All Aboard!
Tsunami2 Electric User’s Guide
6
Ring the Bell
Turn on F1 to ring the bell. Press F1 again to stop ringing the bell. The bell is generally rung
before moving the locomotive, when approaching crossings, to alert people or equipment near
the track, and as a warning signal when necessary.
Blow the Airhorn
Signaling can make your operating sessions more fun! Engineers signal to notify passengers,
crew, and other trains of common locomotive movements, such as stopping, moving forward,
backing up, and approaching grade crossings. Tsunami2 provides three functions for signaling.
Use F2, F3, and F9 to signal prototypically while you operate, as described below.
Press and release F2 to blow the “long” airhorn. Contrary to most function keys, the duration of
the airhorn blast is determined by how long you press F2. In other words, the airhorn blast will
start when you press F2, and stop when you release F2. Press F3 to issue the single “toot” of
the “short” airhorn. The short airhorn will be the same length every time you press F3, unlike the
long airhorn.
Note: Function key F2 on the NCE Power Cab command station is on/off or “latching”, i.e.,
pressing F2 to turn on the function will start the airhorn blast, and pressing F2 again to turn off
the function will stop the airhorn blast. To issue momentary airhorn blasts with the NCE Power
Cab, press and release the “Horn/Whistle” button instead of using F2.
To issue the long-long-short-long grade-crossing signal automatically, turn on F9 as your
locomotive approaches a grade crossing. Refer to Table B to view some more common signals.
Table B. Whistle Signals
Long = –
Short =
●
Signal
Description
– –
●
–
Approaching a grade crossing: hold final blast until crossing is occupied
●
Applying brakes
– –
Releasing brakes, proceeding forward
●
●
●
When moving, stop; when stopped, back up
●
●
●
●
Request signal from trainman
–
●
●
●
Signal flagman to protect rear
–
●
Warning signal: use when approaching areas with obstructed views and when
approaching/passing passenger/freight trains
–
Approaching stations, junctions, and railroad crossings at grades
Extend and Retract the Pantograph
The pantograph mounted on the roof of an electric train extends to collect power from an
overhead catenary wire. The spring-loaded extension pushes a contact shoe up against the
underside of the overhead wire to draw electricity and deliver it to the rails.
With the throttle set to zero, turn on F4 to extend the pantograph and deliver power to the
locomotive. When the pantograph function is turned on during operation, you will hear the
contactor camshaft changing position, the generator running, the air compressor building and
releasing pressure, the poppet valve popping off, and the blower fans blustering. These sound
effects are active during operation to indicate power has been received and distributed from the
overhead wire.