Class 86 Problem

[byker43]

Further to my earlier comments I would like to say that I'm dissapointed that Rail Works seam to be directing the game at experts. Rail works is a terrfic game, and must not lose touch with the wide rang of people playing, with this in mind all levels of ability must be catered for.

[JasonM]

Am very pleased it has to be driven properly, easy once you get the hang of it.
Excellent model, well done and thankyou.

[cwgaskell]

Hi,
Thanks to several posts above, I think I know how to drive this 86.

It appears that the primary thing to become skilful at is to master the subtle difference between:
a) A Key-Tap,
b) A Key-Press, and
c) A Long-Key-Press

The Key-Tap is very short and causes the Tap-Lever to twitch, but basically stays where it is, and is used to move the Tap on the coils one notch (once the Tap-Lever is in the HOLD position) and so changes the amount of electrical power that can be used.

The Key-Press (close to ½ second) causes the Tap-Lever to move one place, such as between OFF (RUN DOWN) and HOLD.

The Long-Key-Press (not much longer than a Key-Press) moved the Tap-Lever all the way to either RUN DOWN or RUN UP.

So now that I understand this a little better I have a chance of being able to drive the 86 without randomly pressing keys in the hope that something will happen. The difficulty is that there is very little difference between a Key-Press and a Long-Key-Press.

Many thanks

Colin

[bigvern]

Sounds like my wish has come true then - the tap changer and overload trips!

It was all for you Vern! If you like trying to be an absolute expert at driving an 86, you will love this.

Just purchased and downloading now, but probably won't get any playtime until later on.

[adam3544]

Finally, after reading the above posts, I succeeded to drive this locomotive. It reminds me other tap changer equipped locos like SBB Re 4/4 or Re 6/6 one. The Swiss driver acting in the same way by momentarelly moving the handle one step after other when accelerating.
Thanks to AndyUK for adding his important comment about the difference between the instructions in video and RailWorks.
But the most important is the excellent scenery. Really "photorealistic". Unfortunatelly, the frame rate dropping frequently to 18 fps, cousing some unpleasant effect of slide show.

Adam

[davveb]

Hi all
Very happy with the 86,very similar to original as far as operation goes, but the brake pressure gauge rises to the applied pressure then falls of to zero. The brakes hold but seeing the gauge drop makes you think otherwise and its hard to add more brake with no indication. Hopefully a fix will appear.
Phill

I believe this is prototypical. The airbrakes "bail off" as the blended dynamic brakes engage. Determine your degree of braking from the position of the brake handle and the indication on the brake pipe gauge.

[AndyUK]

I've got a throttle problem on the C86. I can get it moving but sometimes the throttle doesn't work. I thought I may have caused a fault, So i did what it says in the manual about resetting it... However, afterwards, the throttle still doesn't hardly pick up. Can get it to about 20max :S

Any news or help would be greatful

Do you mean that the throttle output is not linked to how far you open the tap-charger? If so, that is intended here. Instead of opening the throttle to 100% you open it slowly (tapping) and every new tap is like shifting gear in your car. Just go slowly and you'll see the loco pick up speed. If you go too fast you will get an overload and a shut down.

(I hope I understood your question)

So, when i'm at, say, 95mph. Is it normal for the throttle to stay at a max of about 18%? I Can never seem to get the throttle to go above or get to 100% and the train decreases in speed up hill, then the throttle will increase slightly to about 21% or so.

The behaviour you are seeing is normal. It's due to the way the developer chose to model the loco to get round an imperfection in the way RW models some aspects of an electric loco's performance. The freeware version of the Class 86 is the same.

Andy L

[AndyUK]

Hi all
Very happy with the 86,very similar to original as far as operation goes, but the brake pressure gauge rises to the applied pressure then falls of to zero. The brakes hold but seeing the gauge drop makes you think otherwise and its hard to add more brake with no indication. Hopefully a fix will appear.
Phill

I believe this is prototypical. The airbrakes "bail off" as the blended dynamic brakes engage. Determine your degree of braking from the position of the brake handle and the indication on the brake pipe gauge.

If you want confirmation that what Dave says is correct, check the BR Manual - http://www.locodocs.co.uk/brmanuals/81- ... 2-1985.htm. The operation of the rheostatic brake is discussed on pages 21 and 22. It well worth a read of the rest of it if you want to know more about driving the loco and the way it operates.

Andy L

[artisan]

I'm such a philistine when it comes to this loco. I'd rather just use my raildriver to drive it without all the tapping .

+1 me too,i've very recently spend a small fortune on a raildriver only to find yet another loco i can't use it with--very frustrating.

[gswindale]

Nothing in there to suggest that it cannot be done in easy mode that I can see.

It says in the scenario information **EXPERT MODE ONLY** for all scenarios that require you to drive the 86, it would be simpler if easy mode was removed!

Interestingly it does not - there was no mention of "EXPERT MODE ONLY" in the Motherwell Free Roam scenario that I picked up - hence my post along with reading the manual.

I take Derek's post on board and will wait for the updates to come through. Is a shame though that it wasn't included at launch.

[Darpor]

+1 me too,i've very recently spend a small fortune on a raildriver only to find yet another loco i can't use it with--very frustrating.

I can understand that frustration, the Raildriver is an expensive piece of kit. However, RSC have always stated that it isn't officially supported so its a case of you spend your money and take a chance.

[detectorman]

While the graphics are superb I am less than impressed with the driving experience.
Using the Carlisie free roam scenario I find that.
1. Heading north runs you straight into some marshalling yards by default so it is necessary to set the route onto the main line.
2. Set off from Carlisle, one 'tap' up to accelerate up to about 15 mph then tap down to cruise through the 20mph speed limit.
Unfortunately I quickly arrive at a green signal and the loco shuts down.
The brake % indicator (F4) flicks between 3 and 4 % and all controls lock up.
If I press the reset I get a yellow/black cab indicator light up with an alarm? sound. Nothing works after that except to quit and try again.

Dave

[pjt1974]

However much I like the 86 and it's expert tap controls and trying not to go too far before it trips itself. For a loco released with such a big and much anticipated add-on as the WCML North, I don't think RSC would get a job behind the Pakistani stumps. They've dropped the ball on the 'expert only' decision.

Fair play to Derek on explaining that the decision was a hard one to make and judging by the way RSC sorted out and problems last, this will by address pretty sharpish.

Phil

[artisan]

+1 me too,i've very recently spend a small fortune on a raildriver only to find yet another loco i can't use it with--very frustrating.

I can understand that frustration, the Raildriver is an expensive piece of kit. However, RSC have always stated that it isn't officially supported so its a case of you spend your money and take a chance.

too true & i'm beggining to wish i had saved my money but hey ho easy come ............

[andymar54]

Read the manual on how to drive it. It is a tap changer and requires some work to drive it. Its easy and a blast once you get the hang of it.

I seem to be having a senior moment and can't find the manual?

Cancel last, Ive found the manual.



Andy M