Metro-North P32AC-DM
The GE P32AC-DM is a dual-mode electric and diesel locomotive that provides express service from Grand Central Terminal to Metro-North's various unelectrified branch lines.
Unfortunately, some of the P32's scenarios and quick drive consists incorrectly set the P32 for diesel mode at startup—even when the scenario begins in Grand Central Terminal, or when the consist is labeled "Third Rail."
It's not clear how much horsepower is available to the P32 in electric mode. Intuitively, there would be less power available, since the locomotive's top speed in this mode is lower. One educated guess by Fan Railer is 2200 hp, versus about 2900 hp in diesel mode (less HEP). However, another source claims the full power of the locomotive is available in electric mode, and that the top speed is limited only to avoid arcing the 3rd rail.
Metro-North practice is to keep the P32 in diesel mode for as long as possible, which means switching to electric when entering the platforms at Grand Central and switching to diesel when exiting the Park Avenue Tunnel - contrary to Dovetail's manual (evidently copied from that of the M8), which suggests the changeover occurs at the end of the overhead catenary between Pelham and Mount Vernon East.
Controls
Control desk
Horn
The engineer's and secondman's horn buttons.
EmergencyBrake
The secondman's emergency brake button.
CabLight5
The cab dome light on/off switch.
Sander
The sander on/off button.
Bell
The bell on/off button.
Reverser
The reverser lever. 1 = forward, 0 = neutral, -1 = reverse.
VirtualThrottle
The combined power lever, and the player's Expert throttle control. Ranges from 0 to 1. Note that it is not possible to enter the dynamic brake region.
Regulator
The true throttle setting used by the physics model.
TrainBrakeControl
The player's Expert automatic brake control. Ranges from 0 to 1.
EngineBrakeControl
The independent brake control. Ranges from 0 to 1.
AWSReset
The alerter acknowledge button.
PowerMode
The power change switch. 1 = diesel, 0 = DC. The default setting reflects the mode the locomotive starts in.
Power3rdRail
The DC power availability light.
Startup
The engine start/stop buttons. -1 = engine stop, 1 = engine run. The default setting is 1.
Headlights
The headlight controls. 0 = off, 1 = front headlights, 2 = rearlights.
CrossingLight
The crossing light on/off switch.
Miscellaneous
Wipers
The wipers button.
SigN
The aspect display "N" lamp.
SigL
The aspect display "L" lamp.
SigM
The aspect display "M" lamp.
SigR
The aspect display "R" lamp.
SignalSpeed
The aspect display speed limit indicator. Only the following values are supported:
- 0
- 15
- 30
- 45
All other values blank the display.
CabLight1
The engineer's forward task light, which can be clicked on/off.
CabLight2
The secondman's forward task light, which can be clicked on/off.
CabLight
The engineer's side task light, which can be clicked on/off.
CabLight4
The secondman's side task light, which can be clicked on/off.
SpeedoHundreds
The hundreds digit on the digital speedometer display. -1 hides the digit.
SpeedoTens
The tens digit on the digital speedometer display. -1 hides the digit.
SpeedoUnits
The ones digit on the digital speedometer display.
SpeedoDecimal
The tenths digit on the digital speedometer display.
TrackHundreds
The hundreds digit on the overspeed display. -1 hides the digit.
TrackTens
The tens digit on the overspeed display. -1 hides the digit.
TrackUnits
The ones digit on the overspeed display. -1 hides the digit.
AlerterVisual
The visual alerter on the driving screen.
AWSWarnCount
Illuminates the exclamation mark on the HUD.
LocoHundreds
The hundreds digit of the cab model's locomotive number. -1 hides the digit.
LocoTens
The tens digit of the cab model's locomotive number. -1 hides the digit.
LocoUnits
The ones digit of the cab model's locomotive number. -1 hides the digit.
Sounds
AWS
Plays a continuous beep-beep sound.
Keyboard shortcuts
ATCCutIn
Toggles on/off with Ctrl+D. The default setting is 1.
ACSESCutIn
Toggles on/off with Ctrl+F. The default setting is 1.
ExpertPowerMode
The Ctrl+Shift+A automatic power mode change toggle.
Model nodes
ditch_right
ditch_left
The ditch lights.
Lights
DitchLight_R
DitchLight_L
The ditch lights.
CabLight_R
The engineer's side task light.
CabLight_M
The rear cab dome light.
CabLight_L
The secondman's side task light.
TaskLight_R
The engineer's forward task light.
TaskLight_L
The secondman's forward task light.
Emitters
DieselExhaust
Diesel engine exhaust.