I want my stagecoaches to change horses automatically in AI mode.

[JonMyrlennBailey]

I have stagecoaches running over a course using AI already. I want to try something gutsy. I want to change my horses every time the coach comes to a specified stop using the correct commands in the right sequence on a schedule. There are two coaches, one following another, on this closed-loop route. When a coach comes to a stop, it is to change horses with the team already in harness sitting on a siding. The horse team will have to uncouple from the coach and swap with whatever horses are waiting on the siding each time a new coach comes to this stop. The coaches will continuously trade off horses waiting in the siding one after another. The next coach will get the horses the last coach left on the siding and this action will repeat endlessly.

So, there will be three two-horse teams (locomotives) and two coaches (railcars).

Questions:

1. Will I have to assign a driver to each of the three teams of horses? Can't a driver just move from one horse to to another?
2. Will each stagecoach and set of horses have to be assigned a name of its own?


What commands will be used to make this horse team swap?

 

[stagecoach]

A driver can move from one horse to another using the move to train at TM command. This is the only command that will carry forward other commands. This command does not need to know the name of anything, just the TM. The driver would need to know which TM was empty and which one had the horses. a single coach would need to repeat the commands for each trip.

Uncouple
Drive to FHS 1
Move to FHS 2
couple to coach
drive route
Uncouple
Drive to FHS 2
Move to FHS 1
couple to coach
drive route
Uncouple
Drive to FHS 1
Move to FHS 2
couple to coach
drive route

 

[cascaderailroad]

I believe that the horses are part of the overall mesh, and can not be detached (uncoupled). There is no Rule that will do this ... unless you drove a stagecoach into a barn, and then drove another hidden waiting stagecoach out of the barn

Trainz horses never get tired, never need hoof care, never need feed, nor water

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

Thanks, Stagecoach. Actually, the horses can be uncoupled from the stagecoach. Certain other carriages the horse and vehicle are a single mesh.

But I just thought of something. My layout is a Model Trainz layout which is an inspiration for a possible physical layout with autonomous action. The PHYSICAL scale-model carriages and horses would not be practical to try to design to be changed, period. Unhitching horses from the coach and transferring the drivers' reins from the old team to the new team is not robotic-ally feasible for a scale model. It would be a miracle to even make the scale animals' legs move lifelike using robotics. It's a wonder Trainz horses even have animated feet.

Autonomous horse-changing in the physical scale model world would never work so I have abandoned the idea of trying it in Trainz altogether.

Autonomously uncoupling/coupling railroad rolling stock is much more doable but I don't think robotic-ally connecting and disconnecting the train air-brake pipe line between PHYSICAL scale-model cars would work well either.

In Trainz, I will still stick to coupling/uncoupling rolling stock by hand. My past attempts to get reliable AI train operation in yards and on sidings has not been successful. I therefore restrict AI (artificial intelligence/autonomous implementation) mode to the main line where no switching is to be made.

 

[JonMyrlennBailey]

and Trainz stage horses really never need to be changed...