Couple Command Help Required

[Ian_Coleman]

Can someone please run through the commands for getting a loco to come out of a siding and couple with a consist waiting at a station. Also briefly remind me of the signal and trackmark requirements.

The annoying thing is that I have done this in the past, but (obviously due to my advancing years!) I can't remember how I did it!

We are talking TRS2004 here, although I believe the requirements would be identical in TRS2006.

Ian

 

[mononlaf]

I've used the standard Couple command and the Couple at Trackmark command - in TRS 2006. I don't remember exactly, but I agree that it is probably the same as in 2004.

For the standard Couple command, the one that is automatically available when you open edit in Surveyor, you click on it in a driver edit session and you get a list of engines and cars to which you can couple. So, you have to know the ID, including the roster name and specific number of the car to which you want to couple so that you can select it from the list.

For the Couple at Trackmark, you have to first edit the command list and insert it into the ones you have available when you open for driver edit. When that's in place, you do as above, but now you just select the correct trackmark. The first car on the other side of that trackmark from the engine is the one that you will couple to, but you don't have to identify it.

Signal requirements? Well, if there is a signal between you and the car you want to couple up to, it will be red. But that only causes the engine to pause a bit before proceeding through the red to make the coupling.

But, if there is an engine on the other end of the consist to which you wish to couple, as, for example, you are using a switch engine to push a car up to couple to another consist, you have to take one of a couple of steps:

1. You can uncouple the "other-end" engine and move it beyond a signal

or (and I'm a bit hazy on this, since I have not done it for awhile)

2. You have to send the driver to another, nearby engine before making the coupling, then bring the driver back to the head-end engine after backing the switcher away from the consist.

Maybe that's more than you want to know, but I hope I've covered the question.

Dick

 

[CasyJ]

In 2004, right click the car that you want the locomotive to couple to and read it's properties (name). Then click on the arrow in the Driver Command bar at the bottom of the screen and instruct the driver to Couple To... (name). For specific instructions, issue Drive Via (trackmark) before Couple To... to set the path.

 

[Ian_Coleman]

Thanks guys. However, it doesn't fully answer my question. First, I should have made it clear that I am dealing with AI drivers.
At the moment when my AI driver receives a message to couple with a named consist at a terminus, a message appears saying that the track ahead is not clear (or similar words).
Well, of course it's not clear as the consist is there!
IAN

 

[mononlaf]

I still don't understand your setup, Ian. By terminus, do you mean the consist is sitting on a stub? And, what do you mean by named consist? I tried naming my consist, but that name does not show up in the list to which the engine can couple - only car names and numbers appear in that list.

I recently put together a small layout that makes it quick and easy to test things of this nature. I placed a consist on a stub (the drill track to a yard), placed an engine headed away from it on one of the tracks of the sorting yard and gave the driver an AI command that told him to couple to the lead car (roster name and number) in the consist. He pulled ahead to the far yard ladder and almost onto the main, then backed up the ladder and along the "top" track of the yard and then on to the drill track which was an extension of that top track. He stopped a moment, then went on back and made the coupling.

I then placed a signal near the beginning of the drill track and went through the same process. With the consist on the stub, the signal was red, of course. So, this time, the engine stopped before the signal, considered for several seconds, then slowly backed up to make the coupling.

I had used no trackmarks to this point.

Then I placed a car some distance ahead of the engine on the same yard track. Now the driver did not know what to do - he moved forward a bit, then stopped - no messages, he just sat there, and an exclamation point appeared in the driver icon.

After that, using AI commands, I told the driver to go to a track mark behind him, then to a trackmark on that top yard track, then to make the coupling, which he did.

Edit here! Forgot to say that first I used an AI command to tell the driver to couple to the car ahead instead of to the consist on the drill track. He moved ahead and made the coupling at the front end of his engine. After that is where I started a new session not telling him to couple to the car ahead, but to couple to the consist on the drill track.

Again, I'm using 2006, and maybe there is a difference with 2004. If I'm still not understanding your setup, maybe you can give me more details to see if I can duplicate them on my 'test bed'.

Dick

 

[CasyJ]

Thanks guys. However, it doesn't fully answer my question. First, I should have made it clear that I am dealing with AI drivers.
At the moment when my AI driver receives a message to couple with a named consist at a terminus, a message appears saying that the track ahead is not clear (or similar words).
Well, of course it's not clear as the consist is there!
IAN

Re-read the exact radio message. Does it say "Waiting for track clearance..." or "No path to destination"? What switches and signals are between the locomotive and the consist?

 

[Ian_Coleman]

My mistake! When I said 'named consist', I mean't that the AI Driver had been instructed to couple with the name of the last carriage. Actually, I gave each of the 3 carriages in the consist the same name! That name does show up in the list. I named it 'consist 1'.

The consist is at a terminus with an uncoupled loco in the front (rail end).

I have a second loco on a short stub which is a short distance away from the mouth of the terminus, which connects to the main line in and out of the terminus. I have placed a trackmark named 'couple' just behind the rear of the consist.

I have tried placing a signal at the end of the stub where it joins the main line. The result is the same whether or not the signal is in place.

The message that I get is 'Waiting for track clearance.
I have even tried removing the rail end at the far end of the terminus.
Nothing I do seems to make any difference.

The annoying thing is that I have done this successfully in the past - about a year ago. I had a hard disk failure, so I can't look to see what I did at that time!

Ian

 

[CasyJ]

Then it sees the other locomotive and will not proceed without a command override. You will have to instuct the loco to uncouple from the consist and move off of the signal block for the first loco to proceed into the block.

 

[Ian_Coleman]

thanks CasyJ

Only problem is that the uncoupled loco is at the end of the track. It's at a terminus!

Ian

 

[mononlaf]

Here's what worked for me:

Let's call the engine out at the end of your terminus engine1, the engine you want to couple to the consist in the terminus engine2, and another one with no driver and parked somewhere nearby, engine3.

I had Dave as driver on engine1 and Andrew on engine2

1. Engine1 has to be coupled at the terminus end of the consist, has a driver, and the driver has AI commands that start off with:

wait for message and clear - Andrew, task 0
move to engine3
wait for message and clear - Andrew, task 1
move to engine1
drive to trackmark 126 (just to see that all worked OK)

(I didn't try engine1 without a driver - I assume that your driver pulled in there and uncoupled under AI orders, and that he has orders to do something else when the consist is out of the way)

2. The commands given to the driver of engine2 were as follows:

drive to trackmark 6
post message - Andrew completed task 0
couple to (IC coal car loaded 1)
uncouplezfrom 0
drive to trackmark 6
post message - Andrew completed task 1

Note the number 0 in the uncouplezfrom command - even though engine2 has coupled up and has control of the entire consist, engine1 is still considered to be the head end from which to count off the car at which uncoupling is to take place.

This worked just fine - engine2 and consist stopped at TM6 and engine1 went to TM126.

It also worked to tell engine2 to couple to the end of the consist when engine1 was uncoupled with Dave in it but without orders.

If Dave was uncoupled and had orders, then moving him to engine3 did not enable coupling engine2 to the consist - got the same message you got.

Hope this helps.

Dick

 

[Ian_Coleman]

Thanks Dick,
I'll try that as soon as I can - got a very busy day today!

Ian

 

[Ian_Coleman]

I've been trying everything again, including things that I've already tried previously, and to my astonishment, I've got it working as I wanted.

The only alteration that I have made (again!) is to remove any signals that are between Loco 2 (waiting on the stub), and the consist.

Now I know I tried that before, and it didn't work, but now it is working!

Sometimes I think Trainz just enjoys confusing people!

Sincere thanks to everyone who subscribed to this thread.

Ian