Quacking Duck Posted Thursday at 12:02 PM Posted Thursday at 12:02 PM In the middle of the ED250 control panel, below the ETCS display and just right of the "control circuits" switch, there is a group of 4 buttons. The function of one of these, "forbid electrodynamic braking", is rather obvious, and it does what its name suggests. I have little idea of what the other three do. These other three buttons are named "neutral section", "booster", and "parking". Pressing any of them them while the train is moving appears to have no effect. I would expect the "neutral section" button to inhibit traction power, but it appears to be entirely possible to apply power, and even to start the train from a stop, while it is in the pressed position. My best guess regarding the "parking" button would have been that it would control some kind of parking brake, but I know that the parking brake is controlled by the "spring brake" switch toward the right side of the cab, and the "parking" button appears to be a momentary button instead of a toggle button. I have no idea at all what the "booster" button may do. What are the functions of these three buttons? Are any of these functions simulated in the game?
0x8000ffff Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago W dniu 16.04.2026 o 14:02, Quacking Duck napisał(a): In the middle of the ED250 control panel, below the ETCS display and just right of the "control circuits" switch, there is a group of 4 buttons. The function of one of these, "forbid electrodynamic braking", is rather obvious, and it does what its name suggests. I have little idea of what the other three do. These other three buttons are named "neutral section", "booster", and "parking". Pressing any of them them while the train is moving appears to have no effect. I would expect the "neutral section" button to inhibit traction power, but it appears to be entirely possible to apply power, and even to start the train from a stop, while it is in the pressed position. My best guess regarding the "parking" button would have been that it would control some kind of parking brake, but I know that the parking brake is controlled by the "spring brake" switch toward the right side of the cab, and the "parking" button appears to be a momentary button instead of a toggle button. I have no idea at all what the "booster" button may do. What are the functions of these three buttons? Are any of these functions simulated in the game? In the real ED250 (Alstom Pendolino), the Booster button is not for "extra speed" like in arcade games. Its actual purpose is to force maximum starting current (or increase tractive effort) under specific, difficult starting conditions. It is primarily used when starting on steep gradients or when rail conditions are extremely poor (slippery tracks). In such cases, the anti-slip systems (WSP) might over-limit the power to prevent wheel spin, potentially stalling the train. Effectively, the Booster modifies the traction inverter characteristics to achieve maximum torque at low speeds, momentarily bypassing certain software limits to ensure the train can get moving. Note: I am not sure if this functionality is actually implemented in the SimRail simulation yet, as I haven't tested it myself, but that is how the real-world system operat es 1
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