Railworks America

I don't understand why NKP is loosing PSI so quickly. For that steam engine its suppose to pull freight. Doesn't make any sense. Looks like I'm gonna list this loco as passengers. Its not pulling freight at all. Not even 20 cars up the grade.

I think its time this NKP needs a new transmission upgrade.

CSX

Maybe someone should do a Berk Performance Upgrade, aka, in the manner of BigBoy or Challenger style upgrades, by adjusting some blueprint parameters.

Are you firing manually or are you working with the AutoFireman in the second seat?

OlPaint

I'm driving a nkp with 100% coal on and driving in Donner Pass with 5 cars at 7mph. Not complaining. It just makes me mad to see a steam like this!

I sent a email to Gtrax to see if they can fix this issue. Hopefully!

Your fire box should only be at 70 % for best results and make sure the dampers are full open. Hit F5 twice and you will see the dampers and blower at end of list. Blower should be off. Shift N and dampers full open. M key. Hold M key a few seconds. N key turns on blower and shift N turns off. M key opens dampers and shift M closes. I can pull 20 loaded cars up a 1.5 hill at good speed with the Berk. There is nothing wrong with the Simulation files.
Forgot to say to make sure you're NOT using auto fireman.

Also it looks like your reverser is only set part way, doing anything under 10mph on a grade it would be a good idea to start off at 100% until you hit 12mph or so then start bringing it back slowly.

XDriver wrote:Your fire box should only be at 70 % for best results and make sure the dampers are full open. Hit F5 twice and you will see the dampers and blower at end of list. Blower should be off. Shift N and dampers full open. M key. Hold M key a few seconds. N key turns on blower and shift N turns off. M key opens dampers and shift M closes. I can pull 20 loaded cars up a 1.5 hill at good speed with the Berk. There is nothing wrong with the Simulation files.
Forgot to say to make sure you're NOT using auto fireman.

DOH! Forgot about the Dampers. Dangnabbit. Thanks XDriver. Hope it works.

If you have the coal at 100%, it means the fire mass is way above the ideal level, which in turn means that the fire is being smothered ... not enough oxygen reaches it all and unburnt coal dust goes up the stack.

As for the water, it's better to have it lower than 100%. If it says 100%, which is the most the F4 HUD will show, it could actually be above 100% (higher than 1.0 on the F5 display). If it's really higher than 100%, you're in danger of priming, which is when water overflows into the steam collection dome and floods into the cylinders. In RW, that translates into a huge loss of power. The priming level is set in the blueprints. It's typically at something like 1.1 or higher.

You can cheat a bit by using the F5 HUD to see if the steam generation rate is higher than the steam usage rate. If it isn't, then bring back the reverser (less steam goes into the cylinders on each stroke so more stays in the boiler and raises the boiler pressure).

One thing about the dampers that can be a bit confusing is that in the F5 display, it says Dampers On or Off. On means open, off means closed. If the dampers are open, more air reaches the fire through the grate, so you get a hotter fire and higher rate of steam generation, and more power.

Yea that was the problem. I completely forgot about the dampers, now i'm pulling 20 cars empty very smoothly. Thank you guys . Now I'm really enjoying i just ahve to remember the dampers.

I have a question.

When I open the dampers all the way, does it bring more air into the firebox?

CSX2057 wrote:I have a question.

When I open the dampers all the way, does it bring more air into the firebox?

Yes.