Steam loco's and boiler water level

[styckx]

Trying to get into fully operating steam in this game. I usually just set automatic fireman, set to intermediate and drove. Now on expert w/ fireman off. Very easy to keep the fire going, etc. What I'm having issue with is raising the darn water level in the boiler. I'm keeping my usage below steam generation. Notice the boiler is getting low (usually around .79 or so), open the injector to fill it.

It doesn't fill very well. Again, keeping my usage lower than generation I notice pressure keeps getting to it's blow off point, usage skyrockets until pressure is at a certain level then usage goes back to normal. I've only run full manual steam on Castlerock so far. Getting up to speed at 60mph is easy, but then the above issue kicks in and for the boiler water level to fill I have to cut the regulator and reverser back to levels that that drain off speed dramatically. Doing anything else but this seems to still drain the boiler level, and not fill it.

And tips here? I like the fun in manual driving, keeps you busy but this boiler water level is a roadblock for me right now. I've "stalled" a steamer twice trying to figure out the right mix here.

[Solyne]

It gets a lot worse on a 4% grade, LOL...

Try adding water much much more often in much smaller amounts. This can be pretty hard, because it adds so much work but it pays off, if you have a downhill grade coming up and know you can make it to it, wait and add water on the coast and rebuild steam.

All in all, it sounds like you are running with your reverser set way way too high. Try getting up to about 15 MPH and then dropping it off 10% every 5 MPH while setting regulator wide open till you are speed, and then continue to lower the reverser until you are using what you build, and no more blow off.

Keep your reverser as low as possible for the work you are doing, and the regulator as high as possible, it is not uncommon to be at 15% reverser and 80% regulator on a level grade, or even 8% and 95%. 60 MPH is possible, but in most cases a bit fast for steam engines, maybe reconsider 50 as your goal.

[KatoArabel]

Don't forget that having the regulator too high during long hauls can really drain your boiler water faster than the tender can replenish it. I've been playing around with the Challenger lately, and I found that it was a far easier locomotive to handle than the G-TraX Northerns and Berkshires because it had a much wider margin for error in controlling your systems. That, and the Automatic Fireman is a lot more responsive on the Challenger.

It's a good locomotive to practice on.

[styckx]

Great tips. Thank you both. I've never studied the art of really driving these things. Knew the concept of how they work but never the art of putting all the pieces together to get a productive and consistent run going. Definitely more fun doing all the work instead of depending on automatic. We'll see how it goes tonight..

[KatoArabel]

Great tips. Thank you both. I've never studied the art of really driving these things. Knew the concept of how they work but never the art of putting all the pieces together to get a productive and consistent run going. Definitely more fun doing all the work instead of depending on automatic. We'll see how it goes tonight..

One more tip: On the Challenger, I found that for long hauls on low grades, it works quite well if you set the regulator at 50% and futz around with the reverser setting while at speed (30+ mph) on low grades - you will be able to maintain speed while not screwing over your water level.

[Driverman2008]

Here's a quick tip about maintaining the water in the boiler, make sure you have sufficient steam pressure in there. If you have lower than 50 PSI (on the Black 5s or 7Fs) the water injectors will stop working. Thus, you won't be able to get fresh water into the boiler, and could cause an explosion if the water level is too low.

Now, I wish Railsimulator.com would tie the water level to the grade (like in MSTS) so the water level could swosh up and down based on the grades the locomotive climbs. Could that be a possibility in a future Steam update?

[Idaho_Cowboy]

One more tip: On the Challenger, I found that for long hauls on low grades, it works quite well if you set the regulator at 50% and futz around with the reverser setting while at speed (30+ mph) on low grades - you will be able to maintain speed while not screwing over your water level.

I noticed it seems far more sensitive to the throttle than reverser which is odd. I'm used to jacking the throttle wide open and fine tuning with the regulator on hills.

Also do you believe the F4 or F5 boiler pressure. I've had F5 tell me I had 16 PSI when F4 said 182 and I had the F4 drop precipitously to 182 when F5 said I was still on the peg at 280 with steam generation ahead of usage? Just not sure what to trust here. I've seen different reading for boiler water level as well as reverser setting. -Thanks

[NorthernWarrior]

Why have you bumped a 10 year old thread?

[haverfordwest]

Why have you replied to the bumping of a 10 year old thread, Vern ?

Mike.

[NorthernWarrior]

I am a moron... (so my wife says ).

[haverfordwest]

Hahahahahahaha, well i am not going to disagree with your good lady.

Mike.