Railworks America

I've got a diesel locomotive that has very poor braking effectiveness. After full application of the independent brake, the loco just keeps rolling and rolling and rolling, taking far to much distance to come to a complete stop in comparison to other loco's in TS. Granted, they all have different configurations but this one is so far removed from reality that it is laughable. Same reaction with the train brake with a consist behind, so it is not a function of filling the brake pipe.

Hope someone can give me info on what folder/file and setting that controls braking effectiveness is, for any given locomotive in TS. I'm guessing that it is most likely a number change in an xml file, but what file? I've emailed the author but with no response.

miata54 wrote:I've got a diesel locomotive that has very poor braking effectiveness. After full application of the independent brake, the loco just keeps rolling and rolling and rolling, taking far to much distance to come to a complete stop in comparison to other loco's in TS. Granted, they all have different configurations but this one is so far removed from reality that it is laughable. Same reaction with the train brake with a consist behind, so it is not a function of filling the brake pipe.

Hope someone can give me info on what folder/file and setting that controls braking effectiveness is, for any given locomotive in TS. I'm guessing that it is most likely a number change in an xml file, but what file? I've emailed the author but with no response.

Did that author happen to be DTM? If not, what was the loco in question?

It's likely to be in Simulation\XXXX Engine Simulation.bin, and probably looks something like this (I believe the '70' in the last line shown is the critical value):

Code: Select all

<LocoBrakeAssembly>
   <EngineSimulation-cLocoOnlyAirBrakeBlueprint d:id="94465456">
      <BrakeType>
         <EngineSimulation-cLocoOnlyAirBrakeDataBlueprint d:id="94520240">
            <EquipmentType d:type="cDeltaString">eAir</EquipmentType>
            <MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000805140" d:precision="string">70</MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight>

This is from the Oovee Freightliner Class 57 (UK), and while Oovee's stuff is (was) generally very good, it might be worth looking up the value for some other locos you're happy with.

Good luck!

ttjph wrote:It's likely to be in Simulation\XXXX Engine Simulation.bin, and probably looks something like this (I believe the '70' in the last line shown is the critical value):

Code: Select all

<LocoBrakeAssembly>
   <EngineSimulation-cLocoOnlyAirBrakeBlueprint d:id="94465456">
      <BrakeType>
         <EngineSimulation-cLocoOnlyAirBrakeDataBlueprint d:id="94520240">
            <EquipmentType d:type="cDeltaString">eAir</EquipmentType>
            <MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000805140" d:precision="string">70</MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight>

This is from the Oovee Freightliner Class 57 (UK), and while Oovee's stuff is (was) generally very good, it might be worth looking up the value for some other locos you're happy with.

Good luck!

What utility are you using to convert the bin file to xml?

TS Tools does the conversion

Install TS Tools and set it up so it is the defaut application for opening .bin files.
Then everytime you double-click on a .bin file, it will open the xml code in the editor window. When you save your changes, the .bin file is updated.

Chacal wrote:Install TS Tools and set it up so it is the defaut application for opening .bin files.
Then everytime you double-click on a .bin file, it will open the xml code in the editor window. When you save your changes, the .bin file is updated.

Thanks, but I need a little bit of help here. I have RWT installed and have looked through the headers but don't know and can't find which header to use to set RWT up as the default application to open bin files. Maybe I am completely looking in the wrong place to do this. Can you give me a path? I did use Serz to convert the bin file to xml and back again, but the method you suggest seems a lot easier and faster.

miata54 wrote:

Chacal wrote:Install TS Tools and set it up so it is the defaut application for opening .bin files.
Then everytime you double-click on a .bin file, it will open the xml code in the editor window. When you save your changes, the .bin file is updated.

Thanks, but I need a little bit of help here. I have RWT installed and have looked through the headers but don't know and can't find which header to use to set RWT up as the default application to open bin files. Maybe I am completely looking in the wrong place to do this. Can you give me a path? I did use Serz to convert the bin file to xml and back again, but the method you suggest seems a lot easier and faster.

Just right click on the file you wish to open and one of the choices is 'open with'. Find RWT or better yet the updated one TSTools available from his site check off the box that says always open this type with and away you go. It just opens the file and if you make changes just say save and it will save the changes and make a .bak file in the folder where the original was so if you goof up or want to go back to the original it's right there.

buzz456 wrote:

miata54 wrote:

Chacal wrote:Install TS Tools and set it up so it is the defaut application for opening .bin files.
Then everytime you double-click on a .bin file, it will open the xml code in the editor window. When you save your changes, the .bin file is updated.

Thanks, but I need a little bit of help here. I have RWT installed and have looked through the headers but don't know and can't find which header to use to set RWT up as the default application to open bin files. Maybe I am completely looking in the wrong place to do this. Can you give me a path? I did use Serz to convert the bin file to xml and back again, but the method you suggest seems a lot easier and faster.

Just right click on the file you wish to open and one of the choices is 'open with'. Find RWT or better yet the updated one TSTools available from his site check off the box that says always open this type with and away you go. It just opens the file and if you make changes just say save and it will save the changes and make a .bak file in the folder where the original was so if you goof up or want to go back to the original it's right there.

Excellent. Thanks Buzz.

Question: Wii TS read only the bin file or will it read the converted xml file, or both?

miata54 wrote:Question: Wii TS read only the bin file or will it read the converted xml file, or both?

TS Tools will read .bin, .xml, .geopcdx, .proxybin, .proxyxml, and it will read .tgpcdx and display the image. It does much more and there is a help manual (.pdf) included which covers the numerous functions.

It will read the bin file.

TS generally reads bin files, one exception: proxyxml (proxybin is useless) and dcsv
(dcsv is in xml format, I emphasize this as very old repaints have converted an xml-file and used the bin for the dcsv, which fails)
To be complete: GeoPcDx, TgPcDx, dav, wav, lua and out, too, and unpacks ap (a simple zip).

miata54 wrote:

ttjph wrote:It's likely to be in Simulation\XXXX Engine Simulation.bin, and probably looks something like this (I believe the '70' in the last line shown is the critical value):

Code: Select all

<LocoBrakeAssembly>
   <EngineSimulation-cLocoOnlyAirBrakeBlueprint d:id="94465456">
      <BrakeType>
         <EngineSimulation-cLocoOnlyAirBrakeDataBlueprint d:id="94520240">
            <EquipmentType d:type="cDeltaString">eAir</EquipmentType>
            <MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000805140" d:precision="string">70</MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight>

This is from the Oovee Freightliner Class 57 (UK), and while Oovee's stuff is (was) generally very good, it might be worth looking up the value for some other locos you're happy with.

Good luck!

What utility are you using to convert the bin file to xml?

OK, got the RWT utility and how to open a bin file sorted out. I took a guess on this sentence and the figure 70 that you quoted and I thought might control the braking effectiveness.

d:precision="string">70</MaxForcePercentOfVehicleWeight>[/code]

I changed that figure to as low as 20 and as high as 90 but saw no change to the loco in the sim as to stopping distance. Is this the correct line and figure that would control the braking effectiveness?

Hmm, maybe it isn't that one.

I'd suggest having a look at the simulation file for another loco that's got good braking, and playing 'spot the difference'. Most of my hacking has been on the power side rather than the brakes, so I'm not fully familiar with them.