Double Heading/Consists/Banked engines

[STB]

I'm running RM 1.74.

I have never successfuly got the double header feature to work properly.

If any one has some golden rules to follow so that locos run at the same speed.

All my attempts fail - I am not using 2 identical locos however. My operation is a 8F with full rake of loaded limestone wagons needing help to get up an incline by using a Jinty to bank it up.

I'm doing this manually at the moment and it is working, but actually I would like to get the double header thing working - hence the request for some rules to adhere to.

Thanks in advance

Steve

[RDS]

Hi Steve

I don't actually have an interest in this aspect but I remember trying it a few years ago and I believe it worked quite well.

There are a couple of pages about Double Heading in the RailMaster manual that should have downloaded automatically from RailMaster.

Are you saying that those instructions do not work for you?

[Chrissaf]

RM uses the 'profiling data' of the locos to work out how to match the speeds for different locos. This means that the locos that you are using really need to be 'DCC Ready' or 'DCC Fitted' locos that are also present in the RM loco database and were therefore 'profiled' by HRMS when the loco was released to the market. If your locos are not Hornby, or were not 'DCC Ready / Fitted' and had decoders hard wired into them. Then the data required for speed matching is unlikely to be in the RM database. Note also, that when and if HRMS profiled the loco, they would have used a Hornby R8249 decoder, if your decoders are not Hornby, then that may also have a bearing on your mis-matched speed issue.

[96RAF]

I seem to remember an old post where someone had located the database where these values were kept and had adjusted them to suit. Likely impossible to find now, but maybe the original poster will see this and respond.

[Fishmanoz]

I seem to remember this too Rob. Was it Ray?

[St1ngr4y]

Don’t think it was me, Fishy.

Ray

[Britannia Builder]

It was probably me, Rob, in this old thread:

https://uk.hornby.com/community/forum/speed-curves#post-158006#post-158004

I wrote a small VBA program to update the speed curves in resource.mdb, which would in principle allow one to correct any mismatch between the speeds of the two locos in the consist, but I'm not sure that it's really worth the effort.

I've never experimented with consists, nor indeed read the section about them in the RM manual, but I wonder if turning off back emf in one or both of the locos would prevent them fighting against each other?

Regards, John

[STB]

Sorry, for late response.. the email I use for this forum is out of date now, so I don't get notified of replies...

My decoders are mainly, ESU or Zimo as well so it would seem that the nice little button click to create a double header on RM, is not going to work for me.

[Chrissaf]

@STB.

Sorry, for late response.. the email I use for this forum is out of date now, so I don't get notified of replies..........

 

 

It would not matter whether your registered email address was up to date or not. This forum is custom and does not comply with the features included in 'off the shelf' forum software. This is a long way of saying that there is NO auto notification to posters of replies via email. It is down to the member to manually monitor their posts to look for any replies.

[STB]

Just toi add, I have done a quick CV19 test.. gave the Jinty and 8F another DCC address. Thery both move... but again under speed mismatch, so back to the drawjing board.

[96RAF]

When RM devises a consist it does so in software, not in the decoders, so any decoder can be used whether it supports simple or advanced consisting or not. To this end as Chris said way back RM uses profiling from its loco database to match the chosen pair of locos.

The method means that if desired you can operate each locos functions separately like horn or whistle, but the consist speed is governed by whichever loco throttle is in use at the time. Any mismatch will be seen as you swap throttles. I seem to remember trying this a long, long time ago and found it of little use to me apart from the separate functions.

In your case I presume you want to be able to dynamically catch up and push, then drop back at the top of the hill. This means retaining autonomous control of each loco. If you plan to stop, couple up, push, then stop again at the crest to uncouple then a common address will work, but the two locos will still (and only) react to the common command until the consist is dissolved.