[Stephen]

Hi,

steamer_ctn, on 07 October 2015 - 08:07 PM, said:

A first pass at providing for the steam heating of carriages has been committed in #3277.

For the time being it only works for steam locomotives, extension to diesel hauled steam boilers maybe considered as a further release.

It will only work where the following line of code has been included in the engine section of the ENG file. It will not work during the summer season, and it will only apply to passenger cars.

MaxSteamHeatingPressure( x )

where x = maximum steam pressure in the heating pipe - should not exceed 100psi

If it is fitted to the locomotive, then an extra line will appear in the extended HUD to show the temperature in the train, and steam heating pipe pressure, etc.

Warning messages will be displayed if the train temperature goes outside of the limits of 10 - 15.5oC.

To maintain the train temperature the following controls are used:
Alt-U = increase steam pressure (and hence train temperature)
Alt-D = decrease steam pressure (and hence train temperature)

This, to me, is another useful function in OR but at the moment when driving a steam freight train I get unwelcome messages about carriage temperatures. I would have thought that this function should only be applied to player passenger trains. Is this something which can be resolved fairly soon?

Regards,

Stephen

[ATSF3751]

Most if not all steam locomotive excursions on the mainline today either have a power car or a diesel on the train to run HEP. Just a thought.

[steamer_ctn]

Stephen, on 01 November 2015 - 01:45 PM, said:

This, to me, is another useful function in OR but at the moment when driving a steam freight train I get unwelcome messages about carriage temperatures. I would have thought that this function should only be applied to player passenger trains. Is this something which can be resolved fairly soon?

It shouldn't display alarms during freight operation. (Note mixed trains will still have steam heating.)

I have made a small modification to the code in #3280 to remove HUD display info for freight operation.

Can you recheck the issue in this version? And if you are still getting problems, can you please describe your scenario more fully.

Thanks

[Stephen]

Hi Peter,

steamer_ctn, on 01 November 2015 - 08:54 PM, said:

It shouldn't display alarms during freight operation. (Note mixed trains will still have steam heating.)

I have made a small modification to the code in #3280 to remove HUD display info for freight operation.

Can you recheck the issue in this version? And if you are still getting problems, can you please describe your scenario more fully.

Thanks

I am currently using x3288 and can confirm that there is no reference to steam heat HUD F5 for this activity.

The activity is my S - Harbour Goods for the Somerset and Dorset Route. It starts with the player freight train waiting at Branksome Gas Works Junction for a passenger train to depart Bournemouth and cross this junction. The passenger service requires a banker to be attached out of sight so that it can then uncoupled after the junction and move into a siding. A second passenger train leaves Bournemouth and will precede the player train to Poole. While I wait a freight train also passes me. The start time is 08.58 and I get carriage temperature warnings at 08.59.42, 08.59.49 and 09.00.19. Only the passenger train being banked is an AI loco the rest are all driveable - would this make difference?

If it's any help I have attached the relevant Open Rails log for a test run this morning.

Hope that this useful,

Stephen

 OpenRailsLog.txt (39.75K)
Number of downloads: 518

This post has been edited by Stephen: 02 November 2015 - 02:29 AM

[steamer_ctn]

Hi Stephen,

Stephen, on 02 November 2015 - 02:29 AM, said:

I am currently using x3288 and can confirm that there is no reference to steam heat HUD F5 for this activity.

Looks like old age is catching up with me. I should have quoted #3290, not #3280.

Can you please upgrade to #3290, and recheck.

Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks

[Stephen]

Hi Peter,

steamer_ctn, on 02 November 2015 - 02:36 AM, said:

Hi Stephen,

Looks like old age is catching up with me. I should have quoted #3290, not #3280.

Can you please upgrade to #3290, and recheck.

Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks

I can confirm that these messages are longer in the HUD with x3290.

Thanks,

Stephen

[keystoneaholic]

Then if you look a a Deltic diesel, it had 2 prime movers, only one of which provided ETH (Electric Train Heat - in US terminology HEP) at any given time. With an HST only one power car provides ETH, normally the rear one as it keeps the revs down when idling to help keep the driver comfortable!

On the other hand the Class 33's and the Hampshire Units (Diesel Electric Multiple Units) had a fast idle to keep the revs up for ETH generation. The first thing that happened when they went to move off was that the revs dropped to a 'normal' idle giving a couple of seconds of quiet before the revs increased again for traction purposes.

It could get very complicated! Of course, if there is a separate auxiliary power unit (As on the F40C's, I believe) it's much more straightforward.

[sim-al2]

keystoneaholic, on 02 November 2015 - 07:45 AM, said:

traction purposes.

It could get very complicated! Of course, if there is a separate auxiliary power unit (As on the F40C's, I believe) it's much more straightforward.

The F40C and F40PH keep the engine at a constant speed (900rpm) when generating HEP, as does the GE B32-PWH/P40DC/P42DC, although all seem to also allow HEP to be produced in "standby" mode where HEP is pulled from the main alternator and the engine runs at 720rpm. The engines in these locomotives have to run at constant rpm because the HEP alternators produce three-phase AC current at 60Hz, and allowing rpm to vary would cause unacceptable frequency variations.

Some operators have dispensed with the need for constant high rpm with either separate diesel engines mounted on the locomotive (common for US commuter engines), or the use of a rectifier-inverter combo (only on new-build locomotives so far in the US, i.e. P32-ACDM, MPI HSP46 or the Siemens Charger) where the inverter takes the varying output from the engine and creates a steady three-phase output, allowing the engine speed to be varied in response to power demands (both traction and HEP).