[rvnmedic6869]

When a train is at a Red block signal, waiting to go, can you set a realistic acceleration instead of a 0-60 mph takeoff?

I've watched some utoob vids and have seen some trains do the rocket take-off.

???

 

[Tom_C]

Sure. Look for the acceleration/deceleration CVs. 3 and 4, I think on most decoders.

 

[D&J Railroad]

Try setting CV 3 at about 10 to start with and work up from there. Same with the slow down CV 4.

 

[MichaelE]

CV's 3&4 are always maxed on my locomotives. I love snail slow starts and stops. My ÖBB 1014 takes nine feet to stop from a scale speed of 45 MPH after the throttle is closed. Love it.

 

[LateStarter]

Boosting 3 & 4 can be an issue if a panic stop is needed, but other than that it'll generally prove to be downright very cool.
A 3-diesel consist can start moving so gradually, it's almost imperceptible. Then climbing up through speed steps is flat out goosebumps.

 

[rvnmedic6869]

Thanks guys. Good info. Happy New Year!
Bob

 

[MichaelE]

Boosting 3 & 4 can be an issue if a panic stop is needed, but other than that it'll generally prove to be downright very cool.
A 3-diesel consist can start moving so gradually, it's almost imperceptible. Then climbing up through speed steps is flat out goosebumps.

That's what the Emergency Stop button is for. Stops the train immediately.

 

[CTValleyRR]

That's what the Emergency Stop button is for. Stops the train immediately.

Exactly. Using emergency stop bypasses the momentum settings and stops the train immediately. On MRC systems, it's a single press of the red "stop" button. A second press within one second stops EVERY loco, not just the selected one.

Otherwise, even if you immediately reduce the throttle to zero, the train will take a while to stop. Again, with my MRC Prodigy system, if you step the throttle down, the train will coast to a stop. If you rapidly reduce it, it has the effect of hitting the locomotive brakes. It still won't stop on a dime, though. For that, Emergency Stop is the only answer.

 

[mesenteria]

...and, if it isn't strictly a panic stop, but you'd like to stop in a hurry, many decoders have 'hard braking' with F7. It overcomes high 'momentum' settings in CV4 and brings the voltage down to zero in about five or six seconds.

To the OP, you should know which decoders you are dealing with. Download the manual for that version at the manufacturer's site, and see what range of values you can input for all CV's. They are not all the same. Some go from 0-15, while others go up to 255 or whatever it is. For drag freights, you would want something with the top 15% of maximum value if not that actual top value. Passenger trains, especially commuters hauled by electric motors like the GG1 or a boxcab, would accelerate quite a bit more brutally.

 

[DonR]

I suspect that the 'rocket' start from stop that you have
seen in Youtube videos is the result of an automatic
'stop' for a red signal on a DC SYSTEM. Some of those
devices simply cut the power, stopping the loco, then
after light goes green, restores power; thus, the loco
jumps out at whatever DC voltage is on the track.

You may also have noticed that far too many of the
operating layouts on the 'tube' run their trains at
way above 'natural' speeds.

A more smooth automatic stop and start is possible using computerized controls on both DC and DCC systems.

Don

 

[Jscullans]

I have a y6b mallet that I have a micronami sound decoder in and it does the same exact thing. I have trouble setting speeds on those decoders. They don’t seem to want to take the settings through jmri decoder pro. Other than that I haven’t had a single issue with it. If you’re running dc could your power pack have a bad potentiometer or something causing it to be like a light switch on or off? From my own experience I’ve found that digitrax decoders tend to be the least finicky when it comes to programming and also like the fact that they’re small and easy to stash inside a boiler

 

[cv_acr]

When a train is at a Red block signal, waiting to go, can you set a realistic acceleration instead of a 0-60 mph takeoff?

I've watched some utoob vids and have seen some trains do the rocket take-off.

???

A couple of things:

- you can program momentum into the decoder so that it slowly accelerates/decelerates to the set speed step, as described by others above
- you can simply slowly bring up or down the speed yourself in a manner that looks realistic
- a lot of people making those youtube videos may not necessarily know or care what's "realistic".... I prefer a realistic slow speed operation, but know people who only have two speeds: stop and go (fast). (And one of those latter guys actually runs real trains on a real Class I RR, go figure...)