Games

Rack Railway

Climb a steep mountain line and come back down. Braking on the descent heats the brakes and hot brakes fade, so you take the downhills slowly. Slopes of up to 25 per cent over six routes.

Rack Railway

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Watch a 20-second trailer

A real run of the game, recorded with captions and no sound.

How to play

  1. Power the railcar up the climbs with Up or W. The grade pulls the car back, so you need more power on the steep parts and it still slows as the slope gets worse.
  2. On the way down the speed limit is low. Hold Space or B to brake, but watch the brake heat reading: past about half, the brakes fade and stop working as well.
  3. Stop on the marker at each station. Platforms are on flat or uphill track, so the brakes can always hold the car there. Stay under the low speed limits.

Controls: mouse, touch or keyboard. Made by CalcoTools.

Tips and strategy

  • Take the descents slowly. The heat you make going down depends on the slope and the distance, not on how you brake, so a slower descent gives the brakes more time to shed it.
  • Heat builds with brake force times speed, and the brakes lose heat at a rate that grows as they get hotter, so a low steady speed settles at a cooler temperature than a fast one.
  • Open the science panel to see the pull of gravity along the slope in kilonewtons. It is mass times 9.81 times the slope, so a 20 per cent slope pulls with a fifth of the weight.

FAQ

Why do the brakes fade?
Braking turns movement into heat. If the brakes get too hot they grip less, which is called brake fade. The game models this in a simple way so you feel why mountain drivers use gentle, repeated braking.
Is the rack and pinion modelled?
No. The game uses a strong pull and strong brakes to stand in for the rack system. The slopes, the weight and the heat are what the game is about.

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