train backtracks at last station of stop list

[Sesqui]

Suppose we have a line with the following stop list: 1E-2E-3E-4E-5W-4W-3W-2W. My expectation is that the trains repeat this list, going from 2W back to 1E and continues to 2E, 3E, etc.

What happens instead is the trains go from 2W to 1E back to 2W then back to 1E and THEN to 2E, 3E, etc. Why does this happen and how do I fix it?

I would have included screenshots, but I don't see how to attach them.

[MirkoC407]

Not easy to understand your problem, but I try a guess and you mean it does wait at 2W before resuming its trip. That is as the game is programmed, trains always wait at the last station before they approach the first one for a normal scheduled stop.
You can add 1E as the last station again by pressing ALT. Then the first and last stop are identical and it seems the train is waiting for departure at the first stop (technically it is still doing so at the last one, but this technicality won't matter for normal gameplay).

[adlet]

To put a screenshot there are three steps to take. (1) Press F12 with the desired screen contents within the game. (2) In Steam app, go to View menu, select Screenshots, choose your desired screenshot(s) and upload. Make sure you select "Public" setting for viewership. (3) In your Steam profile in the web, select Screenshots and copy a link to the desired screenshot, then you can post it into a message.

The issue may be just simply the sequence of stops in the stop list in the line is not correct. For example, if you listed by error 1E before 2W, the train would pass through 2W to go to 1E, then return to 2W, and then go back to 1E.

Another reason may be that you need to set up alternative platforms at 1E. If 1E is two tracks, the train departs from 1E(1) and arrives back to 1E(2), you need to set these two tracks as alternative platforms. Otherwise the train will try to go from 1E(2) to 1E(1), and the quickest way to do this may be through go back to 2W (because trains can only turn around at either a station or a dead end, and 2W can be the closest such place to 1E).

There can also be other reasons but usually it's one of these two that are my first guess.

[Sesqui]

Thanks, adlet. Screenshot #1:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3097752901

[Sesqui]

Screenshot #2:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3097752786

[adlet]

Train cannot apparently go direct from station #12 to #13. When it goes back to #11 and then retreats, does it follow the same track there and back or does it change to another track? There may be a one-way or no-go signal somewhere that forces the train to choose a different path or perhaps an unconnected track.

[Sesqui]

I haven't done anything with signals, although I may have done something accidentally. I will check.

I don't think it's an unconnected track. The train goes from #14 to #1, then back to #14, and then back from #14 to #1, then #2 and so on. Also, there is usually a warning that there is no path from point A to point B when there is no connecting track.

[Trixi]

signals are neccessary. Without signals maximum one train can use a line at the same time.

[adlet]

Originally posted by Sesqui:

I haven't done anything with signals, although I may have done something accidentally. I will check.

I don't think it's an unconnected track. The train goes from #14 to #1, then back to #14, and then back from #14 to #1, then #2 and so on. Also, there is usually a warning that there is no path from point A to point B when there is no connecting track.

There probably lies your problem. I think the train actually has trouble going from #12 to #13, not from #14 to #1. Take a look at the dtstances in the first screenshot - from #12 to #13 it's 11,167 m, whereas back from #13 to #14 is only 4,106 m. So the issue is for some reason the train cannot take a direct path from #12 to #13, and this is when it passes through #14 and #1 to navigate its way around whatever the problem is. Can you do a close up screenshot of station #12/14 and especially in the direction of station #13?

On the other hand, the path from #14 to #1 is 3,382 m, which is about the same as in the opposite direction from #11 to #12 (3,383 m), so this segment is working just fine.

Also, it's a bit unconventional these days to have your station #1 in the middle of the line. It used to make sense with some prior version timetable limitations but these days generally does not make sense. It is likely easier to manage things when #1 is at one end of the line.

[Sesqui]

Where does one place signals in this game? Is halfway between stations a good place?

Also, is there a tutorial for learning all this? I realize that NIMBY Rails is a work in progress.

[MirkoC407]

Nowhere where no signal is not needed. You don't have to build block sections. Signals are placed:
- on all routes leading into a junction / junction station
- on all routes leading into a terminus
- on the way into all stations and loops where a train shall be passed by faster ones
- on the approach to any station / depot where alternative platforms will be used
- on the entry to a single track section

On leaving these points of operation a balise is placed to dissolve the reservation. That's it.

[Sesqui]

Thanks again adlet, and thanks MirkoC407!

[Trixi]

i also would recommend to place some one way signals after intersections, so that you have dedicated directions on double tracks.

[adlet]

Although it's the same system, there are some different practices on the signals, I am probably one of those differing :).

You want to have a one-way signal where the train can otherwise go in the undesired direction. This can happen as Trixi noted when a single track splits into a double track, if you want each line of the double track to be one-direction only. You really only need one sign there, on the track where direction is leading into the single track section. This one-way signal, no matter where placed, will apply to the entire stretch from the junction until the next junction or next station, whichever is earlier. I don't put a sign on the other track as it would be redundant, because I have a sign on the opposite side of that other track - see below.

A train can also change direction at any platform - this may not be desirable. So unless I want to allow two-directional traffic, I always place a one-way sign right at the entrance into platform (usually touching on the platform too). This sign again applies to the entire stretch from this side of the platform to the previous junction or previous platform.

A train can also change direction at a dead-end but you don't need a one-way signal there of course, otherwise this stretch of track will not be drivable more than once.

You can really summarize the above by saying, for purposes of one-way signs, you can think of track as consisting of segments, that each start and end with either a station, a junction or a dead end. If the track is one-way direction, you just need only one one-way signal in this stretch that you can place anywhere (and per my practices above, I effectively place at the "end" of the stretch as the train goes - at the end because this is where I do not want the trains to enter from the opposite direction).

For path signals, I follow more or less real life railroad practices, and it's fairly simple. All numerous intersections in a place are typically grouped together, you can call it a "signal area". You want to have one path signal - often called "entrance signal" - at each track leading into a signal area. And then one balise signal on each track leading out of the signal area. Note that balise signals are two-directional, so if a track is used in both directions, don't place balise signals on it.

In the case of a typical station with junctions and intersections, normal practice is to treat each side of the station as a separate signal area. This means, an entrance signal at each track leading to the station from each direction, before any junctions start, and a path signal (often called "exit signal" because it exits from the platform) at each end of each platform where trains can exit (lookiing away from the platform). So combine with the above rules on one-way signals, each end of each platform generally speaking should have either a path signal or a one-way signal looking in the opposite direction.

As an overall rule to keep in mind, wherever you place a path signal, a train may stop and wait at red signal. So if you don't want a train to be possibly stopped in a particular place - e.g. over crossing tracks - don't place a path signal there.

Path signals are used to protect from collision from the front (head on) and from the sides (merging lines). You do not need protection from collision from the back (a train running into another train from behind) as the game takes care of it. Because of this, as Mirko noted, you do not need to split the track into block sections.

However, I usually do it on subway and railroad lines, because it looks more realistic, and because if there is an issue and all trains stop, I like trains to be stopped some distance from each other as in real life, and not like 2 meters one behind another. On the other hand, this can affect computer performance on very developed models, but I guess I have not yet observed it.