attaching helper locos to a consist all under AI controle

[gremlin1812]

G'day, I have created a session and it is to be entirely AI, I want a consist to drive to a location then have a pair of helpers attach to the rear of the main consist and continue the journey.
I have got to attaching the helpers but then find that the main consist has lost its orders, is there any way to do this or am I flogging a dead horse.
Regards
Barrie

 

[mrmegaminer]

decouple lead loco/s, then tell the helpers to couple, reattach lead loco/s in my head that should work

 

[stagecoach]

Only one driver can have commands in a consist. The last driver to couple will always clear any commands still in the consist. I always have a banking engine near a TM without a driver. When the consist arrives use the move to train at TM command, this will move the driver and all his commands to the banker engine. Now couple to consist and continue.

 

[Kennilworth]

Hi Barrie

My assumption is that you are using T:ANE but just in case you are still using TS12 I thought that I would mention that the SCS2013 rule contains commands for attaching and detaching helper locos.

These commands allow both locos to have their own independant commands but to act together when one is attached to a consist as helper. A helper loco could be carrying out shunting tasks in a yard for example and then be used as as a helper when a consist arrives that requires assistance. When it is detached from the consist it is then free to carry on with any other tasks such as returning to the yard to continue work there.

Unfortunately SCS2013 is broken in T:ANE so if you are using that then the above won't be of any use to you.

Regards

Brian

 

[peterwhite]

When I want to attach another loco I use the command 'move to train' to get the driver to move from the first loco to the attaching loco and once it is attached carry on with the schedule.

Peter

 

[gremlin1812]

G'day, thank you for the reply's, they have given me ideas and useful information.

mrmegaminer, I have tried your method and it works fine but I decoupled from the mid consist loco and used the excuse that it needed minor maintenance while the helpers were attached, worked fine.

stagecoach and peterwhite, both good methods to try and will test them out in coming days.

Regards and thank you all for the fine suggestions.
Barrie

 

[cascaderailroad]

When a real set of locos, or helpers are added to a train many many minutes elapse until a brake test, and final inspection are completed, along with communication with the dispatcher or yard tower ... coupling on, and finally getting under way may take well over 30 min, or much much longer ... It's not like it's hook up, and go

 

[ElStoko]

Has anyone out there mastered detaching a rear bank engine on the move? A common method of banking from the rear was to leave the banking loco uncoupled to the train so that at the top of the grade it would just slow down and drop off engagement with the rear of the train. Could this be done with SCS, Brian?

 

[Kennilworth]

Hi Leigh

I haven't tried this but I'll have a play and see if I can work out if it can be done.

Edit: I've just created a small test route for this and it works perfectly. The helper detaches from the consist at the top of the hill and coasts to a stop while the consist accelerates away. The helper then reverses and returns back down the hill to wait for the next consist.

Regards

Brian

 

[gremlin1812]

G'day mrmegaminer, I finally settled on your method of attaching the helpers, I now detach the double headed Big Boys with the explanation that the crew will do som minor maintenance work while the helpers are coupling up. It works quite well and am quite pleased with the result, the other methods work as well but remove the users focus from the Big Boys which are the focal point of the session.
Thanks
Barrie

 

[mrmegaminer]

glad it worked mate

 

[cascaderailroad]

I think it was either Southern or Norfolk & Western that did have a remote control inside the cab, coupler pin puller, so they could uncouple a train on the fly ... this can be done in manual Cab or DCC control on the lead rear helper unit, using Ctrl+D then S STOP

Trains stop in Cresson PA, when the entire consist is clear of the summit of the grade, and the helpers are cut off at the Rt 53 bridge signal, then they reverse on the Conemaugh / Altoona Loop wye track

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA33GpO_zvQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9hL8g9QIeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZdUABU2g_k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-80GXO3nGvE

 

[ElStoko]

cascaderailroad, if the player driving the lead rear-helper uncouples from the train on the move, the train would stop (not true: continues to move out of control - see my next post below) because its engine up front is without a schedule and (probably) without an AI driver. Perhaps you have left something out of your explanation?
Also, if the player is in CAB mode, then he would have to leave the cab in order to mouse-click on the target coupling amongst all those highlighted by Ctrl-D.

 

[cascaderailroad]

Sometimes AI just doesn't "cut it" ... and you have to drive manually, or temporarily jump off the train, like a "real RR" engineer and conductor does, by moving handles inside the cab, with a conductor cutting the couplers There aint' so such thing as AI (fully automated robotic control) in the "Real World" of railroading

 

[ElStoko]

I take your point, cascaderailroad, but you may have missed my description above of my real-world scenario. The rear helper is not coupled to the train, so there is no need to uncouple the helper (in the real world). Perhaps uncoupled rear helping did not happen in the U.S., but it certainly did in steam days in Australia and England. So my desire for the player driver of the rear helper to stay in his cab is not unrealistic. When at the top of the grade, the real-world driver of the rear helper simply eased off the throttle and dropped off the rear of the train he was assisting.
Trainz does not allow an unmodified rear helper loco to remain uncoupled (an edit could mask the helper loco's coupling so it did not couple to the train). Therefore if the player driver drives the rear helper, he effectively controls both the front and rear locos from his position at the rear of the train. The problem is not uncoupling the helper from the moving train at the top of the grade. Rather it is the behaviour of the train once the helper is uncoupled. In my experience, the train continues to move, but it has lost the capability to be under AI schedule control or player control. The train continues on out of control until it crashes. My testing is done in TANE SP1.

 

[cascaderailroad]

in the US the automatic coupler locks shut when shoved against another railcar, even if both cars had their couplers closed, the knuckles would be broken ... however in other countries 2 buffers provided the shoving points, and the screw chain was left dangling

I believe that none of this can be implemented in AI though, as uncoupled locos running behind a train are independent, and a safety distance mechanism is maintained by AI where the rear locos would never come within hundreds of meters of each other

 

[ElStoko]

So let's deal with the situation in Trainz where the helper must be coupled at the rear of the train. The player-driven train reaches the top of the grade. By whatever means, the player uncouples the helper from the train while it is still moving. What, in your experience, do you observe the train then doing? As I reported, in TANE the train continues on out of control - the player is unable to regain control of the train. AI commands inserted into the train's schedule are not executed. Do you observe otherwise?

 

[maruffijd]

Does the coupler mask rule do this trick? or am I thinking of something else. (typing from work right now on break)

 

[ElStoko]

I was under the misapprehension that applying a coupler mask to a loco or vehicle required its custom script to be responsive to an external request for the coupler masking to be changed. I was unaware of <kuid:-25:980> Set Coupler Masks, a built-in rule that does not require to interact with custom scripts.
In trying this rule out just now with my test session I find it enables a rear helper loco driven by the player to independently assist an AI-driven train up a grade, and drop off the train at the top of the grade. The train continues on under AI control.
Thank you, maruffijd, for bringing the rule to my attention.

 

[maruffijd]

Happy to help. I toyed with this rule once upon a time and recalled it prevented coupling for things like this. Haven't used it since then because I usually do the whole stop and inspect thingy.