Trainz loco physics.

[Craig72]

Hi all. Just wondering about the realism of the loco physics of Trainz.

For example, if I was to couple two BR Class 31‘s together, would it increase the tractive effort of the two combined loco’s or is this beyond Trainz?

Thanks for any reply.

Craig.

 

[Pendolino]

Hello Craig,

yes, it will work - more or less - like the real thing.

If you use two locomotives instead of one:

- in DCC mode, the acceleration will double and the train will reach its maximum speed (as stated in the enginespec) in a shorter time;
- in Cab Mode, the overall tractive effort will double, acceleration will increase and the maximum speed will also be higher (but still less than the maximum speed specified in the enginespec, unless the consist is a very light one). This is much more realistic than DCC mode .

Regards

 

[Craig72]

Hi Carlo, thanks for replying. I didn't think that Trainz would be able to work loco's double headed in that way, you learn something new every day.

Craig.

 

[stovepipe]

Trainz is actually capable of pretty good physics, but many of the standard enginespecs used in locos and rolling stock leave a little to be desired. You might want to check out the range I, and others, have produced. I did some 60, 80 and 90 mph class 31 enginespecs quite recently for instance. The loco and rolling stock enginespecs are designed to work together to improve the CAB driving experience; they won't make too much difference in DCC mode.

 

[wylie]

As Stovepipe already pointed out, the loco physics in Trainz are only as good as the enginespec used on the loco. With a good enginespec, you can get quite realistic physics, however creating a good enginespec is a bit of a black art, so its not often easy to find a good one. Its often nescessary to edit the config.txt of the loco in question, and point it to a different enginespec.

 

[sniper297]

Way to find out, pick a route with a 2% grade, add 30 loaded coal hoppers, try to climb the hill with one loco. Won't make it, add a second or third loco, see what the difference is.
I came to Trainz from MSTS and later Railsim/Railworks, so one of the first things I did was testing to prove or disprove all the claims from the "my trainsim is better than yours" holy warriors that Trainz was a toy train simulator. It CAN be a toy train simulator in DCC mode, but it's just as realistic as MSTS in CAB mode.

 

[grms]

It also works for banking locos or distributed power

i.e. loco+train+loco OR loco+train+loco+train OR even loco+train+loco+train+loco

bearing in mind that in the above 'loco' = as many locos as you want

 

[Craig72]

Hello everyone.

Thanks once again for replying.

Did a little test this morning, made a nice long straight route, placed a coal train weighing about 9,000 tons and using one UP DD40X to start with, it took 1 minute and 54 seconds to get up to 10 MPH (or 16 KmH).

I then added a second UP DD40X, and this time it took 1 minute 5 seconds to get to 10 MPH.

Craig.

 

[sniper297]

DD40s are 6600 horses, to really see the difference try it with something like a F7. Pulling 9000 tons up a 1% grade would need 5 or 6 of them, 2 won't be enough.

 

[Craig72]

Hi Sniper, are there any built in routes with a 1% grade on it? As I don't have a clue how to measure a grade?

Thanks.

Craig.

 

[rweber95]

You can measure the gradient of any track while in Surveyor by using the gradient tool. In Surveyor, select the Tracks pull out (F4) then click the Advanced bar. Click the gradient tool icon or press J. Then left mouse click on a track and read the gradient in %.
If you want to try your hand at starting a coal train on a grade try the Big Steam Grade session on the Tidewater North route, it's a 1+ % grade.

Bob Weber

 

[Craig72]

Hi Bob, I did work out how to make a gradient last night, but thanks for your rely.

Off to try the Big Steam Grade session.

Craig.