As China’s Ministry of Railways sought to increase the running speed of trains nationwide in the 1990s, many new electric locomotives were designed, each one tailored for a specific type of railway line. One particularly successful development was the SS7C, or Type Shaoshan 7C Dual Purpose Electric Locomotive.
The SS7C Electric Locomotive has its roots in the SS7 Electric Locomotive, a Bo-Bo-Bo loco developed for mountainous lines where the many tight curves meant that Co-Co locomotives would quickly wear out their wheels as well as the track, thanks to the larger tri-axle bogies.
The SS7C was designed to surpass the 100km/h barrier. With a lighter axle weight and altered gear ratio, the maximum design speed was 140km/h, with a maximum operating speed of 120km/h as specified by the Ministry of Railways. In addition, the SS7C was fitted to provide locomotive-supplied power to passenger cars (for air conditioning, lighting etc.) as well as dual-pipe air braking, optimising its use in higher-speed passenger trains.
The last 15 units (SS7C 0157-0171) were given a different livery to the previous units for reasons unknown, and these rare yellow units were nicknamed ‘Banana’ by rail enthusiasts.
FEATURES
Developed to a very high standard by RISC Simulations, the SS7C features a highly detailed and accurate external model and cab along with advanced scripting for the controls and custom sounds.
This add-on includes the SS7C dual-purpose electric locomotive in both the standard livery and the yellow ‘banana’ livery seen on the last 15 units.
In-cab signal indication
The SS7C Locomotive is fitted with the 8-Aspect Cab Signal system currently used in China. The cab signal box has eight aspects with 11 different displays (three flashing displays).
LKJ-2000 system display
A limited simulation of the LKJ-2000 display is incorporated into the cab of the SS7C.
The real-world LKJ-2000 is a device now found in all locomotive cabs in China. It is both a driver aid and a black box, and its function is to display route information (pre-programmed and stored onto the driver’s IC card for each shift) and operational information (including the current mechanical status of the locomotive) to the driver, as well as to record all operational information so the driver’s performance can be analysed later.
In this simulation displays are included for:
- Current speed (in blue)
- Current speed limit (in red)
- Distance to next signal (in yellow)
Bonus content
This package also includes the 85km ChengYu 2 route and a large selection of Chinese rolling stock from RWSO - see the Detailed Description section for more details.
If you'd like to find out more about the SS7C loco, the included rolling stock and the signalling system along the route, you can download the 80-page manual here!
BONUS CONTENT
Supplied as a bonus with the SS7C is the ChengYu 2 route and a large selection of Chinese rolling stock from RWSO. This content is supplied free of charge and its use in this SS7C package is kindly permitted by agreement with the developers via RISC Simulations.
RWSO ROLLING STOCK
The RWSO collection of Chinese rolling stock was created by RISC’s predecessor, RWSO. Please note that the content of this pack is adapted from a previous freeware release and is therefore not made to the same stringent standards as RISC’s premium (payware) titles. We hope that the rolling stock will nonetheless enhance your driving experience.
CHENGYU RAILWAY PART 2
To enhance your experience with the SS7C electric locomotive, we have included the Shi Yan Qiao to Lan Gan Tan segment of the Chengdu to Chongqing (ChengYu) Railway.
The Chengdu to Chongqing railway, often called the ChengYu Railway for short, is a 505km railway connecting the cities of Chengdu and Chongqing. It was the first mainline railway built since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China.
COMPATIBILITY
This RWSO rolling stock is compatible with Train Simulator 2017 apart from a known issue of bogie transparency on the passenger car bogies which only appears when viewed from the front of the horizon, which the developers were unable to fix without rebuilding the vehicles from scratch.
The ChengYu 2 route is compatible with Train Simulator 2017 but if you do not already have the European Loco & Asset Pack and the US Loco & Asset Pack installed (both available to purchase from Dovetail Games via Steam) then you will need them both to allow the route to display correctly. Please note that one or both of those packs may be included in other products purchased from Dovetail games via Steam.
MANUAL
A full-colour 84-page PDF manual is included and covers the operation of the locomotive, the Chinese signalling system and details for the bonus content.
SCENARIOS
The SS7C Locomotive comes with a set of scenarios designed to be used with the ChengYu 2.0 route and the RWSO Rolling Stock Pack, both of which are included in this package.
Tutorial scenarios
This series of four step-by-step tutorials will introduce you to the operations of an SS7C locomotive.
Tutorial 1: Starting up the SS7C
Before you drive the SS7C Electric Locomotive you must be able to start it from a shut-down state. This tutorial walks you through the steps involved in starting up the locomotive, and completing this tutorial unlocks Tutorial 2.
Tutorial 2: Basic Driver Training
In this tutorial we go over the basic controls used in everyday driving. Completing this tutorial unlocks Tutorials 3 and 4, as well as the Free Roam scenarios.
Tutorial 3: Advanced Passenger Train Handling
In this tutorial we discuss the advanced techniques used by real-world train drivers when hauling passenger trains with the SS7C. Completing this tutorial unlocks all the passenger scenarios.
Tutorial 4: Advanced Freight Train Handling
In this tutorial we explore the advanced techniques used by real-world train drivers when hauling freight trains with the SS7C. Completing this tutorial unlocks all the freight scenarios.
Free Roam scenarios
A few open-ended Free Roams are provided so you can drive the SS7C and explore the ChengYu 2.0 route at your leisure..
Free Roam: Yong Chuan
Starting at Yong Chuan (a major passenger station), a number of SS7C-hauled trains are available for you to drive and explore the route.
Free Roam: Guang Shun Chang
Starting at Guang Shun Chang (a major freight station), a number of SS7C-hauled trains are available for you to drive and explore the route.
Passenger scenarios
These scenarios let you take on the day-to-day duties of a passenger train driver driving the SS7C. All are available as both Standard and Career scenarios.)
Nuts and Bolts
It’s a beautiful day and your next trip is a short hop from Rong Chang to Yong Chuan – not all drivers get such easy days!
The Full Length
Ready for a longer drive? Your next task is to haul an express passenger train all the way to Shi Yan Qiao.
Into the Night
Not all passenger trains are created equal; the one you’re about to drive, for instance, is one of those ‘red eye’ trains. Are you up for the night driving?
Every Single Stop
It’s a stormy day out there and there has been some disruption further up the line with a couple of breakdowns. You have been called in to haul a stopping passenger train, an unusual task for a SS7C driver.
Freight Scenarios
These scenarios lets you experience some typical journeys for an SS7C freight train driver. All are available as both Standard and Career scenarios.
Running Slow
During the day, when the line is busy with passenger trains, freight trains have to run in the gaps in the traffic. Today you’re taking a low-priority freight train and there will be a few yellow lights and red lights, so don’t drive too fast!
Mail Run
Each night hundreds of express mail trains zoom around the network taking mail and parcels across the country. Tonight you’ll become a part of this huge operation as you take a mail train through to Guang Shun Chang.
Fully Loaded
A fully loaded express coal train weighing in at 3,000 tons needs to be taken across the line. Can you handle this heavy train on the steep gradients?
Quick Drive scenarios
A number of Quick Drive consists have been provided so you can create your own scenarios to run the SS7C on any Quick Drive-enabled route of your choice. These are found under ‘SS7C Locomotive’ in the Quick Drive consist selection menu.
- Train Simulator 2017 (with the European Asset Pack and the US Asset Pack)
- 3.0GHz PC or any Dual Core
- 512MB RAM (1GB for Vista)
- Windows 8 / 7 / XP / Vista
- 256MB graphics card
- Direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
- 1.9GB hard drive space
