@christopher N&W posted:....One thing that would concern me about DCS is slipping on the grades. To me it seems like the stripes would move very fast if slipping occurred on the grade and the reader would interpret that as the engine is moving faster? Then wouldn't the engine adjust for that increased speed of the slipping wheels and slow the engine down? That interpretation and response would not be a desirable one as far as I can see.
I suppose it would. I have made a steamer slip, it was running on it's own. So I just add another engine with it. It's pretty amazing how well they work with no traction tires.
My O scale layout is mainly flat so I'm not totally sure on this.
I run steam and diesel consists outside on my G scale. Out there is about a 2% grade. I don't have any issues unless I underpower a large train and stall out on "the hill". Any slipping engine is helped by the others. If the whole train stalls it can be unnerving. I've melted tires off of engines out there.
I have a rule of my own where I add an engine to every 20 cars added in a train. I try and pull the cars by hand and get an idea of what the train will do. Some cars go (are) bad and add too much drag. They have to be cleaned and oiled up again. That didn't happen much but it alarmed me. So I took the heaviest USA Trains metal cars and added ball bearings to help with the grades. All problems went away.
