Track routing and management FAQ

[Captain Button]

Problem: You have two unconnected tracks between two stops [1] and want to have a train on each, but the game puts both on the same track.

Here's a trick I've come up with for forcing what track the train appears on. It may involve some expense since you may have to run track and create stops which you will destroy or never use.

Setup ASCII art:

Code: Select all

A1===========================B1                  C
A2===========================B2

You want a passenger/mail train on one of these lines and a freight train on the other.

1) Create the passenger mail train with the route A->B. For my example, say it appears at stop A on line A1-B1.

2) Run track from B2 to Stop C, and create a stop there [2].

3) Create the freight train with the route A->B->C. It will appear [3] on
track A2-B2-C because that is the only track that route is possible on.

4) Edit the route for the freight train and delete stop C.

5) You are finished.

There are a lot of variations on this idea, of course, you can use a stop
between and B, etc.

An additional idea: For trains that already exist, create the link to C for the empty track. Edit the route of the freight train to add stop C. When you click OK, it will ask you if you want to move the train to the empty track, for a fee.

(My apologies if this is old news or I'm belaboring the obvious here.)

[1] I'm using "stop" here for "depot/station/terminal or annex". Is there a better or more accepted word for that?

[2] Or use existing track and/or stops.

[3] Remember that trains may appear in odd places at first. Let the game run a bit until the train has loaded cars and left the stop to be sure what line it is on.

[Amazing Ronaldo]

I have yet to figure out how to attach a new crossover to an existing signal containing a crossover. It never seems to turn green for me and I wind up just creating a new signal. Should I be able to connect a new crossover to the same point (signal) that another is attached to? The method in the foreground of RedKnight's picture is about what I use, though I have my crossovers before the signals at the station entrance rather than what looks like within the station itself on RedKnight's.

Line A ====\===/===S=====
Line B ===========S=====
Line C ====/===\===S=====

S=station's signals

I like the idea of a fourth rail (or fifth too) for traffic to use that will be bypassing a city.

Lots of good stuff in this post thanks all!!!

-R

[snoopy55]

That 4th rail that's comming sounds great except for the freeze-ups. I try the 'keep it low and run enough to beat the other guys', but then I see that poor lonely fishery over there that just needs a train, and oh, there's that mine over there, and that city has steel that just 'needs' to go somewhere, and there's that...........