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Train signals

Started by CaseyChuffingJones, February 12, 2015, 05:14:17 PM

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CaseyChuffingJones

Can someone please explain the basics of train signalling to me?  I can get things to work, sometimes, but it's purely by chance, I can't figure out exactly why it works in some circumstances and not in others.

For example, I have a long section of single track which I would like to add passing points to.  I had one and it worked fine, but I added a few more, which looked similar to me, and my train couldn't find a route  :-[

Many thanks.

Spacethingy

A simple passing loop would look like this:

           __<_________________________
          /                                                       \
------------------------------------------>---------

Where ^ is a one way rail signal:
This signal allows a train through it only if the train has a clear route to it's next station, or another signal. The one way part mean that there's only one signal on one side of the track. Make sure you don't accidentally place another type of signal e.g. a choose, long-block, or pre/distant signal. These all have different behaiviours:

Choose: allows a train to go to a different platform of a station than the one its schedule tells it to go to.
Long-block: like a ordinary signal, but forces trains to reserve to the next signal (instead of signal OR station).
Pre/distant: only goes green if the next signal is also green.
Life is like a Simutrans transformer:

You only get one of them, and you can't have it on a slope.

CaseyChuffingJones

Quote from: Spacethingy on February 12, 2015, 05:28:54 PM
A simple passing loop would look like this:

           __<_________________________
          /                                                       \
------------------------------------------>---------

Where ^ is a one way rail signal:
This signal allows a train through it only if the train has a clear route to it's next station, or another signal.
That's exactly the arrangement I had :/  I had several such blocks, but yeah, that's what I had.  I suppose I might have used the wrong signal in one place, and that's what caused the "no route" message.  I'll try it again.

Ters

No route means that you either got one signal the wrong way, or there is a break in the line unrelated to the signals. All other signal mistakes cause a deadlock at some undefined time in the future.

Isaac Eiland-Hall

Trains are tricky. I mostly play with trucks, so when I try a map using trains everywhere it's chaos. Dedicated lines are tons easier than shared lines. :)

Ters

Trucks have their own way of causing jams that doesn't require any additional infrastructure.

Isaac Eiland-Hall

Very true, although it's definitely a completely different ballgame, since trucks will gladly stack up one per tile vs. trains that reserve blocks (although in recent years it's gotten easier with trains. I always intend to play them more than I get around to doing, usually because I end up playing more like SimCity than Simutrans anyway. hehe)

gauthier

#7
I started a tutorial about playing (and never finished it ...) a while ago, there is a page about train signals. Tell me if it is clear enough.
http://simutrans.fr/doku.php?id=en:signalstrain

tykemalcolm

Your link appears to be broken - I couldn't connect to it.

gauthier

Sorry, there was a change in the domain's name a couple of months ago, that's why the link was broken. It seems to work now. If it still does not work, go on the home page (simutrans.fr), menu tutorials/introduction to simutrans, then click the train signals link at the bottom of the page.