[copperpen]

Genma Saotome, on 04 March 2018 - 10:09 AM, said:

Q: If the consist speed is being used as the maximum speed, why is the software using a literal from the .con file instead of calculating the actual speed at which that consist can no longer accelerate? The calculation would be correct; the literal is often just a guess.

Would it not also be true that whatever speed the consist can no longer accelerate will change on account of the grade? That... and the strong probability that whomever created the .con file has absolutely no idea what speed (at zero grade) will equal no further acceleration.

Or does it all come down to just use the max speed of the route and ignore everything else?

I cant speak for diesel or electric consists, not involved there, but I can say that a steam consist in OR will only run up to the balancing speed for that consist, the point at which power output matches consist resistance. This is with the proviso that you can generate sufficient steam to get to that speed.

Again, cant speak for the US, but here in the UK in bygone years it was common practice to place speed limits on different classes of freight train. Passenger cars also had a max speed limit, only exceeded in special cases. The engineer/driver of the train was expected to stay within those limits even though the engine was quite capable of running much faster.

I am of the opinion that there should not be any speed attached to a consist, and agree it should be calculated from the available power, total train resistance and grade, with the engineer/driver responsible for not exceeding advised limits. When considering power, particularly diesel and electric, there should be a max speed limit that is read by the software because those limits were/are applied in real life either by software or some other means.