Went back and did some testing with the F-71 2-10-2, and found that I was able to start a train with total tonnage of 919 from a dead stall on the 4.5% section of red marble grade. That suggests that the starting tractive effort of the 2-10-2 is actually closer to 86,400 lbf, well above the 71,100 the game claims that that engine has. As such, updated tonnage ratings for the F71 would be as follows, with tonnage inclusive of engine and tender:

0.0% - 21,500 tons
0.5% - 6,150 tons
1.0% - 3,600 tons
1.5% - 2,540 tons
2.0% - 1,950 tons
2.5% - 1,600 tons
3.0% - 1,350 tons
3.5% - 1,150 tons
4.0% - 1,020 tons
4.5% - 915 tons

Very useful guide! One question though, I googled the weight of a gallon of water separately before coming here and the search results said that a gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. Where did you get the 8.43 pounds/gallon from? Is that how it's coded? I don't know if that's a big enough difference to change your numbers, but it's something I noticed.

Hey, awesome guide, it does help when poring over the stats whilst not playing the game. 😁

May I have a couple of suggestions for your spreadsheet? (why do I even bother asking for permission, I'm gonna do it anyway)
First is the "useful" pull force at different grades. Real as in "Pulling force minus weight of the fully bunkered loco+tender".
(ie. For G16 at 0 grade =M2-K2*0.45359/1000)
Second is the "weight to real force ratio", so how much of a percentage of total tractive effort is actually used to pull the cars as opposed to the whole train.
(So, again for G16 at 0 grade =W2/(M2/100) )
I found the latter number to be fascinating, like A26 at grade 2 is the worst of the bunch at just under 72% K28T sits firmly at 85.5%.
Just a thought.

1. how do you edit the text on locomotives?
2. all I can say about the T-21 is...𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴

Is the formula =$C2/(8+(M$1*20)) for tonnage on grade correct?

I'm asking because in RRO the formula would be =(2000*$C2)/(5+(M$1*20))*0.000446429

Updated tonnage ratings for the B-65 Berkshire, accounting for the booster tractive effort (total TE: 79,900 lbf).

Ratings are for total train weight including engine and tender, and are for drag freight speeds. Fast freight/passenger ratings can be attained by taking 5-10% off of the drag freight ratings.

0.0% - 19,000 tons
0.5% - 5,400 tons
1.0% - 3,150 tons
1.5% - 2,200 tons
2.0% - 1,700 tons
2.5% - 1,400 tons
3.0% - 1,200 tons
3.5% - 1,000 tons
4.0% - 900 tons
4.5% - 850 tons

I hill tested the C-55 and the B-65 and what I found interesting is that the C-55 pulled one more loaded tank car up Red Marble Grade than the B-65 despite its lower tractive effort, 8 cars compared to 7. No doubt it's because the C-55 is 210 tons lighter than the B-65, both with full tenders. So while the B-65 can pull more total consist weight (848 tons total, but 413 tons worth of cars), the C-55 can pull more weight behind its tender coupler (697 tons total, but 472 tons worth of cars).

Also, another note, from my own testing on the Red Marble Grade, the B-65 Berkshire, while stated in the game stats as only having 65,400 lbs tractive effort, actually has about 79,900 lbs tractive effort. I know this because I was able to start an 850 ton train (tonnage including engine and tender) from a dead stop on the 4.5% grade. So apparently the 14,500 lbs of tractive effort from the booster is included with the engine but not noted in the engine stats, which I think is pretty cool.

For those asking, tonnage ratings can generally be calculated with the following method:
Each 1% of ascending gradient = 20 lb resistance per ton weight. Level track resistance 4lb/ton.

So 2% grade will give resistance of 44lb/ton. 2.5% = 54lb/ton.

Given that you now know the lb/ton, you can calculate how much a locomotive can start on a grade by simply dividing tractive effort by the resistance of the train and multiplying it by 0.9 (since without doing that, you're simply getting the stall tonnage). So, taking the Berkshire as an example, it will theoretically lift ~1,330 tons (including weight of the engine and tender) up a 2% grade based on the following calculation: (65,400 / 44) x 0.9.

Remember that this calculation only concerns track gradient, and not track curvature, which has its own calculation to consider.

Hope this helps.

How are you calculating the tonnage ratings for the different grade percentages? Im not entirely sure how you're getting those numbers, it just doesn't feel right to me using the GP9 Diesel Locomotive. Im pushing 10 passenger cars, and the whole thing only weights 747 tons, but it still seems to be struggling even at a 2.5-3.0 grade coming back from Andrews.

also, could you please add 4.5 to all the grade charts? Your charts only go up to 4, but the red marble grade coming up from nantahala actually hits 4.5 in some areas.