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    Confused newbie

    Hello,

    First off, I must say that I am a complete novice when it comes to a Train Simulator. I do have an interest in trains and always thought about trying a simulator. Rather than going out and buying one, I thought I would try a demo first and the only one I found for free was the Trainz Simulator 2004.
    I have been trying the Scenario and was OK with the DCC, but in Cab Mode I struggle. Since there is no manual and limited readme, I was hoping for some tips. For example, the braking distances seem incredibly long. Is there some way to shorten them. I keep blowing through the red lights.
    In any case, I think I could learn to enjoy train simulators if I wasn't so in the dark about what I'm supposed to do.
    As I said, I would love any tips to help me enjoy this hobby.
    Thanks

    #2
    Hi,

    Welcome to the forum.

    While it is certainly possible to modify the locomotive files to give any performance characteristic you want, if you do that then you are deviating from reality. Much better would be to persevere and learn how to drive your chosen locomotive.

    What you need to do is to learn the route (that is, what the gradients are along the route) and plan ahead so that you apply brakes and power in good time so that you do not break the speed limit yet keep to the timetable.

    Just keep practicing !

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      #3
      You also may wish to post at http://forums.auran.com the official support forums. I never used TRS2004, so I don't know specifics, but ask over there. Train brakes (well, freight anyway) aren't quite an on-off affair, lol. You should know how to work the gray areas. And, adding onto what Steve Y was saying, you do need to learn a specific route because you need to get less or more aggressive with braking depending on whether you are climbing or descending. And then, while you may not strictly *need*, but should probably learn about, independent brakes, dynamics, and (not really modeled on any sim) how retaining valves help.

      Maybe the moral is that getting a train to stop is way more interesting than getting it going! lol
      Last edited by rrsignal2; 11-21-2011, 01:24.

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        #4
        on cab mode i recomend putting the brakes on full and throwing the train into reverse a few "miles" from the signal, DCC mode, hit "s" then "a" for a almost imediate stop

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          #5
          Thanks, I haven't tried the reverse trick. It really does seem to take miles to slow down. DCC wasn't too bad, but doesn't seem as realistic as the cab mode.

          Comment


            #6
            It's not as realistic as cab mode, DCC was made for people who don't want realistic. In fact cab mode ain't all that realistic unless you go to www.raildriver.com to get a fistful of levers instead of trying to run trains with the keys and mouse (LOVE my Raildriver! )

            Main thing here is what makes a train simulator interesting at all? Unlike a flight sim or car driving sim you have no control over direction, the joke is that locomotive engineers are guys who dropped out of truck drivers school because they flunked Steering Wheel and need rails to guide them. What makes trains interesting is the whole mass times momentum applied physics, dragging a long string of 100 ton vehicles all reacting independently to Newtonian physics at different times, trying to keep it all under control is the challenge. Learn to anticipate stops, keep the speed under control, eventually it becomes second nature. When switching (shunting) use the independent brake more and the automatic brake (train brake) less, gives better control, but also slow down to 5mph or less within 10 car lengths of the car you're going to couple onto. That's also a variable, engine-only is no problem, two engines with one car backing in to couple onto more cars is no problem, but backing 50 loaded 100 ton cars into a spur you better start slowing down sooner because you have more mass to slow down.
            sigpic

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