Re: Tram simulator
  Richard Youl

Hi Mick,

Next time you are at the depot, if Cuthbert is over a pit you might be able to get someone to do a sequence test while you watch from below and see exactly what happens when one notch back is taken.

Not only did I have the circuit diagram, but I think the old guy doing the RC2 maintenance at Malvern told me that all the small contacts open at the same time as the line breaker. If this proves to be correct, that would explain why the Clydes are that much louder with all the broken current been at one point.

I never developed any love for Clyde controllers. While some did have a smooth rolling action, others were not so nice to use. There was also the odd one around where it was almost impossible to notch up without the linebreaker dropping.

For those who are not familiar with those controllers, the controller handle is not firmly fixed to the drum of the controller. I think the idea is that as you notch up, the star wheel and attached spring-loaded roller should cause the drum to rotate smartly forwards to give a clean making of contacts, but they were apt to bounce and open the linebreaker’s ratchet switch in doing so.

Additionally I sometimes got a Clyde with partly burnt fingers and as you were notching up could hear all sorts of fizzing and popping taking place inside the controller. I think they were a fine example of something in theory that did not work nearly so well in practice. Clyde lovers will disagree no doubt.

Just a bit of trivia on the side. W5 728 was a standard Clyde-equipped tram but when it was chosen for City Circle service, it was converted to RC2 equipment, but I have no idea why such a complex task was undertaken when plenty of trams already thus equipped could have been chosen for the service.

Regards,

On 12 Jan 2019, at 12:46 am, Mick Duncan kitbuny@...> wrote:

Gday Richard, All

Line breakers should open the traction curcuit before the 1st
notch is cut off.

This didnt always happen so I went to the 2nd notch and then cut off

The EE LB on W5s was was very loud when cutting off under load,
a very loud Plop,and flash at night

On a Clyde,W5, it was poss to engage the LB on the 1st notch and
nearly cut off and cut in again,when stopped.

By moving the controller back and forth,one could get the LB
to go Plop,Plop,Pop indefinatly, by opening and closing the
ratchet switch

Only a Clyde could do this

Cheers, Mick,who on finishing a table on a Clyde on a hot day
had a green controller hand and who hated Clydes
to start with, but got to love them,esp 776 Malv

Much fun in traffic
> On 9/01/2019 3:07 pm, 'Richard Youl' via TramsDownUnder wrote:

> No William, nobody said anything about misusing the linebreakers.

>

> My favour spot for a VERY LOUD opening was taking a W5 up that steep bit of Market St city which is narrow there between the tall buildings.

>

> I would notch up quite rapidly then cut off for the Flinders Lane curve when drawing a high Current. The echo in that narrow location was VERY IMPRESSIVE!

>

> The RC trams were useless.

>

> Their design which IMHO was totally stupid caused the notching fingers to open at the same time as the LineBreaker, thus dividing the current all around with no single point opening under all the load. And of course burning all the little fingers in the process. They didn’t make much of a noise there at all.

>

> The Sydney Standard (Red) Sets also made quite a pop under heavy load. Apparently there used to sometimes be flashovers inside the basically sealed linebreaker enclosing box until somebody decided to see what happened when the box doors were propped open. That apparently solved the problem and the boxes were redesigned with a new front which left the arc chutes open to the air.

>

> I used to love it when a driver coming into Wynyard or Town Hall had the brakes on a bit too hard so to get the train to the end of the platform, applied power. You could hear the gears and motors straining until the brakes stopped the train anyway, then the big POP!

>

> Richard

>

> On 9 Jan 2019, at 1:49 pm, William Jackson apairofjacks@...> wrote:

>

> The “snap” of the linebreakers closing, especially whilst drawing high amps was and is frowned upon by those that care on the Comeng trains in Melbourne. I assume the same sentiment was felt on the trams, Richard?

> William

>

> From:tramsdownunder@... [mailto:tramsdownunder@googlegroups..com] On Behalf Of Ronald Besdansky

> Sent: Wednesday, 9 January 2019 2:16 PM

> To:tramsdownunder@...

> Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Tram simulator

>

> Thanks Matthew. I'd be glad to assist - financially or otherwise! I'm looking forward to being able to hear the SNAP of the line-breaker opening under load if the 'driver' notches up too quickly!

>

> On Wed., 9 Jan. 2019, 13:45 Matthew Geier matthew@... wrote:

> On 9/1/19 1:38 pm, Ronald Besdansky wrote:

> I'm creating a tram-driving simulator. The photo shows the controller type RB-1 in an early stage of construction. It uses an Arduino microcontroller board to communicate with my PC. I'm sure somebody has already done this (e.g. Microsoft Train driving simulator) but I like doing my own thing. (I've been writing programs for 51 years this year!)

>

> What I would like to get is a good recording of the gear noise during notching-up - especially from a spur-gear (as opposed to helical-gear) tram - e.g. a Melbourne W2. I've tried creating the sound with a synthesiser but couldn't get it right.

>

> Any suggestions welcome!

>

>

> I'll have to try to remember to record 249 at Loftus. I have recording of brake release and the gongs, but I never attempted motor recordings.

>

> Need to ride 249 on a non-traffic day so the motor hatches can be up to get the sound clearly.

>

>

>

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