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Loss of Power.

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Post  abclare Wed 31 Jul 2013, 3:22 pm

Hi All.

What am i doing wrong or not doing when going Uphill with Steam Locos i always loose power.Crying or Very sad



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Post  35005CP Wed 31 Jul 2013, 3:33 pm

Hi Art,
You need to ensure you at least get a good run up and good speed and make sure you're cut-off (Reverser) is set correctly and you are applying the right amount of Regulator.
You will always lose a bit of power on a bank. Smile
Andy


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Post  mikehendle Wed 31 Jul 2013, 4:20 pm

Hi Art
when you come to a hill put the reverser to about 50 percent decrease the regulator, then it's a case of juggling the 2 usually increase the reverser.and decrease the regulator also try using the sanders as well
Mike


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Post  slipperman12 Wed 31 Jul 2013, 4:34 pm

Hi Art,
I saved these instructions about 3 years ago!  I'm sorry, but I can't give credit to the author as I'm not sure where they came from, but am pretty certain it was in one of the UKTS Forums.  It's for a Britannia loco, but the principle remains the same whichever loco you're driving.

This is an example of how to drive a steam locomotive

Starting with the Regulator shut (0%), Cut-off set at 15%, Brakes at 100% Released, Small Ejector is Open, Exhaust Sanders on and Drain Cocks open. Close the Drain cocks and turn off the Sanders, then 'Close' the Small ejector (using the 'J' key) and keep this closed at all times. Now adjust the Cut-off to about 40% and open the Regulator to about 45% and you should now maintain your current speed, as the speed increases slowly reduce the Cut-off to about 25% as your speed increases, also reducing the Regulator setting (as required) to avoid running at excessive line speed.

When you are at a station, While loading the passengers re-adjust the Cut-off to 70% (ready for the restart) and when given the "OK to proceed" fully release the Brakes (100%) and open the Regulator to about 60%, as speed increases adjust the Brakes to 0% Release (or very close) or 0% Apply if using the keyboard keys (better to use the Mouse 'in cab' then you can adjust to exactly '0% Release'). Always allow the Brake lever to stay a little time at '100% Release' to allow the Brakes to fully release, if you move the lever too quickly from 100% to 0% release, the Brakes will still stay slightly applied affecting the drag of the train. Make sure that the release value is as low as possible once the brakes come fully off. Try and get it at 1% and the amount of extra steam used to hold the brakes off will be tiny. So give it full release until the brake pressure reaches about 21 inches (some use 25 inches) then move the setting back until you have the lowest release setting possible.

As speed increases, slowly adjust the Cut-off towards 25% and start shutting down the Regulator accordingly (these both need to be done quite slowly or you will slow the Loco's acceleration too quickly). Try to adjust these two controls so that the 'Steam generation rate' is always higher than 'Steam usage rate (these can be seen in the displays using F5), the only exceptions being, when the water injectors are in use or you are climbing a 'Steep' incline with a heavy train). Ideally once up to a reasonable speed you should have been able to adjust the Cut-off to about 25-30% and the Regulator set at around 30% for much of the time.

One way of thinking about this is that the Cut-off are like the gears (25% being high gear and 75% being a low gear) on a car and the Regulator is the accelerator. :-?
So sometimes you need low settings on the Cut-off and Regulator (Normal Running), sometimes higher Cut-off and medium- high Regulator (Hill climbing, heavy trains) and of course, high Cut-off and high Regulator setting (Pulling away from a stand).

Remember that a steam loco uses steam to do just about anything - including releasing the brakes. You MUST have the brake control in a position where it is not actually Releasing  or you will run out of steam; I usually run with it at "Apply 0%" - not difficult to achieve if you dab the keys rather than press and hold; just make sure the brake pipe pressure is at 25 in/Hg before getting it there. Steam consumption will also increase when you are injecting water, but it is better to use the Exhaust Steam Injector ('O' key) and the least rate of water injection you need, water level is easier to control if you add it with a tap not a fire hose...

While everyone drives differently, I've never turned the ejector off, just to make sure I always have vacuum; I also prefer to drive the way long-lap engines were meant to be - widest possible regulator and shortest cut-off as soon as possible, though MSTS is less than perfect in this regard and often no more than 70% regulator is allowable for minimum steam consumption.

I hope it helps, because after you've "struggled" with juggling the regulator and reverser up a long gradient, you get quite a sense of achievement when you get over the top Very Happy   The Somerset & Dorset route is a very good one to practice on Shocked Smile 

Cheers,
Ged

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Post  abclare Thu 01 Aug 2013, 11:39 am

Hi.

Thank you all i wil give it a try as i am running a Act uphill at the moment.Laughing


Last edited by abclare on Fri 02 Aug 2013, 10:23 pm; edited 1 time in total


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Post  rufuskins Thu 01 Aug 2013, 12:14 pm

Ged
I think that this was developed from this post on UKTS.
It would a useful addition to the existing HFL part by Justin on driving steam engines.
Alec


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Post  abclare Thu 01 Aug 2013, 2:48 pm

Hi All.

Getting the hang of it now running much beteer.Laughing What should the setting be for normal running???


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Post  mikehendle Thu 01 Aug 2013, 4:57 pm

HI Art,
on the flat cutoff about 25% usually works for me then just juggle the regulator up to go faster down to go slower.

Mike


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Post  abclare Fri 02 Aug 2013, 2:34 pm

Hi Mike.

When you say Cutoff  am i right  that is the Revereser????


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Post  neanderthal Fri 02 Aug 2013, 3:49 pm

Yes Art that is correct,though not all engines run best at the same settings,trial and error I think you,ll find is the only way.


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Post  mikehendle Fri 02 Aug 2013, 3:54 pm

Hi Art

Yes that is right,I'm afraid steam loco's are trial and error with juggling the reverser and regulator,and a msts steam loco is just like a real one no 2 are the same,your best bet is to put a X in automatic fireman,it allows you to concentrate on the two main controls,unless it is a Western\Great Western Loco then you have to use the J key as to open and close the small injector.

Mike


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Post  abclare Fri 02 Aug 2013, 4:54 pm

mikehendle wrote:Hi Art

Yes that is right,I'm afraid steam loco's are trial and error with juggling the reverser and regulator,and a msts steam loco is just like a real one no 2 are the same,your best bet is to put a X in automatic fireman,it allows you to concentrate on the two main controls,unless it is a Western\Great Western Loco then you have to use the J key as to open and close the small injector.

Mike

Thanks Mike. Yes i do use Auto Fireman now.


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