help with train priority needed

[misterchugg]

hi all

even though i give my trains their priority from 1 to 3, they quite often let a 3 go before a 1

is there any way that i can fix this?
thanks
ron

 

[R701Rusty]

Hi Ron,

Just a thought but have you marked the tracks with priority markers as well?

Cheers
Russell.

 

[SuperFudd]

Train priority is misleading unless you understand how priority markers work.
A train will tend to opt for the track marked with it's priority level marker.

 

[EdrickV]

A priority 1 train will prefer priority 1 track, even if it means going out of it's way to get where it's going. Same with 2 and 3. By default track is (I believe) priority 2. When you set track priority markers, take a look at the minimap. Track that's priority 1 or 3 will be different colors then track that's priority 2. (I personally use priority 1 for freight, 2 for passengers, 3 would be for utility tracks and other stuff that trains shouldn't use unless they have to.)

Edit: If following it's "priority" track would mean a train would have to stop and change direction to get where it's trying to go then it may not use that track.

 

[misterchugg]

hi mates
thanks for that advice, but i was using that.

what i meant was the priority system that you give the train in surveyor , 1,2,3,
not the actual purple trackmarks

what is happening is that the trains will go across into the goods sidings and then back out and across to the mainline at the other end,
even though i use the priority markers


any advice would be gretly appreciated so that i can get them to run the way they should

 

[duckblaster]

Priority is the preferred track route, NOT which train should go first.

 

[EdrickV]

hi mates
thanks for that advice, but i was using that.

what i meant was the priority system that you give the train in surveyor , 1,2,3,
not the actual purple trackmarks

what is happening is that the trains will go across into the goods sidings and then back out and across to the mainline at the other end,
even though i use the priority markers


any advice would be gretly appreciated so that i can get them to run the way they should

The track priority markers and the priority property on the train work together. And as mentioned it's all about controlling what path the train takes to get where it needs to go.

For example, look at this image:


The green track is priority 1, the blue track is the default priority 2. The blue tracks connect to a station while the green track goes around the station. My freight trains (in this case a coal train) will take the green track and bypass the station even though that route is longer then going straight through the station would be. The train is set to priority 1, the track is set to priority 1. That's how the system works. In the absence of any track matching the train's priority, it'll use the shortest route to it's destination and (depending on the Trainz version and the command used) may try and navigate around other trains. So train priority only determines what priority track to use.

 

[misterchugg]

thanks mate

that explains a lot to me

i will play around with the settings the way you told me

cheers
ron

 

[hert]

Is their any way to set a track direction priority? I ask because I have a double mainline that goes to single track across a dam and then back to 2 track. I want any train thats going uphill to have priority over downhill trains.

hert:wave:

 

[duckblaster]

Use a track direction marker, they are yellow and the thin end points forward.

 

[hert]

Use a track direction marker, they are yellow and the thin end points forward.

I dont need to tell them what track to take. I want to have one direction to have priority over the other. So maybe I should use a trigger that makes the signal red until the uphill train passes a certain point that way the downhill train has to wait for it.

hert:wave:

 

[duckblaster]

sorry, didn't read the question fully, have you looked at the track laying and trouble shooting tutorial? (http://trains.0catch.com/tutorial.html) try Part 5 - Working with signals
Cornfield Meets
Dealing with AI issues
Working with signal blocks

 

[Jayturf]

I dont need to tell them what track to take. I want to have one direction to have priority over the other. So maybe I should use a trigger that makes the signal red until the uphill train passes a certain point that way the downhill train has to wait for it.

hert:wave:

That is what I do. On my route eastbound trains have priority so when I schedule trains I have to arrange for meets and use triggers. On every passing track i have a trigger located right in the middle and I use the 'wait for trigger" command on the train with a lower priority. Seems to work great but is a little time consuming.

 

[EdrickV]

Is their any way to set a track direction priority? I ask because I have a double mainline that goes to single track across a dam and then back to 2 track. I want any train thats going uphill to have priority over downhill trains.

hert:wave:

Creative placement of signals might be a way to do that, though it's not really something that I've experimented with. Timing might be another way to control it.

 

[Scottbe8]

It might be possible to create a directional priority marker, but it will take a bit of testing and hassle to get it right.

 

[oknotsen]

You did notice you bumped a more then 2 year old topic, right?

 

[NickieFoenshauge]

You did notice you bumped a more then 2 year old topic, right?

So? I am glad it was bumped. It seems I have totally misunderstood the concept of "priority". I thought "priority" related to trains rather than tracks. I suppose I should have RTFM.

 

[misterchugg]

hi Nickie
all i figured out from this was that i dl a 5 priority rule from the dls
it was supposed to set the actual train priority, but it never worked the way it should either.
i overcame it with stopping the trains at a trackmark and notifying me. i sorta play the dispatchers part .
it makes for harrowing play if i'm actually driving a train and the notification pops up

sorry i can help more
cheers
ron

 

[NickieFoenshauge]

... i overcame it with stopping the trains at a trackmark and notifying me. i sorta play the dispatchers part .
it makes for harrowing play if i'm actually driving a train and the notification pops up ...

Hi Ron.
I see what you mean. You're thundering away at 120 km/h and 200 m before a point you get this message "Change train priority to 3 to avoid collision with commuter train"
Anyway, i found the stuff about trackmarks in the Surveyor chapters of the manual. When I started out with Trainz I didn't read the Surveyor related chapters, as I didn't think they would be necessary to just driving trains, which was all I was doing at first.


Cheers, Nickie