Grouping of junctions and questions about signalling

[jakobkh]

I have by now completed my first test track in Surveyor. It works fine, but after having derailed quite a lot of trains (possibly injured hundreds of innocent passengers), I have come to the conclusion, that a little more control with the junctions and adding of basic signalling is a good idea.

Before I start trying all too much, I thought I would ask here, just to make sure that the things I would like to do are in fact doable

I have four questions for now:

1. Is it possible to group junctions? That is, linking the behaviour of two junctions so that if I change one of them, the other changes as well. Imagine this: I have two parallel tracks, A and B, that are linked by a third track, thus creating junction 1 and 2.

In this scenario it would be great to be able to couple the behaviour of the junctions. If for instance junction 2 pointed away from the main line (that is, towards track B), it would make no sense to have junction 1 pointing at the mainline (along track B) as any train going from track A to track B would then derail.
Is it possible to connect the two junctions in a way so that if I change the setting of one, the other will automatically also change?

2. How dependable are the trains in regards to following the settings of a signal? In model railroads the signal is often connected to a piece of track so that any train moving towards a red signal will automatically stop. Do the trains behave in the same way in Trainz (I think about the DCC mode), or are the signals just pretty lights along the line to them?
If the signals are ignored it doesn't make much sense for me to try to implement them in the first place, so I ask just in case.

3. Assuming the signals are not ignored, where can I find a good guide for setting up signals? I have read many people recommending the TS2006 manual, but I have only TS2010 and have never owned TS2006.
Also, is there a guide to the signal types used in Trainz? I know the Danish signals, but they look nothing like the signals in Trainz.
I am not looking for super realistic signalling. What I am looking for is more along the lines of "if I place a signal here and make it red, will the trains stop?". Damage control is the key word

4. Finally, can a signal be programmed to respond to the setting of a junction? I have a loop track (see below), and I want to set up a signal that responds to the junction that creates the loop, so that the signal will stop any traffic if the junction is not positioned right (which would cause derailment should the traffic just move on). The arrow on the drawing shows what way the signal points.

I hope you will be able to help me or to point me in the right direction with these questions!

 

[itareus]

For your Q1 check out - Junction Link,<kuid:122381:10003> - this is a scenery object which you place and then using the (?) button edit to set up a 1 to 1 link as in your example.

For signalling in general I suggest you read the tutorials on this site:

http://trains.0catch.com/tutorial.html

They were written for TS04/06 but still hold good for TS2010.

It can be quite a complex subject !

 

[Bill69]

Hi jakobkh,

For your second question, loops are tricky in trainz. You will need three trackmarks round the loop to keep the train going in the right direction. Your signal shown is in the wrong place. signals must always be before the junction, so move the one shown back along the main line, i.e. to the right in the drawing. Also that signal should be a diverge signal. Where you are approaching the exit from the loop place an absolute signal i.e. one the train will not pass if it is red, an 04 signal should do the trick. Beside the 04 signal place a direction marker, the yellow one, with the point towards the junction.
Give your driver commands to 'drive via trackmark 1' 'drive via tm2' 'drive via tm3' then drive via the next tm along the main line. Don't place tm3 too close to the signal because the points and signal will not change untill the train hits tm3.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[jakobkh]

Thanks for the link to the Junction Link object, Itareus. That was exactly what I was searching for

Also thanks for the link to the guide. I had a feeling that it is not completely simple to set up signals, but I hope I will be able to learn it anyway.

EDIT: Well, I was optimistic too soon about the Junction Link, it seems
The link works fine. I set it up where it's needed, and if I take it for a quick drive, it works. BUT: When I save the route and reload it, all settings for the Junction link has been lost, so I will have to set them all up again, every time I load the route.

Is there something I'm missing here?

EDIT 2:
Well, it seems that I have to start using sessions to make it work. The topic was discussed here:
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=69440

 

[jakobkh]

Thanks for the instructions Bill69!

I have now played with the trackmarks and signals using your instructions and the guide Itareus linked to, and everything works just perfectly!

I was positively surprised that the signals are quite intelligent - I was worried that I would have to code each of them by hand to check whether the junctions were in the right position or whether there were trains ahead, but they do all this by themselves already. What a relief!