Railworks America

Here's a grayscale rendering of the cab. Most of the details are in place at this point. Click to enlarge.


Some of the controls are obvious, but most of them probably are not so here's an explanation.

The throttle and reverser are on top of the control console. This is just one of the arrangements we know about, in particular that of the former New Haven RS-1 that's on display at Danbury, CT. The Westinghouse locomotive brake and train brake should be recognizable.

The gauge panel layout is as follows (read: left-to-right, then top to bottom):

Train brake pressure
Ammeter
Fuel pressure

Blank
See below
Eq. pressure

Main res. pressure
Oil temperature
Oil pressure

The cup-like object in the middle of the panel is a hinged cover that conceals a light bulb for illuminating the gauges.

The control switches along the left side of the console are labeled thus (read: top to bottom):

Engine Start
Control (might be a master switch)
Fuel Pump
Front Headlight Dim
Front Headlight Bright
Rear Headlight Dim
Rear Headlight Bright
Far Headlight Dim (M.U.)
Far Headlight Bright (M.U.)
Dome Light
Gauge & Number Lights
Marker Lights
Motor Control (unknown function)

The three large switches just below the gauge panel determine the way the traction motors are connected: series, shunt and parallel, respectively. On some RS-1s a trolley-style selector handle is used. An overload light can be seen just to the right of the switches. This type of control serves as a reminder that the RS-1 is a first-generation diesel.

A handle can be seen just to the left of and behind the train brake body. This handle must be pushed in to connect the battery.

That's a steam unit heater in the corner and we think the switch on the right is for sand. The wipers are operated by opening valves to supply compressed air to the wiper motors. The vertical pipe to the left of the wiper motor goes up to the horn. An air valve at the top of the riser is operated by a rope, which I just realized I haven't included yet!

Awesome work Rick, very nicely done.

Heres a pic of an RS-1 cab and that resembles quite well

"Control (might be a master switch)"
If this isn't active, your trailing units won't do anything.
Motor Control is like the modern "Engine Run" switch, where your engine will "run" with it off, but you won't load anything off of the generator. (Turns off Generator Excitation).
On Tuesday, I'll get pics of DSSA 101s cab for you.

Marvellous work!

Heres a pic of an RS-1 cab

That photo shows a somewhat gutted cab, but there are some details of note.

• This cab originally had the trolley-like series-shunt-parallel selector switch I referred to, but here it's been removed. Photos of other RS-1 cabs show this equipment as it was originally installed.
• The shelves above the throttle were most likely for radio equipment. You can see a variety of equipment in photos of other cabs.
• Additional instruments, or replacements for the originals, have been mounted on the forward wall. Different photos of cabs show things like speedometers (the originals didn't have them), ammeters, brake pressure gauges and temperature gauges.
• Also on the forward wall are two items I need to add to the model: the emergency fuel cut-off switch (handle is missing in the photo) and the engine room light switch.

Stunning work ! The details

I gladly have no nit-picks. I look forward to the many hours I will spend in that cab~

Thanks Rick beautiful job, also thanks for tthe info , Keep it up

How would you guys like me to set up the controls? You know how the default controls work, but you also know we can add more functionality using script functions.

Let's hear our ideas. Try to be through and describe the full sequences of operation as well as any interactions with other controls and their settings. For example, don't just say "realistic brakes." Tell us what happens when the brake handle moves to, or through, each position, both in terms of the various pressures in the braking system and how the locomotive or train should respond. The more we understand how and why things like this work, the better the chance we can simulate them.

I'm not promising anything, and not everything we might think of will even be feasible i this game. But let's see what we can come up with!

Looking awesome.

ricksan wrote:How would you guys like me to set up the controls? You know how the default controls work, but you also know we can add more functionality using script functions.

Let's hear our ideas. Try to be through and describe the full sequences of operation as well as any interactions with other controls and their settings. For example, don't just say "realistic brakes." Tell us what happens when the brake handle moves to, or through, each position, both in terms of the various pressures in the braking system and how the locomotive or train should respond. The more we understand how and why things like this work, the better the chance we can simulate them.

I'm not promising anything, and not everything we might think of will even be feasible i this game. But let's see what we can come up with!

If you're in contact with Matt, give him an email and see if you can include the new braking LUA from the Canadian Mountain Passes.
Otherwise, I can get you a whole start up procedure for the thing from NSSR.

I'd love a starting procedure, but I suggest letting the player bypass it with the "z" key.
This way, there is no need for two versions of the engine, and no need for two versions of scenarios.

As far as operations go I know there is about a second to two second lag between moving the throttle lever and the 539 notching up, and the air brakes are pretty quick to apply and release although that was with a short train so I can't be sure about that. I also have a tale about an RS-1 with GEARS. (So to speak anyway.) But I'll save that for if you're interested. Basically an adjustable speed restriction system.


-Chris

Matt never offered to include the braking script with the ES44 they supplied to us for Stevens Pass, or to update it subsequent to the release of StP, but then I never asked him either. Seems to me RSC should be making improvements like that in the core program, not with one-off scripts which nowadays are obscured in OUT files. But that's their business.

There's YouTube video out there showing an RS-1 startup in which the battery switch is thrown, the fuel pump is started (noisily), and the start button is pushed and held until the engine "catches." There may be a few other steps, I don't know, but it would be nice to know.

Yeah, there should be a means to bypass the whole startup procedure for the benefit of the watch-the-scenery dummies -- like me. (I really mean that!) I suspect the guys who like to go through the whole sequence are a small minority, but hey -- no reason we can't accommodate them too if the game will let us.

I like the idea of adding control lags, assuming that's possible. Often the response of controls and gauge readouts seem too instantaneous considering all the kinetic energy and momentum these machines have going on.

I assume the "gears" reference concerns the series-parallel switches. When connected in series, the voltage available to each pair of traction motors is one half what's available to them when they're connected in parallel -- as if the engine was mechanically in low gear. I thought it would be appropriate to incorporate the built-in gearshift (E key) to simulate this action.

No more grayscale cab -- time for the real thing! The interior shell is textured and preshaded as is the control console. The rain effects are in and working. The side windows can be manually adjusted back and forth in cab view, and doing so causes the windows on the exterior model to also assume the same position. I finished the gauge artwork today and I got some of them working. Here's a WIP shot.


I'm still in a quandary about how to implement all those switches on the left side of the control panel.