I give up! So much for me and Railworks. Either I am stupid, I am doing something wrong, or my keyboard doesn't work correctly.

I just spent three hours...yep! 3, trying to couple up to a string of cars and derailed every time. It is the A, S and D keys which just wouldn't work right. Don't know if it is my laptop or just me but every time I would start to back up(going forward is the same way) using the A key, by the time the engine would begin to move the engine would be going 13 miles an hour and trying to use the D key to slow down was useless. It just wouldn't slow down fast enough. Even when I used the backspace key it wouldn't slow down in time! Am I the only one who is having this kind of problem? The keys are not sensitive enough or too sensitive...I don't know which one it would be. And the forget the S key. I would have to hit that a dozen times to get the engine to change directions. And finally, forget trying to change switches. Took me forever to get them to switch.

So which is it, my fine friends here are Train Sim? Is it just me? Seriously I tried every way possible to get the engine to run at a certain speed but anytime I would slow down to 5 or 6 miles per hour it would continue down to 0 and I would have to start back up again. By the time I hit hour three and still wasn't successful I gave up and almost picked up my laptop and threw it out the window.

Graphics are outstanding and had no problem running a consist that was already coupled. No jerking of graphics or anything. Which is great but does no good if I want to do any switching or anything. (Trainz I found much easier to run but the graphics jerked all over the place, even when I changed my graphic settings.) Can I combine the two games and run them that way? Guess not!
Oh well...money spent for nothing I guess.

Does anyone have a solution to this problem I am having with Railworks? I sure would like to get it to work correctly?! If you do then please tell me what is going on so I can correct it and not lose my laptop out the window.

Thank you for your time and your ears!

Totally frustrated,

Tim

Just a thought. You haven't mentioned releasing the brakes, which at default is set 65-70%. Try operating the loco from the cab. Many new users of RS-RW were frustrated at first (operating switches top problem). There are many tutorials offered For Rail Works at various web sites Train sim.com for one. Hope your lap-top is not the problem
Good luck
practice makes perfect.

I don't think the D key is the brake. Some engines don't have engine brakes and some do. Try the " ' " key to brake and the " ; " key to release brakes. Use the F4,F5 keys to get fly outs/popups so you can see the amount of braking.

Hope this helps.

The direction setting on diesel is the same as with steam. You have to press and hold the direction buttons while the reverser lever moves to its target except with diesel, if the reverser hasn't reached a certain % (I am not sure the exact amount required, possibly >50%), it reverts back to where it started. This is clearly not prototypical but it is what it is.

Thanks guys for the replies. Could be that I am not releasing the brakes enough. Not sure but will give that a try as well as some of the other ideas.
Not sure where to find these tutorials you are talking about. I looked. Maybe I am not searching with the right terminology?
I will keep trying though. That is until the laptop goes out the window!

Thanks again, all!

Tim

Him did it! Him did it! Him did it! Throw up your hands and say Hallelujah, brother. Not on the first try, but on second. Now I know the problem. I had no idea what the engine was doing because this idiot forgot to put the HUD up so he could see his direction travel, his brake settings, and speed. It is still a little tricky but I think with a little practice I will get it down so I can do it the first time.
I am so glad. I really want to run this sim and now maybe I can.
Thank you for the help again guys! It is much appreciated.

Tim

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Enjoy! This is a great traim-sim when everything works right. There are many fine routes, rolling stock, and buildings available from some very talented folks. These same folks are very helpful with tips and tricks, to get the most out of Rail Works.

You need a lot of patience when driving locomotives, they aren't like a car ya know, where you slam it into reverse and away she goes, a locomotive needs to move gently away otherwise you get wheelslip and of course with it weighing a few tons it needs to be handled with care and some locomotives take a second or two or three to change direction especially at very low speed.
If you press F4 when you're in-game, you can see the direction mover go from forward to reverse, you only need to hit it once, not several times in frustration You also need to hit D for braking and A for acceleration on your keyboard and if you press F3 it shows your direction and you need to concentrate when changing tracks at junctions and switchover points especially in railyards.
The more you practice the better you become, so, don't throw your laptop out of the window just yet.

Cheerz. ex-railwayman.

Are you using the simple controls or the Expert?