New user seeks help

[SteveGaddy]

Hi, It's great to now be a part of the Trainz community, and I wonder if someone can shine a light on my problem.
I recently bought Trainz 2022 Platinum, plus quite a bit of DLC and in the very first route I'm trying I have a problem. I thought I'd start with the Centrella Sub Division routes, and chose the Oil Train scenario - as it was rated 'Normal' difficulty. My problem is, when I've hooked up the tanker cars and set off, I come to a red light. I sit at this light, and sit, and sit and sit. I've actually gone about my other work while leaving the game running and me still sat there for an hour. I've tried just going through - which gets me a SPAD - I've tried hooking up the consist differently and even watched a guy on you tube play the same scenario. In the case of the You Tube player, he doesn't get the red light.
In my frustration once, I walked up the rack and messed with the track switching, which got me a yellow light. I went through the yellow OK, but when it came to deliver the oil, I had no blue triggers and I knew the scenario was broken. I came to Trainz after spending a fortune with Dovetail Games and being told to 'quit whining' for daring to ask for a 2 year old bug to be fixed. I asked twice - six months apart - but apparently this is unfair whining.
I'm determined to stay with Trainz now and learn the software good enough to make routes etc. But I'd like any help or tips on how to deal with similar issues as above, so I don't have to keep coming asking for help, should this happen in a different scenario.
If it helps I have a good gaming rig, the game runs great and looks great, so I don't think it's a compatibility issue, but if anyone thinks I should try the game in a different windows mode, I'd like to hear it. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I thank you sincerely in advance.
Cheers, and it's great to be here.

 

[martinvk]

First, welcome to Trainz. Little did you know when you got onboard that this could be a long journey.
As for your route and session, wish i could help you with specific hints and tips but I seldom do sessions. I'm more into making and only run a route to make sure it actually works - i.e no missing junctions and broken tracks.

Is there another consist that has locked that signal? Generally if you hover over a red signal, it should indicate what the issue is. Then when you click on it, you should be taken to the source of that issue.

 

[pware]

To add to the above post, welcome to Trainz. The forums here are a great source of information about Trainz, real and virtual, and don't hold back on asking questions, but the answers may not come quickly.

You will find another great resource on learning how to create routes and sessions at the Trainz Wiki. In particular for those starting out learning to build routes and sessions I would recommend the following:-

Route_and_Session_Basics​

How_to_Use_Layers​

How_to_Use_S20_Tools​

How_to_Use_S20_Palettes​

Yes, there are bugs in Trainz going back years that still haven't been fixed - just as there are "unfixed" bugs in MS Excel that date back to some of its earliest versions.

 

[pware]

someone can shine a light on my problem.

Regarding the Route Centrella Sub Division, I just tried the Oil Train session and had problems moving the locos. From the on screen messages displayed, it seems that you need to start the locos first (which seems logical but is something that I have never before experienced in Trainz - something new even for me!). It recommends that you start with the first session, AM Tutorial, which explains the procedure. Perhaps this might help.

 

[JCitron]

Welcome to Trainz and to the forums, Steve. You have stumbled on to something that will be with you for a very long time. Many of us have been here for more than 2 decades. I'm approaching my 20 years a bit after Christmas. It's an addictive and sometimes frustrating program, and in many ways more like a hobby than a computer game, that will consume you daily.

While I've never played this scenario, I may be able to give you some tips on driving.

If your signals are red, ensure your train consist is facing towards the signals, otherwise the signals will remain red. To determine the direction and rotate your consist direction, look in the lower right corner and located just above the driver controls.

You'll notice a circle with arrows on it.
Clicking on that will show red and green arrows.

The green arrow indicates the front of the consist.
Click on the circle to flip the consist around so that the green arrow is facing towards the signal if it is not.

Once the green arrow faces the signal, the signal should be green and you should be able to drive.

Signals not being active in both directions is a quirk that was introduced into Trainz back about 7 years ago with T: ANE. This "quirk", while not totally a game breaker, is an annoying one and being aware of it will allow you to get around the problem.

Now for a bug related to that. If you are inside your locomotive, the direction may be opposite of your controls. Flipping the direction of the consist so your signals are green, can force you to drive backwards while in the cab but forward externally, or worse vice versa.

 

[Forester1]

Welcome to Trainz Steve! I remember a tutorial in T:ANE where at the end of the session I was supposed to pull a consist into a yard but the red light would not change. There turned out to be a way to ctrl-click or right-click or somehow look at the signal to see what was controlling it. It turned out that there was a signal at the far end of the yard that was keeping it red. Once that signal was changed, the red changed to green. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly how to look at the light, hopefully someone else can pipe in here. Also, changing something in a session usually disqualifies completion of the session, so I am not sure how that was resolved. Maybe I changed it at the start of the session before actually starting. Again, I don't recall.