How to have three trains on a single train track?

[Stefan2142]

Im trying to figure this out since I dont have money for two track railway system because Id like to move coal from the mines to the border faster than the current setup which is 2 trains on a single track..Any ideas, guides?

[Bufnitza]

You'll either need two bypasses instead of one, or to extend the existing bypass to include another line.

[Bufnitza]

My ascii art sucks, but basically this (ignore the dots, they're there for steam formatting purposes).

Two bypasses

.........../--------------------------\............/------------------------\
------/---------------------------\-----/--------------------------\------------------

Or multilane bypass

................/------------------------\
..............././-----------------------\.\
-------/-/------------------------\-\---------------------------------------------------

[Stefan2142]

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

You'll either need two bypasses instead of one, or to extend the existing bypass to include another line.

For the second solution you mean that alongside my existing setup where I have main line and one bypass, I add second bypass on top off it?

[ginugagap]

I see you are very new to the game.
I really would recommend playing all tutorials!
Youtube can also help a lot.

[Titule]

Originally posted by Stefan2142:

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

You'll either need two bypasses instead of one, or to extend the existing bypass to include another line.

For the second solution you mean that alongside my existing setup where I have main line and one bypass, I add second bypass on top off it?

I don't see any benefit in the multilane bypass. There would be one or two trains waiting for the one on the track.
I think waiting times are shorter in variant "two bypasses"

[Elessar_warrior]

Do this:
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/817876119338443815/51EE902E17D9599E202E6CADD08C4B98F9C6003F/

Image taken from the official train signal guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1718149719

[bballjo]

Cargo trains have very irregular intervals, and because of that it's hard to give you a precise answer.

Some have already mentioned bypasses/sidings, but the number and location of those should depend on how many trains you want to have on the track at the same time.

For example, if your trains take a long time to fill, you may not want any sidings, and just use the available stations as sidings, and only 1 train can move at a time.

If you have relatives consistent intervals, you could try to time when trains should reach what location on the map. With 3 trains you could just have 2 sidings where trains can pass approximately at 1/3 and 2/3 of the length of the track. Trains may wait briefly, but it could work. This setup is relatively hard to upgrade.

You could also go simple and add a siding that effectively is near halfway of the track. That siding should hold at least 2 trains each direction, you can build it to be able to hold more, and you should be able to expand it more with extra parallel tracks.

None of the single track options has a good long term solution, as for it to function, you will always need an empty block, or 1 more block than trains you want to run, and by having a single track, you have the number of blocks greatly reduced vs just double tracking and adding signals to add more blocks.

I understand the money constraint, but sometimes it's better to not get the next train, and just make the first train bigger, and use the money saved on the loco to expand the track, but to each their own.

[joeball123]

If your trains are not already the maximum length that your infrastructure can support or your locomotives can reasonably haul, you may want to consider increasing the size of your trains rather than adding a third.

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

You'll either need two bypasses instead of one, or to extend the existing bypass to include another line.

Every passing loop you add to a stretch of single-track increases the number of blocks in that part of the line by three, so you shouldn't need more than one passing loop to run three trains on a dedicated line even with single-platform stations, and depending on how loading and unloading times compare to travel times adding a second passing loop might not even improve throughput.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3164367586
The lower setup has four simple blocks and so can support up to three trains; the upper setup has eight blocks (one for each platform in the two stations, one for each side of the passing loop, and one between each station and the passing loop), but the blocks between the stations and the passing loop cannot have trains in them unless those trains have an open exit path so you can "only" fit five trains and entry to the single-track segments needs to be controlled by chain signals.

If loading/unloading times are long enough compared to travel time, you may not even need a passing loop for a simple two-station setup - all you need is one more platform than the number of trains you're running and something will be able to move.

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

Or multilane bypass

................/------------------------\
..............././-----------------------\.\
-------/-/------------------------\-\---------------------------------------------------

About the only reason to do something like this rather than simply extending the existing siding is to avoid having trains stopped on an incline. Doubling the length of the siding gets you to four blocks (two on the siding + two on the adjacent stretch of main line) whereas adding a second siding only gets you to three (one on each siding + one on the adjacent stretch of main line), and if you have two trains waiting for the same bit of track to become available then one is going to have to wait for the other regardless of whether they're parked up one beside the other or one after the other, plus doubling the length of the existing siding reduces the amount of new track that needs to be constructed if and when you decide to fully double-track the line.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3164389004

[Silent_Shadow]

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

My ascii art sucks, but basically this (ignore the dots, they're there for steam formatting purposes).

Consider using the [/code] formatting (see formatting help for more info).

[Ole "Slim Jolo" the Hobo Hero]

You might find using signals, you can use the trains to piggy back and move the goods down the chain like you need

honestly might be easy to just expand the line though. But I know what you mean. I have one main train line right now that i have 2 trains operating on while i have a second line parallel that will eventually also be up and running. One train I run coal and gravel to my main city from, and the other i run oil from my main city for export. I had to use signals to properly set up the track so they could both use it without getting stuck running into one another.

[Sirius Czech]

Originally posted by Silent_Shadow:

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

My ascii art sucks, but basically this (ignore the dots, they're there for steam formatting purposes).

Consider using the [/code] formatting (see formatting help for more info).

what does the code formatting does?
.......-------.......
...xxx...xxx.....
___---__

[Stefan2142]

Originally posted by Bufnitza:

My ascii art sucks, but basically this (ignore the dots, they're there for steam formatting purposes).

Two bypasses

.........../--------------------------\............/------------------------\
------/---------------------------\-----/--------------------------\------------------

Or multilane bypass

................/------------------------\
..............././-----------------------\.\
-------/-/------------------------\-\---------------------------------------------------

Thanks for this, this did the trick actually!

[Stefan2142]

Originally posted by bballjo:

Cargo trains have very irregular intervals, and because of that it's hard to give you a precise answer.

Some have already mentioned bypasses/sidings, but the number and location of those should depend on how many trains you want to have on the track at the same time.

For example, if your trains take a long time to fill, you may not want any sidings, and just use the available stations as sidings, and only 1 train can move at a time.

If you have relatives consistent intervals, you could try to time when trains should reach what location on the map. With 3 trains you could just have 2 sidings where trains can pass approximately at 1/3 and 2/3 of the length of the track. Trains may wait briefly, but it could work. This setup is relatively hard to upgrade.

You could also go simple and add a siding that effectively is near halfway of the track. That siding should hold at least 2 trains each direction, you can build it to be able to hold more, and you should be able to expand it more with extra parallel tracks.

None of the single track options has a good long term solution, as for it to function, you will always need an empty block, or 1 more block than trains you want to run, and by having a single track, you have the number of blocks greatly reduced vs just double tracking and adding signals to add more blocks.

I understand the money constraint, but sometimes it's better to not get the next train, and just make the first train bigger, and use the money saved on the loco to expand the track, but to each their own.

Thanks for this. I did find out that single track is just not worth it later. Then I found out that I didnt know sh!t about managing two way train tracks. Thats where I turned to Youtube for learning :D

[Sirius Czech]

Originally posted by Stefan2142:

Thanks for this. I did find out that single track is just not worth it later. Then I found out that I didnt know sh!t about managing two way train tracks. Thats where I turned to Youtube for learning :D

And that´s why people like me or BBalljo create such tutorials :)