Train station inaccessible from this point.

[im22008-home]

I managed to get a train to go to the ore mine. Then it just sat there and when i tried to set a schedule all of the stops were "inaccessible from this position" What do I do?

[Fel]

Trains only "see" stations and signals that are on their right hand side, so the station in question is probably on the other side of the track and there is no loop to turn around.

[im22008-home]

Thanks for that. BTW is there a recipe for making curved track? I looked in the research section and it only mentions straight track. Also, it looks like trains can not go backwards. Is that right?

[Fel]

For tracks, once you entered rail-laying mode you can put down a fair amount at once towards the cursor, making curves is also done that way instead of having separate items in your inventory (like it used to be a few years ago).


Trains can go backward if you add a second locomotive that points in the other direction (and feed it coal too).
They can only use one direction from one stop to the next but you don't have to make loops at least.
It's fine to use that system when you only have a few trains but when you want to make a real train network you will start to want to use loops.
(but it's probably not for right now since train networks require a fair understanding of signals which can take a while to learn)

[Frost]

Trains cannot go backwards - some people like to put an engine on each end of a train facing away from each other, but i have yet to try that as I hate the idea lol.

You make curved tracks by left clicking on edge of a track and as you move the cursor away in a different direction you'll start to see curved options - click when you like the option.

Holding down SHIFT or CONTROL while you move cursor (after clicking at edge of a track) gives other options as well for "ghost" tracks and avoiding or not avoiding obstacles, so you'll want to experiment.

[RamblinRick]

In real life, some trains do have engines at the front and rear facing away from each other.

[im22008-home]

Thanks guys. It's not as intuitive as Sid Meirs Railroads!

[AlexMBrennan]

In real life, some trains do have engines at the front and rear facing away from each other.

Virtually all passenger trains are multiple unit trains.[en.wikipedia.org]

It's fine to use that system when you only have a few trains but when you want to make a real train network you will start to want to use loops.

That is confusing rail design and station design. You can have terminus stations (trains arrive, stop, and then reverse) with both one-way tracks or two-way tracks.

Similarly you can have non-terminus stations (trains arrive, stop, and then leave in the same direction) with both one-way tracks and two-way tracks.

Two-way tracks should be avoided at all costs because they have terrible throughput but terminus stations, despite being clearly inferior, work for moderately busy stations.

[Fel]

Originally posted by AlexMBrennan:

That is confusing rail design and station design. You can have terminus stations (trains arrive, stop, and then reverse) with both one-way tracks or two-way tracks.

Similarly you can have non-terminus stations (trains arrive, stop, and then leave in the same direction) with both one-way tracks and two-way tracks.

Two-way tracks should be avoided at all costs because they have terrible throughput but terminus stations, despite being clearly inferior, work for moderately busy stations.

Sure, well-made terminus stations are possible but outside of a few edge cases it's not worth the trouble.
Extra locomotives without extra speed, potential issues with signals and rail lengths, dual-headed trains have a decent amount of flaws that make them sub-par in most circumstances outside of very simple back and forth for new players.

[RamblinRick]

I play a lot of train sims (Railway Empire, Transport Fever, Train Fever, Sid Meier's Railroads, Railroad Tycoon 3). Signalling works the same on all. So, helpful here as well.

[Warlord]

Originally posted by Fel:

Sure, well-made terminus stations are possible but outside of a few edge cases it's not worth the trouble.
Extra locomotives without extra speed, potential issues with signals and rail lengths, dual-headed trains have a decent amount of flaws that make them sub-par in most circumstances outside of very simple back and forth for new players.

I wouldn't mind using terminus stations more, but since this game has reverse-facing trains act like dead weight, I prefer single-headed trains. And because of that, terminus stations are flat-out as an option.

[im22008-home]

I put a loco at each end of the train like the push-me-pull-you and it went off to the ore mine and came back but is now refusing to return to the mine even though it is now empty.. Getting a bit fed up. This is supposed to be a tutorial!!
I don't have the space to put a loop at the unloading end because of the way the whole thing is laid out. I'm doing the section where you arrive and the place has been trashed and you have to get it up and running.

[Warlord]

A screenshot of the layout will help us loads. You must have a mistake somewhere, and we've already covered the most likely issues.

Are you using signals? They aren't necessary if you only have one train on the track. In fact, using signals without understanding them can cause more issues (including one that might be the cause here, if you are using signals).

[im22008-home]

it was signals... Thanks for the help.

[256MB of SPAM]

Originally posted by AlexMBrennan:

In real life, some trains do have engines at the front and rear facing away from each other.

Virtually all passenger trains are multiple unit trains.[en.wikipedia.org]

It's fine to use that system when you only have a few trains but when you want to make a real train network you will start to want to use loops.

That is confusing rail design and station design. You can have terminus stations (trains arrive, stop, and then reverse) with both one-way tracks or two-way tracks.

Similarly you can have non-terminus stations (trains arrive, stop, and then leave in the same direction) with both one-way tracks and two-way tracks.

Two-way tracks should be avoided at all costs because they have terrible throughput but terminus stations, despite being clearly inferior, work for moderately busy stations.

I used trains with a locomotive on each end, like an earlier poster mentioned not doing.

Served me fine through to endgame. I had one main track that all the other stops connected to. No loops. No problem! :)

[Fel]

It's not like you can't make it work but from your recent thread showing your base it's clear that you are still using 2-ways rails and only trains going back and forth and not anything heavier that kind of require the use of a train network and unloading stations used by several trains.

If you just want to launch the rocket, that system is definitely fine since you don't really need more than a few outposts bringing ores and oil back to your factory but it gets harder and harder to use it as you scale up, especially when the outposts start to run out since those rails are not really meant to cross.