Single track trains?

[heller ツ]

Hey,

Is it possible to have one single main line and loops on both end and still run multiple trains?
Or do i HAVE to have two tracks for each direction?

[Wolfgang]

Answered in one of the pinned posts:

How do I set up trains properly?
For a single train going back and forth between two stations:
Arrange your stations like this: <=== --- ===> and your train like this: <===> .

[heller ツ]

But its not back and forth train. Train with two freight cars.

I have one line to run between stations and loops on each station. I would like multiple trains to use the single track for both directions. Trains would hold on the loop until the main track is free.

https://ibb.co/1X9WDvw like so :)

[Wolfgang]

That is possible with signals though it would probably be less efficient than a single train going back and forth.
And even more efficient is to have two tracks.

It really depends on the distance (long distance: two tracks; short: single) and the throughput you need (high: two tracks).

[Vectorspace]

It is possible, but not recommended.

You should protect the single track section with path (not block) signals at the entrances, so that trains will not enter it unless they can leave it (they reserve the subsequent block too), to prevent deadlocks.

You should also make sure that the exit blocks are big enough to accommodate your longest train

[heller ツ]

Yeah, i know that its not so effiecient. I'm just askig for help how to create it. I would not like to use two hours just to test and fail :)

So how do i setup signals for a single main track use?

[Edwin]

1. Make the main track, its better to make room to make it double-tracked at some point through.
2. make track that branches off of the main track. Only place stations on branched off track or else everything will get stuck. Only one train is allowed on a branched off track at once
3. place a block signal where the train goes off the main track, and a path signal where a train goes on the main track. If the branched off track is two-way then they should be built on the same piece of track on different sides.
4. place path signals on both sides of the main track somewhere between every spot where trains can go off or on the main track. This will increase flow on the main track because new trains can route through parts of the main track that the current train has finished using, or was never going to use.

Keep in mind that when a train enters the main track, it will claim every piece you separated with double path signals that it needs to pass the next block signal (thus arriving at the destination branch in this setup), so a train that needs to use the whole main track will stop every other train from using it until it has passed.

This could for example mean that a train that wants to use the main track for 1 minute might have to wait until a train that is 40 minutes away passes because it has already claimed that piece of track.

[Mister Fabulous]

Yeah, a "main track" seems like a bad idea. This game isn't like Railway Empire where you can build short side tracks that a train will divert to and wait for another to pass. The path finding logic is very simple and always goes for the shortest path.

[Man's Best Friend]

Originally posted by Mister Fabulous:

Yeah, a "main track" seems like a bad idea. This game isn't like Railway Empire where you can build short side tracks that a train will divert to and wait for another to pass. The path finding logic is very simple and always goes for the shortest path.

That's what I was going to say. Realistically you'd just build a bunch of sidings for trains to sit on while they wait for the other to pass. But Satisfactory currently doesn't allow that. At least not in a functional way. You can build sidings all day long, but the automatic trains won't use any of them. So the only way this would work is if you made the single track segment one giant block. Functional, yes, but horrifically inefficient for any significant length of track. Especially if you want to work with more than 2 trains.

Bidirectional tracks work best for either a single train going back and forth, or only short distances/low traffic areas where it's unlikely that two trains will want to use it at the same time. For long segments intended to be used frequently by multiple trains, you really need to use pairs of single direction tracks. This is why subways have pairs of tracks, but inter city rail only needs one for the most part. It's a matter of volume and scale. Well, volume and scale, and smarter pathing for real trains.

[The Big Brzezinski]

Pictures help.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2654473566
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655714266
It's not difficult to build. You just need to have enough parts.

[topgunsss]

Originally posted by The Big Brzezinski:

Pictures help.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2654473566
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2655714266
It's not difficult to build. You just need to have enough parts.

nicely done ive done something similar to this but a Y section then i had to turn it into something like this, but ive changed it coz i had some issues of trains getting stuck which wasnt good for my layout due to needing a large amount of water two trains carrying 10 carriages at either end to the massive coal power station and the oil field and back down to the massive fuel gens so i in turn turned that cross way path into two diffenrt levels so the trains that was running back and forth between water and coal or oil and fuel would ran on two levels north would be under while south above so that all 10 to 15 trains dont come to a grinding hold all of a sudden