After posting the previous post which had a picture of the driving wheels I did see a question asking if the railmotor had animated valve gear - the answer is, yes to a point. Rather than being stuck in a "neutral" running position like all releases to date (to the best of my knowledge) the railmotor gear has 5 sets of animations - 2 forwards (maximum and half), neutral, and 2 backwards (maximum and half). It changes based on the current reverser position and gives a very pleasing effect of notching up/down as you drive.
Now as promised, it's time to delve into the details of the rear driving cab of the railmotor.
If the front cab with it's controls that are behind you and often moving, it's lack of coaling while under way and hand operated windscreen wiper (all in Advanced mode) isn't enough to keep you entertained then the rear cab adds another set of challenges for the railmotor driver.
In simple and standard driving modes the vestibule is just another cab, but at the back.
In advanced mode you can have the full experience of being separated from your fireman and a bulk of your controls and being expected to talk with him via a series of bell rings.
In the vestibule the usual tasks of notching up (moving the reverser as you gain and lose speed) and opening and closing the cylinder cocks are performed by the fireman.
In Train Simulator terms, assuming you are not using the auto-fireman (I would recommend not to for any locomotive but especially driving from the rear of the railmotor), then the jobs of using the blower, adding coal to the fire and filling up the boiler are also taken away from you as if the fireman in the cab is now performing them.
In addition you will need to request the fireman to create the vacuum to release the brakes.
All of this is performed either by the fireman’s own intelligence (cylinder cocks, coaling, watering and blower) or by communicating with him using the bell above the vestibule right hand window – the one with the wiper above it; this would be the usual position for the vestibule driver to stand.
Bell sequence and their meanings
These are shown on a plaque by the bell button, above the right hand window (image above)
1. Start
a. If stationary or slow the reverser is set to 75%. Brake release remains enabled if already requested
b. If moving (over 12mph) then reverser is set to 28%. Brake release is disabled
2. Stop
a. If in motion the reverser is set to 75%. Brake release is disabled
b. If stationary the reverser is set to 0%. Brake release is disabled
3. Brakes Off
a. Brake release is enabled and the brake vacuum will not hold steady, steam (and therefore boiler pressure) is used by this until the signal for Start b. or Stop is sent to the fireman
Push the bell quickly in succession to tell fireman what you need him to do. There will be a delay and then a confirmation of the same number of bells. Wait for the confirmation before the next request.
So the driving procedure from the vestibule is as follows:
Ready to leave
• 1 bell to get reverser to 75%
• 3 bells to release the brake
• Move vestibule brake to the far right to release
• Open regulator as brakes release
• Once the brake vacuum is at 25 inches, move the brake back to central position
When at speed (over 12mph)
• Close the regulator to stop the fireman getting injured
• 1 bell to get reverser to 28%
• Open the regulator
Slowing for stop
• 2 bells to set reverser to 75% for finer control of approach
• Important: At this point the brake release is not available, so any brake you apply will remain on until you stop or request another brake release from the fireman (which if repeated is sure to make him angry!). Therefore be frugal in braking, measure the distance to stop against your slowing speed and apply the brake accordingly. Stop, go, stop, go braking is not a part of the proper driving of any steam locomotive.
When Stopped
• 2 bells to set reverser to 0%
• Important: This tells the fireman that you are stationary for a while so he can tend the fire if required. He will stop when it is back up to size or he receives 1 bell for start.
So that's it for the railmotor behind the scenes. There is more to it and you should be able to enjoy finding out how it performs (and how you perform driving it!) very soon.
As for me, well while the QA team at Dovetail Games (formally Railsimulator.com - the new name's gonna take some getting used to I think!) get busy making sure it's all in good shape I'm moving on to the next project, details to follow soon*...
* Please note that your definition of soon and mine may be wildly different ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment