Excessive wheel spin on a Trainz steam locomotive (under development).

jonsearles62

New member
I have a quick question for steam-engine file development. I'm modeling a New York Central L-4 Mohawk 4-8-2, using the E-specs09 Excel sheet, first with standard settings, and then with the scalar, to raise the horsepower to a (supposedly) more accurate 5,400 horsepower. Both of these produced excessive wheelspin over (not under) 30 m.p.h. The real locomotive reached peak power at 76 m.p.h., and topped out at around 94 m.p.h. The adhesion is set to 4.45, same as the real locomotive, and the weight is accurate. I've set the axles to 4, as the locomotive has 4 powered axles. This raises the adhesive weight to the total weight of the locomotive, which should improve, not harm, traction. I've also tried a standard E-specs09, but with the steam-chest-max-flow raised to 234.7 (in line with the 5,400 horsepower version). This also failed to produce a normal result. What am I doing wrong, exactly?
 
You might try posting this in the Content Creation folder where it might get appropriate attention. Azervich may be able to help out there.

One of my hopes for T:ANE was the inclusion of steam locos in the Test Track module that may have helped with questions like this. Unfortunately, it was only implemented for diesels.
 
Have a look at the value set on the animdist tag in the bogie config files.

http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/CCG/Bogey#Additional_Tags

"The distance travelled in metres by the bogeys in 1 second (30 frames) of animation."

So the way I interpret that, it is the circumference of the wheel (excluding the flange), in metres.

Kieran.

That's not really what I was talking about. I was talking about actual wheel slip. Right now, it takes about 6 minutes to get to 55 m.p.h., and then the locomotive tops out. The real one could do 94, and typically operated in the 50-80 m.p.h. range, depending on the service worked. In addition, the train I'm using has only 10 cars on it. In real life, Mohawks would have hauled 20-car passenger trains and 100-car freights. Therefore, this wheel slip problem is preventing the locomotive from being used for its intended purpose.
 
Whilst many people have been pleased to use the Excel sheet to which you refer, I personally do not regard its approach or results as anywhere near accurate, which is probably the root cause of your problems.

My testing of it with UK loco's over prototypical routes illustrated that it produced very overpowered specs, with 0-6-0 tank engines designed for shunting able to handle 1000 ton trains over steep gradients at speeds which would challenge modern 3300hp diesel electrics.

I'm hoping the reason that we don't have a steam test track yet is that someone at N3V may have woken up to the fact that steam specs could do with some improvements and additional features. I'll keep any further opinions about future developments to myself........

Anthony
 
Whilst many people have been pleased to use the Excel sheet to which you refer, I personally do not regard its approach or results as anywhere near accurate, which is probably the root cause of your problems.

My testing of it with UK loco's over prototypical routes illustrated that it produced very overpowered specs, with 0-6-0 tank engines designed for shunting able to handle 1000 ton trains over steep gradients at speeds which would challenge modern 3300hp diesel electrics.

I'm hoping the reason that we don't have a steam test track yet is that someone at N3V may have woken up to the fact that steam specs could do with some improvements and additional features. I'll keep any further opinions about future developments to myself........

Anthony

Okay, this is my second attempt, since the board wiped my first one. My L-4, if anything, is overpowered. The main problem is that it can't put the power down, either because it has insufficient traction, or because the valves are set up wrong (leading to forced wheel slip). I'm using the default valve settings, other than steam-chest-max-flow, which I've experimented with as I've described above. Given that the real L-4 had oversized piston valves, I would appreciate it if someone had a formula for the correct volume and lap. Obviously, any other advice would be welcome as well.
 
Have a look at the value set on the animdist tag in the bogie config files.

http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/CCG/Bogey#Additional_Tags

"The distance travelled in metres by the bogeys in 1 second (30 frames) of animation."

So the way I interpret that, it is the circumference of the wheel (excluding the flange), in metres.

Kieran.

I just heard from another member that, in fact, this is tied into the physics after all. However, how do I adjust the spreadsheet (designed to reduce power) to reflect this change? Maybe that's too complicated a question... I'll make a test bogey and see how I do. Thanks for your help. I assumed, via common sense, that animations and physics were unconnected.
 
Back
Top