What's your Longest Train

[sgtmajor]

Last week I went to Phoenix, AZ. for business, and since I-10 parallel's a major railway, I couldn't help watching all the VERY LONG trains heading East & West. Seems most trains these days are long container cars....many with 3 Engines up front.....and a couple in the rear.....and on the very long trains, perhaps one or two in the middle somewhere, so I decided to create my own little "Long Haul" this evening.

So....Since I enjoy my EMD GP-20 SP engines....(and yes Bruce....I still enjoy "fiddling" with the switches..Smile)....I made up a "Quick Drive" train with 3 engines up front and a total length of 5553 feet of Containers.

BTW....it was listed as 1952 tn sh and 5553 ft. Okay.....1952 Ton I presume....but what does the "sh" mean?

Anyway.....I didn't have a lot of time this evening, so I picked "Stevens Pass" route, as it lists the mileage on selection. I traveled the EastBound Delta Yard to Skykomish (51 miles) and must admit.....that was the most enjoyable experience I've had to date.

I'm not sure if I've ever created a train quite that long.....but what a huge difference it made. I could REALLY feel the accordian effect when making power adjustments and topping small hills.

I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go back to "short trains" again..........Amazing!!!!

I'm now interested in hearing what others are hauling, and am looking forward to attempting "Donner's Pass" or even "Horseshoe Curve."

It could make a very interesting Scenerio..........Hmmmmm......might have to think this one over.

Cheers,

[bhk]

Jan 29, 2014 1:20:10 GMT -5 sgtmajor said:

BTW....it was listed as 1952 tn sh and 5553 ft. Okay.....1952 Ton I presume....but what does the "sh" mean?

Some sort of "house", Steve?

Jan 29, 2014 1:20:10 GMT -5 sgtmajor said:

I could REALLY feel the accordian effect when making power adjustments and topping small hills.

Unfortunately this is way exaggerated in TS.
Some have referred to it as the "rubber-band" effect and it is more noticeable on longer trains.

The drawbar stretches - like a tortoise poking it's head out of the shell - and when it is multiplied by many cars in the consist the effect becomes more and more obvious.
It's possible to accelerate the locos beyond road speed and incur a warning then see the speed drop back below road speed as the stretch reaches the limit.
It is not realistic and some folk have become so disenchanted with it that they've edited the wagon files to give zero stretch to the drawbar.

Jan 29, 2014 1:20:10 GMT -5 sgtmajor said:

I'm now interested in hearing what others are hauling,....

Long trains, like yourself.
On North American railroads I consider anything less than 70 cars to be too small.
On British railways I don't exceed 30....more likely to be around 20 to 25.

[sgtmajor]

Thanks for the reply Bruce.....Good Stuff!!!

I was unaware of the exaggerated "rubber-band" effect.....however, is completely logical that longer trains would be more noticeable. None-the-less....I think I'd prefer that to no stretches at all. Perhaps in the future updates this will be finally corrected. Probably easier said than done.....but then again, back in the days of FS3, I never imagined I would see flightsimming to the level it has achieved.

Now that I have really found the diesel I enjoy driving....I'll be "hitching up" much longer trains and heavier weights. I'm still novice enough that I'm not yet sure which type of car is the heaviest. I'll need to do more research on that.

In the past, I've read stories of some of the long ore trains in your part of the world. Some, over 2 miles long (3.21km). Perhaps I'll give that a whirl next.....Cajon Pass might get interesting. (smile)

One thing I haven't tried as yet, which could turn out to be more difficult than going UP the hill........and that's coming down. Perhaps I'll have time this evening to give that one a go.

Cheers,

[bhk]

Steve,
Going downhill in TS2014 with a heavy train is no great drama because, once again, the realism is dumbed-down.
The train and dynamic brakes are the most powerful and fastest-acting in the known universe. In fact, on some locomotives, the application of the dynamics can lead to such rapid deceleration that the train derails!

If you are seriously keen to experience the train simulation equivalent of those highly-accurate aircraft in Flightsim, you need to use Run 8.
Operating a long, heavy train over Tehachapi from Bakersfield to Mojave, thence Barstow and Needles, is an experience in itself and the closest you'll get to realism.

Incidentally, the longest trains in the iron-ore operations in Western Australia have exceeded 3.5 kilometres....on occasions they have stretched to 7 kms!

Cheers!
Bruce

[sgtmajor]

Run 8??? Hmmmm.... I don't believe I've heard of that. Well.....let me retract that. Perhaps, I've heard you or someone mention Run 8, however, I don't believe I've ever given it much thought or consideration.

I just watched a YouTube video, and I'm intrigued......Might have to check this out.

Thanks, as always Bruce!!!!

Oh Boy.....another program to interest me. (smile)

Cheers,

[bhk]

Let me know if you get it and I can lead you through any problems.

It's a multi-player sim by design but the individual can run a train, just without any others being operated.

When I just want to "play trains", I use TS2014 but when I want a dose of realism for a while I use Run 8.

[sgtmajor]

Bruce........I'll take you up on your offer, if I decide to purchase.

However, it will most likely be down the road some. I've VERY heavily involved with bringing the parents to California and between that, and the few days I do work....I'm too busy to mess with even thinking about another program.

Watching several YouTube videos, it does look....and sound like a very realistic program. Also....it's spoken often of a steep learning curve, however, I find that is usually somewhat subjective. How did you feel on the program. I've learned over the years, that you perhaps give me the "most accurate" feel on how a program truely is, so would love to hear how you thought the learning curve is.

Cheers,

[bhk]

Jan 30, 2014 20:30:46 GMT -5 sgtmajor said:

...How did you feel on the program. I've learned over the years, that you perhaps give me the "most accurate" feel on how a program truely is, so would love to hear how you thought the learning curve is.

Cheers,

Steve,

The "manual" is not comprehensive and its lack of in-depth detail regarding starting a loco left something to be desired.
However, once the start-up sequence becomes a habit, the rest is pretty straight-forward and certainly doesn't require a university degree, by any means.

In brief, there are three separate "routes" in which one can start and operate, but because they are part of the one line in the real world they may be linked seamlessly when first starting the sim and selecting initial parameters for each session.
Those routes are Bakersfield to Mojave; Mojave to Barstow; Barstow to Needles.
Each route has a dozen or more pre-configured consists from which you can choose your train. All use, and are based on, real-life UP or BNSF services.
There are also several Amtrak passenger services (with appropriate locomotives and cars....available at extra cost).

You can set the time of day but no weather changes are incorporated at the moment so the conditions are always fine.

In addition to sitting in the cab and operating the train in solo play you also act as despatcher, aligning switches and operating signals.
In multi-player this function is actually handled by a designated despatcher.

In solo play you can save the state of play, give it a unique identifier (so it stands out from the list of consists) and then return to it at any time.

So, as mentioned, for realism it takes some beating and whilst the graphics may be short of cutting-edge, the physics and sounds are top-notch.

Regards,
Bruce