56xx released.

[kevpotts]

Nah, if you're a good driver and know the route, you should be able to set your controls with no need for major adjustments, then pick up the shovel

Well I agree with you, but judging by the difficulty everyone has coming to terms with the cylinder cocks I think good drivers might be in a minority.

Wouldn't be a problem if the cylinder cocks and their operation were as realistic as the rest of this loco!

[stuart666]

Bad driver!


Leaving aside the cylinder cocks (I think we will let RSC make the call on that one) how realistic do you assess the rest of the operation of the locomotive to be? I worked my unmentionables off to get aspects of the boiler and power range right, how well do you think that comes off?

Not trying to be contentious, Im just curious.

[kevpotts]

Bad driver!


Leaving aside the cylinder cocks (I think we will let RSC make the call on that one) how realistic do you assess the rest of the operation of the locomotive to be? I worked my unmentionables off to get aspects of the boiler and power range right, how well do you think that comes off?

Not trying to be contentious, Im just curious.

Stuart

As I've said, I think this loco breaks new ground in terms of realism and performance. All that work paid off in my opinion. (Oddly enough, I've only had an automated reply from RSC so hope they have the info and are willing to look into it further)

But, in general, a great bit of work from all concerned!

[Mazza35]

Oh and Stuart, the blower will increase draft if you are rolling down a hill NOT using any or very very little regulator, although I think it may be easier to code in canceling blower effect when regulator open?

[stuart666]

Oh and Stuart, the blower will increase draft if you are rolling down a hill NOT using any or very very little regulator, although I think it may be easier to code in canceling blower effect when regulator open?

Firstly, thanks for the kind comments Kev. I know Pete appreciates it, and so do all of us who had the honour of testing it.

Mazza, I think this comes down to scripting, which is an area I have very little understanding of. Pete is the clever chap who understands all that stuff. It probably IS possible to do it somehow. Might be an idea for a mod to add to the present scripting. But it may be clunky, for example you might have steam output of 2500 when at idle with blower on, yet when you open the regulator it may drop to half that as the blower cuts out. Might be a bit unrealistic, im not sure.

From what you say, blower only helps counteract blowback, keep steam going when regulator at idle. It does very little to enhance temperture whilst the regulator is at shuttoff. Is that a general description of locomotive handling in general, or do you have direct experience of GWR and Swindon No2 boilers in particular? Not being funny, I really am interested.

Its probably something that wont make it into the 56xx (unless its a private mod) but it might be something to keep in mind for the future.

Incidentally, if anyone sees anything relating to steam output on GWR boilers, Id potentially find it useful one day. Ive got a list of the various elements that make up their boilers (firebox size, tube length etc) but its still very much an estimate on what output actually is. The No2 output of the 56xx is based on knowledge of what the No4 in City of Truro is estimated to have done, 20000lbs an hour, with 25 on peak output. Other than that, performance on this and other boilers is hard to come by, unless it happens to be the express locomotives which are well documented.

[Kariban]

Depends if it does it for you already - must admit I've not tried to take a steamer apart yet. It might take the highest of the blower or the calculated draught from the blastpipe and just use that, going on how other physics are set up.

Code: Select all

if Call( "*:GetControlValue", "Regulator", 0 ) > 0.01 then
  Call( "*:SetControlValue", "Blower", 0, 0 )
end

There's your code though.

[SAVV01]

Oh and Stuart, the blower will increase draft if you are rolling down a hill NOT using any or very very little regulator, although I think it may be easier to code in canceling blower effect when regulator open?

From what you say, blower only helps counteract blowback, keep steam going when regulator at idle. It does very little to enhance temperture whilst the regulator is at shuttoff. Is that a general description of locomotive handling in general, or do you have direct experience of GWR and Swindon No2 boilers in particular? Not being funny, I really am interested.

I dont often post in these threads, but I'll make an exception. Being one of them real life Drivers/Fireman (albeit all the way down here in New Zealand) I can say with a fair bit of confidence that the blower is one of the most important tools the fireman has.
The main use of the blower, as we all know, is for forced draft on the fire. In real life the fireman will often start the blower before shovelling in coal (to reduce the risk of blowback, especially if the coal has a lot of dross or dust in it) - cutting it out while the regulator was open would not be very realistic. If burning low quality coal the blower can be used to brighten the fire, and is often left open slightly in these instances.
We use a very hot burning coal at my local preservation railway, so tend to run with the blower off and dampers shut. Because of this my own use of the blower is limited to a) standing at stations - keeps the fire bright (and hot) when there is no draft from the exhaust acting on the fire, b) When shovelling coal as mentioned above, and c) When the train is working (ie regulator open), a fresh load of coal has been spread around the fire and the fire has gone dozy/dull - The blower is used to increase the draft to brighten it up and usually makes for a nice steady pressure rise. There is also another rare occasion when I take over from a previous fireman and the fire has gotten dull and "cold", the blower is then used to (yet again) brighten the fire and add some heat into it.
My ramblings probably make little sense, but there they are for what they are worth.

[Kromaatikse]

I don't suppose you have any tunnels over there - avoiding a blowback in those would be the other major use of the blower.

The GWR tended to use high-quality coal (and the smallish fireboxes of the locos were designed with this in mind) so it does seem likely that the blower would have remained off except in the cases mentioned.

[SAVV01]

I don't suppose you have any tunnels over there - avoiding a blowback in those would be the other major use of the blower.

The GWR tended to use high-quality coal (and the smallish fireboxes of the locos were designed with this in mind) so it does seem likely that the blower would have remained off except in the cases mentioned.

No tunnels on our preserved line, but yes thats a major use for the blower - but only really if your firebox doors are open whilst in the tunnel (or in the case of NZ Railways locos, the firebox door damper is open).
The loco I fire most often at my local pres. railway has a grate area of a mere 10.2sq ft, our smallest has a grate area of 4.25sq ft, and our largest 39.0sq ft - I use the same blower methods as I described above on all the various sizes. Trainee fireman are always very dependent on the blower I have found, to maintain steam pressure. This is usually due to them not building up a good fire base and instead burning it right through to the grate. Forgot to mention the blower is also handy for clearing smoke while at stations, as it forces it up higher from the loco instead of just being lift to linger around (especially on cold days).

[Kromaatikse]

Just for reference, the auto-fireman uses the blower very simplistically in Railworks. When in a tunnel, it is turned on fully (and the firebox doors are closed, and no coal is added). At all other times, it is on by a small amount. This means that to avoid blowing off while stopped, you must close the dampers fully and wait for the fire to cool.

When firing manually, Railworks requires the blower to be on and the firebox door closed when in tunnels, otherwise a scenario-ending blowback results immediately. The rest of the time, the blower and the dampers can be used flexibly to match steam production to consumption. The subtleties of smoke dynamics and the details of fire management are not modelled at all - but I think you would need a qualified and observant fireman to understand what that involves, and I'm not qualified.

Having peered inside the fireboxes of one or two locos, I can understand that learning to detect the state of the firebed is very much an acquired skill.

[stuart666]

Thanks Stefan, and indeed you all. Very interesting indeed.

One thing I might add, there was an interesting thread on the National Preservation forum (viz Galetea) on Blowbacks, and apparently its not just Tunnels that can cause it, but bridges too.
http://railways.national-preservation.c ... atea/page8

[hodder]

Let's keep the engines as realistic as possible please. I agree the blower is a life or death control! I have experienced a blow back simply by closing the regulator at speed with the blower off in real steam engine and inspite of the firedoors being closed the cab was filled with sparks. You don't do that twice!!!! Also the cylinder cocks if not used correctly will break your engine in real life. I have always used manual fireman and always open the cylinder cocks and open the cutoff to max evertime I stop jsut as in real life and have had absolutely no problems with the 56XX. I encourage you to learn to use the maual fireman it makes for a much more realistic operation.

David

[kirkheath]

The engine is very wel produced, and the physics are realistic in terms of power and driving it itself. However I find a couple of niggles driving it, one is as other mentioned the drain cocks, they do operate and have an affect as they would on a real engine but, I think the time it takes for the inevitable bang is a bit short, as they only really need to be opened when a loco stands still for more than 10minutes or so. The other one is the reverser, as times when regulator is open and attempt to change reverser setting it does leap as in the manual, but I am not sure if this would happen on a flat, as this never happened when driving 3850 in 2nd valve.

[Mazza35]

Oh and Stuart, the blower will increase draft if you are rolling down a hill NOT using any or very very little regulator, although I think it may be easier to code in canceling blower effect when regulator open?

From what you say, blower only helps counteract blowback, keep steam going when regulator at idle. It does very little to enhance temperture whilst the regulator is at shuttoff. Is that a general description of locomotive handling in general, or do you have direct experience of GWR and Swindon No2 boilers in particular? Not being funny, I really am interested.

I dont often post in these threads, but I'll make an exception. Being one of them real life Drivers/Fireman (albeit all the way down here in New Zealand) I can say with a fair bit of confidence that the blower is one of the most important tools the fireman has.
The main use of the blower, as we all know, is for forced draft on the fire. In real life the fireman will often start the blower before shovelling in coal (to reduce the risk of blowback, especially if the coal has a lot of dross or dust in it) - cutting it out while the regulator was open would not be very realistic. If burning low quality coal the blower can be used to brighten the fire, and is often left open slightly in these instances.
We use a very hot burning coal at my local preservation railway, so tend to run with the blower off and dampers shut. Because of this my own use of the blower is limited to a) standing at stations - keeps the fire bright (and hot) when there is no draft from the exhaust acting on the fire, b) When shovelling coal as mentioned above, and c) When the train is working (ie regulator open), a fresh load of coal has been spread around the fire and the fire has gone dozy/dull - The blower is used to increase the draft to brighten it up and usually makes for a nice steady pressure rise. There is also another rare occasion when I take over from a previous fireman and the fire has gotten dull and "cold", the blower is then used to (yet again) brighten the fire and add some heat into it.
My ramblings probably make little sense, but there they are for what they are worth.

Yes, I forgot those little details. I think what we can all sum up is.
Blower = Draft on fire. Mainly used when stationary to keep fire hot or to counter blow back. Used in tunnels to stop blow back. Can be used with not so great coal whilst steaming to slightly brighten it up.

[windberg]

Do anyone know the reason why they prefered the 0-6-2 and not the 2-6-2 wheel arrangement in South Wales? A 2-6-2 would drive the curves much smoother and derail much lesser.