Jeff, The screen that has nothing on it is for a signal system that allows the signals to be displayed in the cab called PTC or Positive Train Control. Caltrain has screens in the locomotives to prepare for the system but it's not implemented yet. So in this case, having a black screen is accurate and true to life. Edit: for the loud sound bug, just hit E to stand up and sit back down and that'll fix it.
Be mindful of the brakes; the first station stop you forgot to move the handle back to lap and drained your brake pipe to 0. This delays the release time later on.
Actually according to Matt Peddlesden the producer of this DLC. Caltrain actually goes straight to full throttle. Dovetail spent a week with Caltrain so this is how they know this.
I ran that locomotive in passenger and freight service, whenever I started to move I’d wipe that throttle all the way to notch 8. The ammeter limit is time based. so you can be in the red for a bit and everything is fine. Usually around 30-40MPH you can always notch out without being afraid. The only time I was ever concerned with the ammeter was when I would be pulling heavy freight cars. Also, youre applying waaaaayyyyyy to much brake way too fast. You can literally piss on the brakes. Go into “service” rate for just a quick second and then lap it. Dont just throw all that air away. Also, never go straight to release. Goto hold, build up the brake pipe and then goto release.
D.A. Durgut, hi!!! I read that you’re engineer. That’s great! I’m running this service in Train Sim World. It’s being quite hard for me to master the braking technique. I hope you can help. When approaching the station (about 1 mile away); after applying some air using the automatic brake, do you bail off the air from the locomotive brakes immediately? Or do you run some distance with the independent brakes applied? The bail off feature is quite hard for me to understand (as I never drove a train heheh). I saw that if you leave the locomotive brakes applied (not bail them off after using the automatic brake), the locomotive automatically starts the dynamic brake and gradually bail the air off the brake cylinders. Is this ok to happen? So, if could help me understand the correct use of the brakes to make a nice stop, I’d be glad! Unfortunately, the simulator is not precise in this kind of training. And as I’m just a lover of the railroad, somethings can just be missed. Sorry for the long text... Hope not to bother you much. 👍
Caltrain Engineers put it into notch 8 right away when they accelerate out of a station Also if you stand up and sit back down again that will solve the sound issue more effectively than going back and forth from the internal and external view. Train Sim World really needs to fix that.
I ride on this actual route every other day, from South County to San Jose Diridon. Very surreal to see you simulating it in a sim. I can assure you, the sounds from the actual train are extremely close, it’s as if I’m on the platform IRL. CalTrain plans on electrifying the entire line in the next 10 years.
8:00 first peek at the San Jose Arena aka The Shark Tank!! My home town. I've ridden this exact train many a time from South San Jose to San Fran and points in between. The detail is amazingly accurate.
Great video! One tip: If you apply Service braking for just a couple seconds and move the application brake into Lap, the train slows at a much more gradual pace instead of being so sudden, which is how it works in real life. To reset the braking just move it to Release, and to brake harder move it back into Service and then into Lap once more.
Yea. They're "mauniually lapping" brakes and they're a bit tricky to get used to. This train also has blended braking where the dynamic brakes will automatically apply at a certain amount of brake cylinder pressure. Hence the engine reving when braking.
Hi there. I am currently stuck on the tracks because I accidentally hit the emergency brake. Do you know how to reset this? I'm playing train sim world 4 and have tried to reset sim physics but it doesn't work
The inside of the train, the cabin and the cab, is almost 100% exact to real life, it’s impressive. I ride the bike car all the time, and it looks and is extremely accurate. I’m surprised they modeled this line in TS2019 and Train Sim World, someone on their design staff must be a local.
Howdy Jeff, some facts on signals (lights on/infront of you on your trip. A red means STOP do not proceed past the signal. A yellow or MEDIUM APPROACH signal means yes you can proceed 15/20 miles per hour under trackspeed. A green or CLEAR means you may proceed at trackspeed. Now to get to the nitty gritty signals. A yellow over green is a approach clear meaning you may proceed at trackspeed but be prepared to slow at anytime on the tracks. A red over yellow means you may proceed at or below 15/20 MPH below the trackspeed and be prepared to STOP at the next signal or on the tracks ahead of you. A yellow over yellow is a ADVANCED APPROACH meaning you may proceed at trackspeed however be prepared to STOP at the next signal ahead (as will the MEDIUM APPROCH). I just thought I could provide some information about that. Also when coming to crossing the horn sequence is 2 longs 1 short and a long then past the crossing. Thanks for the awsome video jeff.
The point is to get up to speed as much as you can and learn how to modulate brakes and throttle. While coming to signals and speed limits. Just keeping it slow makes you late and is making it easier for you. Timing the breaks and throttle is part of mastering the game im told.
Jeff, the Chicago Metra Commuters from the city to the suburbs uses the same trains. Runs backwards to the city with the engine pushing, and Engine out to the suburbs. I lived up there 17yrs. I even have a HO Scale set of it.
You can operate the throttle any way you like, after all, you are the engineer. I would put the throttle into Run 1 before releasing both the automatic and independent brakes, then let the train begin rolling before throwing it into Run 8. When coming into a station, I would aim to hit the front of the platform at around 40-45 mph (the longer the platform, the faster you can hit it) and bail off a bit on the brakes before you come to a complete stop to make the stopping jolt less severe for the passengers. Also when stopping at a station, try to aim the cab at the "SPOT CAB" sign on the right side toward the end of the platform. Just my two cents, hope you enjoy operating!
Caltrain owns the former Southern Pacific line from San Francisco to San Jose. Union Pacific is a tenant, as they only provide local freight duties on the line.
@The Bear Den, a yellow over green on the Canadian National means Diverging Clear. Means that you’ll switch tracks and from there you can go track speed. Union Pacific has weird signals and meanings to me lol.
For running 26rl air you can put the handle in to service and make a minmum reduction (10pounds) put the handle into hold and the brake pipe will maintain 10 pounds and you can throttle against it to maintain a speed if need be throttle down and the 10 pounds will hold the trai. And apply more air as needed.
The only way to meet the time table is to put it straight to run 8. The creators when they streamed it even said the engineers told them they put it in run 8 right away as well in real life
the rear coach with the driving cab is called cabcar and it's something very used mostly in european trains, in commuter trains but also long distance trains such as intercity trains. well every country calls it in different ways, US people call it Cabcar, in England they call it DVT (Driving Van Trailer) and so on. and some little advice about the braking system. if you want to control your speed more precisely, you can build up pressure in the brakes cylinders when the handle is in the service position and then you put it in lap when you achieved the desired pressure. if you want to slow down more quickly or slowly you only have to release or put in service mode and then put the handle in the lap position, this will hold the pressure in the cylinders helping you to control better your speed
always remember that the red needle is the brake cylinder pressure gauge and the higher the needle is pointing the harder the brakes are applied, and when the needle is pointing to 0 it means there's no pressure in the cylinders and so the brakes are fully released
last thing but not least, when cruising at high speeds don't worry if when you apply the brakes, the pressure in the cylinders falls back to 0, this happens because the electropneumatic brakes system is simulated. basically over a certain speed if you apply the brakes, air brakes will apply only in the carriages and In the locomotive the dynamic brake will be applied automatically until the speed goes down to a pretty low value, following the law that the higher is the speed the more effective will be the dynamic brakes, because at higher speeds the traction motors run fast and they produce strong electric fields. when the dynamic brake is applied the voltage is inverted and the motors will act as generators and brakes, but while the speed falls down the motors will run at lowers speeds too so the braking force will slowly go down, this is why you cannot completely stop a train only with dynamic brake, so disc brakes are used at low speeds
Great video, looking forward to buying the dlc for myself here soon! I rode Metra in Chicago before (with the f40 locomotive) and at stations they stayed in notch 2. When it was time to go you had to hold on.
Can’t say for all railroads as I work for NS but it seems most class 1 and short lines use at least the normal signal system with green being clear, yellow is approach and red being stop. It gets way more technical but for the basic. Your approach will always be preparing to stop so your speed will be cut
The sound bug is easily fixed by just standing up and sitting down in the seat. (E key). As for the bell you just have to wait until the front of the locomotive clears the platform.
The signals don't drop like they should when the train occupies the block. That is a major issue. The signal HUD is also highly unrealistic, generally you would speed from the last signal not the next one. I can't believe dovetail even programmed it that way.
A note about the amps being kept in a decent range. I was watching Matt (MattPlaysTV) who is the project manager (or lead developer) for TSW. His crew actually went out and rode with CalTrain to see how they actually operate IRL. Apparently from a dead stop (leaving a station for example) they'll go right into notch 8, and they let the amps go full red line. They stated this is okay as long as the engines don't remain in the red zone for any long period of time. If you're interested let me know and I can find the video and time he talks about this and I can link it either in a reply comment or Discord!
Hey Jeff, great vid. When you got out at that station to go to that cab car, you got out on the driver side. When ever your getting out of the loco/cab car/ passenger car. You get out/ in on the platform side. Also remember to give 2 blast of the horn taking off from a station and at least a blast coming in to one.
I also find it weird driving the train backwards... I'm used to one-way track systems which make a lot more sense to me :D BTW you can feel free to put the rear running lights on before you switch cabs, even if the game doesn't tell you to do something they at least give you the freedom to do whatever you want - as you did yourself by switching cabs for the car wash. It's one reason why I enjoy the slight lack of hand-holding in the instructions of how to do things in this game!
Jeff to know if a crossing is coming up, about 500 ft from the crossing you will see a sign either with a “W” which means whistle, or a letter “X” with a number indicating how many crossings there are up ahead.
Jeff if you stand up out of your seat ingame then sit back down the sound will fix itself. I also heard that people just throw it into 8 because that’s the only way to keep up with the schedule. It really depends. Good video tho!
No one mentioned this that I can see, but the F40PH does not have extended range dynamic brakes. As such, below ~30, they're basically useless. Also, when you're wanting to slow down but not stop, using the independent brake is just fine. Much more control with the independent. The automatic system can actually cause more jolting, even with the low-slack couplers used in passenger service because the brakes don't always apply evenly. A soft application of independent to bunch up the train then a heavier application to start slowing can give a much better ride. Also - STOP with the bell. You don't need to run it every time you stop when out of the station, especially not leaving it running while you're changing ends. It's annoying and any real crew would be smacking you upside the head for doing it.
Jeff, make sure you don't feel stupid around crossings, but watch out for signs that has the X on them, if they have a number underneath it that means there are more than one crossing. For example : X 2.
Wow! So crazy to see San Carlos on the side of your train in this video, it's such a small town. That's where I grew up! I took this train to see SF Giants game all the time on the weekends. The Express train from SF to San Carlos after the games was so fast.
That blank screen thing in front of the engineer is a new safety system which the hardware was installed but it was not functional yet on the real locomotive.
The sound glitch people are talking about doesn’t sound (in the video) like a sound glitch. Where I work the F40’s are very loud and in the cab they hurt your ears. I could be wrong but the insulation from the engine to the cab to make sound go away, may not be the same on these engines depending on the railroad they serve.
Do you know that bug you were talking about where you get in back of interior and the outside sound is just stand up and sit back down and I’ll be fixed
Our GO Trains engine stop at the very tip end of the platform with one constant brake motion. If they overshoot the platform the crew ends up in big 💩lol
There honestly is no correct way to throttle a train. It’s mostly by preference. Some people like to do increase it gradually, in increments of 2 or 3, and others like to max out the throttle for full acceleration. I like to max it out just for the added benefit of a quick start, but it doesn’t hurt to do it gradually.
I went to CalTrain station in San Francisco and asked the conductor where the 9:00 train is. He said under the 9:00 sign. Rode train to Redwood City and got off. Rode train back to Millbrae BART and took BART to San Francisco.
For all they get right with this game, sound seems to be what they struggle most with. Overall the passenger locos sound alright. Freight diesels seem to be a bit neglected though. They could learn a thing or 2 from the folks who made Derail Valley, their horn reverb effect is stellar.
Signal Rules: Note: There are more signals if you search up Caltrain Signal Rules, but the most important or the most common ones are listed below Red (Stop)- Stop before signal turns yellow or green Solid Yellow (Approach)- Proceed prepared to stop at next signal. Speed limit 35 mph Flashing Yellow- Proceed prepared to stop in the next two signals. Speed limit 50 mph Green- Proceed. Speed Limit 79 mph Solid Yellow then Flashing Green Underneath (Approach Limited)- Proceed prepared to pass next signal at a speed limit of 50 mph Solid Yellow then Solid Green Underneath (Approach Medium)- Proceed prepared to pass next signal at a speed limit of 35 mph Red then Flashing Green Underneath (Limited Clear)- Proceed at 50 mph until the whole train switches to another track, then proceed Red then Solid Green Underneath (Medium Clear)- Proceed at 35 mph until the whole train switches to another track, then proceed
Jeff with the HUD options you are using it might be difficult to see the blue marker when they ask you to move to a building or something (like at the end). If you press CTRL+1 it will toggle that marker in the game world on/off so you can quickly check where they want you to go :)
Oh man I’ve been watching a lot of Jeff’s old videos and what not and I’m really enjoying them and I wish that all the gang would get back together it’s so depressing hope you read this Jeff I’ve been watching for a while now and I really enjoy all the single player content but I miss the old you and I think you should add all the old peeps in a chat on discord and get back together you only life once man have a good day everyone 😊😊😉
Just finished watching your hay ATS video and low and behold you uploaded a Train Sim World video!! I was wondering what I was going to watch and now I know!
Sorry for all the spam comments. To fix that audio thing of hearing the outside noises from inside. Simply go back to the interior view, stand up and then sit back down again. That should fix it without having to switch views back and forth a bunch.
I have the PS4 version i was wondering have you ever had a problem that sometimes if you slowed down too fast or push a button by accident to early the Train would just stop and not move again. Because i keep getting that issue have and to restart the entire level again. It’s getting really annoying!
I've mostly seen F40PHs in the midwest just south of Milwaukee, WI on Amtrak trains but in illinois I've seen them on metro links in Chicago or north of Chicago
As far as I know Caltrain might do it different but your not supposed to because it can over rev the engine and you should know what happens if you do that hint its a little explosive
Guess I'll join in on the fun. . . Hey Jeff, to fix that sound problem, just stand up and sit down in the cab can (E on the keyboard). Hope this helps.
