of locomotive arrangements within trains.

**PeterB** · 06-03-2025, 21:11

Just for the heck of it, I downloaded Open Rails unstable version U2025.06.03-0552.

Ran my activity under this unstable version and it appears as though the brake cylinder pressures are being displayed correctly within the train status monitor (F5 key). This applies to the initial brake cylinder pressure values before releasing brakes, and also applies to when brakes are released with the train status monitor indicating 0 PSI eventually. Thank you.

However, there is now another related issue. When applying train brakes (after setting throttle back to idle), the brake cylinder pressure values within the train status monitor remain at 0 PSI! Even allowing for delay in pressure change indication of several minutes, the brake cylinder pressures are still at 0 PSI. The HUD clearly shows the brake cylinder pressures have increased as they should, but the brake cylinder pressures within the train status monitor don't change!

Another quick test was done running my activity this time under Open Rails stable 1.5.1. When applying train brakes, the brake cylinder pressures within the train status monitor did increase as expected (although pressure values were slow to indicate with respect to the brake cylinder pressures as indicated within the HUD).

So, as of Open Rails unstable version U2025.06.03-0552, the train status monitor brake cylinder pressure indications need more coding work in order to display correct brake cylinder pressure when applying train brakes.

Screenshot of activity under Open Rails unstable U2025.06.03-0552 -

Open Rails 2025-06-04 02-20-04.png

Screenshot of activity under Open Rails stable - 1..5.1 -

Open Rails 2025-06-04 02-25-34.png

**PeterB** · 06-06-2025, 05:17

Just downloaded and installed Open Rails unstable version U2025.06.06-0838.

Ran my test activity again (which uses a train with two lead locomotives, 248 loaded coal cars, and two rear locomotives).

Got my activity train up to speed and then applied train brakes. Unfortunately, once again, the brake cylinder pressures remained at 0 PSI within the train status monitor window (F5 key) despite waiting for several minutes after applying train brakes. The HUD with brake cylinder indications did increase as expected almost immediately on brake application.

So there still seems to be an issue with the brake cylinder pressure indications within the train status monitor.

Screenshot -

Open Rails 2025-06-06 11-05-57.png

**pschlik** · 06-06-2025, 11:01

For the record, the way the brake cylinder pressure is shown on the train driving info has not changed in 5 years. The implementation is frankly not great as I think the intent is to show the brake cylinder pressure of the first train car, and of the last train car. But if the last thing is a locomotive, it shows the brake cylinder pressure of that locomotive twice instead of the first and last train cars. So you are seeing, and have been seeing for the last 5 years, the brake pressure of the rear locomotive.

What has changed is some fixes to the way brakes are handled, particularly on remote locomotives. The far more likely thing is that the HUD is working entirely as programmed but some setup or procedural error means the rear locomotive didn't give any braking.

**PeterB** · 06-07-2025, 02:57

Yes, it is now my understanding that the first brake cylinder pressure indication within the train status monitor window relates to the first rail car, the second brake cylinder pressure indication relates to the last rail car, and the last brake cylinder indication relates to the last locomotive (DPU) within consists (which may have multiple DPU's, maybe some in the middle and some at the rear).

But as pointed out, the brake cylinder pressure indications within the train status monitor do not (always) seem to show the correct pressure values, but yet the HUD display shows the actual brake cylinder pressures (correctly, I think). So I don't see why the HUD brake cylinder pressure values can't be copied over to the train status monitor window? Otherwise what is the point of having Brake cylinder pressure indications within the train status monitor window if the pressures are not being correctly displayed?

I believe some more coding has to be done to enable correct brake cylinder pressure values to be shown within the train status monitor window.

Brake Cylinder Pressure Not Reducing in Train Status Window (F5 key)?

Brake Cylinder Pressure Not Reducing in Train Status Window (F5 key)?

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