Derail Valley – Useful Tips and Tricks

I use a couple of tricks and want to share it.

Tips and Tricks

Tip 1

Applies mainly in Iron man mode, on a train with multiple consists attached, since there is no ground personnel.

When backing or otherwise parking a large consist, if I can’t clearly see where the cars are stopping I just park them the closest I can guess.

Then I dismount, I count how many cars I’m off the siding and then I go back to the locomotive(s). I count from there the same number of cars and I put a lit torch on the ground. That’s where I have to drive the loco to have the cars in the right spot.

Alternative

You’ll coast slowly (10 km/h), jump out of the train, run and hop on the very last car. When you’re close to stoppping open the brake lever until the train stops (sometimes even for a short time) and close it again after.

This trick is useful:

• Reversing onto a dead end track.
• Reversing onto a required track with other cars on the same track (shunting) that need slight nudging.
• Reversing a (very) long train where cars barely fit on a required track.

Tip 2

Not always, but sometimes, when it is convenient, instead of manually switching all the switches, I just go to the parking siding, call for the hand-car and go back to the train from there. All the switches will turn in the correct direction and order for the train to back in while I run in the handcar.

Tip 3

When shunting a job with with multiple drop offs, place a lantern on one of the cars where the load will be split. This will help you see from the cab if the cars to be dropped off are fully past the switch. You can also go directly to that spot when you uncouple.

Some Food Factory Gravity Shunting Tips

• Food Factory has climbs out in both directions. When shunting you can send the train out of the yard at speed and then go about setting the switches. The train will eventually come back at almost the same speed it left the yard (Unless you have the DM3 attached). 20kmh will be enough for short trains of about 6-8 cars, longer trains will need a bit more.
• If you find yourself on the wrong side of a set of cars that you are dropping off. i.e. parking them will trap your loco. Then kick the cars out of the yard and then switch them to their destination letting gravity do the work. Bottle the brake lines and detach the loco, then push them out with enough speed. You can get a set of cars to pretty much anywhere on the station this way. You’ll need to ride the cars for the final leg so you can apply the brakes by either dumping the air or using a handbrake.
• If you have multiple drop offs, run the train out of the station and apply the loco brake (and the handbrake on a car or 2). Bottle the air on each cut of cars and detach and roll them into their destinations.