Junctions/turnouts are locked in driver

[wbmfishman]

Any help for this problem. I build the junctions/turnout in surveyed. I switch to driver an cannot throw them. I get a yellow circle with a pad lock symbol. And suggested fixes for this. Thanks

 

[JCitron]

As you know this is due to a driver controlling the junction. It could be that you have a consist too close to the junction causing the points to be locked. The other issue is a driver heading down that particular route has locked the junction a head of time.

There are a couple of ways to solve each issue.

For the consist that's two close, you can extend the siding a bit and move the consist away from the junction. The distance is 20 meters, or 2 squares in grid view.

The alternative is to click on the tab for track marks (yes that one). Pick adjust trigger radius, and adjust the radius for the junction to something smaller. This is a common practice for yards where you want the consists to be a bit closer to the points.

For the driver somewhere else, you need to put signals in between. What kind is determined by the layout of your route.

 

[1611mac]

Junctions lock at a distance determined by train speed. I just ran some experiments with this. Run fast trains and watch how far in advance the switches lock. Then run the same train slow and note the distance. My trials also showed me that the consist made no difference, the lock is totally dependent upon speed. In other words, a single SW1500 switcher will lock a switch at the same distance as a 20 car tank train that is fully loaded. By the way, the loaded tank train took much further to stop than it's distance to the locked junction.

As stated above, you can use speed signs and Driver commands to control speeds of AI trains.

I was able to build a chart of "lock distance" vs "speed." This would be good info for route building. In reference to a normal 10m square on the baseboard here is what I found. A train going 10 mph will lock a junction 30 meters away but if that train is going 42 mph it locks all junctions 380 meters away.

These are APPROXIMATE and a result of some QUICK testing. Your results may vary.
10 mph locks next junction 3 ten meter squares away (30 meters)
13 mph - 4 squares away
16 mph - 7 squares away
20 mph - 9 squares away
24 mph - 14 squares
28 mph - 17 squares
33 mph - 22 squares
37 mph - 37 squares
42 mph - 38 squares (380 meters)

To all: If I have overlooked something in my observations please let me know. If you have a different observation please let me reply here also.

 

[wbmfishman]

Tried the above and no luck. Must be doing something wrong here and other suggestions?

 

[JCitron]

We would need a screen capture or a drawn schematic showing the route. Use Imgur or some other image sharing place to upload the picture to. Look for the sharing options for forums. Copy that and paste the link here and we will then see what your exact issue is.

 

[Alikiwi]

You haven't set triggers up to throw the switches for you, and forgotten to unlock them if you created a session?

 

[MP242]

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