Tutorial – Correcting railroad signal issues in TRS22 using my railroad signals

[savllen]

this whole tread baffles me
from everything i have seen, who asked for these signals?
there the most generic look signals made by someone who has no idea of what signals do with aspects that dont make sense.
everyone i have talked to has said they wont use these
i cant see a use for them at all mainly cuz there just made-up and dont really work with any route, dont even look particularly good as well.
i dont understand why you would spend 45 dollars on this pack to export it in to trainz but its your money and time ig?

 

[davesnow]

this whole tread baffles me
from everything i have seen, who asked for these signals?
there the most generic look signals made by someone who has no idea of what signals do with aspects that dont make sense.
everyone i have talked to has said they wont use these
i cant see a use for them at all mainly cuz there just made-up and dont really work with any route, dont even look particularly good as well.
i dont understand why you would spend 45 dollars on this pack to export it in to trainz but its your money and time ig?

Uh... Isn't your signature a bit too big? Just wondering...

 

[savllen]

Uh... Isn't your signature a bit too big? Just wondering...

yeah it is, ill fix it

 

[CobraLAD]

Hi Bob

Even after all the years, I have learned from this, Thank you. I am busy replacing all the signals on my route with these. I love them

 

[MSGSapper]

Hi Bob

Even after all the years, I have learned from this, Thank you. I am busy replacing all the signals on my route with these. I love them

Thanks for the kind words and feedback! When I decided to add these new signals to Trainz I wanted to accomplish the following primary goals:

1. Enhance aspect visibility. In Trainz, if you have eyes like I do, it can sometimes be rather hard to see the aspects lights from a moving locomotive cab from many of the older signals out there. The light issues in the Trainz simulation on a small screen can make the lights seem much dimmer and harder to see than they might be in the real world. How Trainz handles lighting is a major weakness in the simualtion IMHO. I find I can see my aspect lights a bit better, as the lights are slightly larger, than the signals I was using before.

2. Bring PBR texturing to Trainz signals. Most of the signals out there on the DLS are build 2.9 or older and have not been kept current with todays graphic standards (ie; PBR). This is not to say that these old signals are bad, and they still look reasonably good and are still quite functional as they are. Its that you can do things with PBR textures you cannot do using only the old style diffuse/albedo only textures.

3. Bring weathering to the signals. Thanks to PBR texturing you can achieve some pretty impressive rust/dirt/weathering effects with signals and you can see this in my signals when compared to others.

4. Add some novel new signal types of the side-by-side bracket mast/post type to the Trainz world that hadn't been seen here before. There are literally hundreds of signal types and configurations in the real world, yet we only see a few of those types in Trainz. Almost any configuration you can possibly imagine is out there, and I have seen some really bizarre types in images from Google.

Overall I think I have accomplished these results with these signals.

As a side note, as I previously posted in another reply here, there seems to be an issue with railroad bumpers in Trainz based on my test. The following will act as signals so you don't have to use an invisible signal on a siding or spur that does not reconnect at one end back to the mainline:

<kuid2:106916:10052:1> US bumper darkrusty (build 2.4)
<kuid:30671:23002> US bumper yellowrusty (build 1.3)
<kuid2:334896:26189:1> Hayes Bumper Black (build 2.9)

Later bumpers of the ones I list below don't function as signals so you will have to add an invisible signal, if you are using a diverging signal for the siding/spur and you want the aspect light to show for that siding/spur. I tried both mine and ones by TUME:

<kuid:439337:107796> SAP_US_Bumper_Rusty_1_PBR (build 4.7)
<kuid:439337:113835> SAP_US_Bumper_Rusty_2_PBR (build 4.7)
<kuid2:82412:23134:1> TUME-23134-Track-Bumper (build 3.6)
<kuid2:82412:23133:1> TUME-23133-Track-Bumper (build 3.6)
<kuid2:82412:23132:1> TUME-23132-Track-Bumper (build 3.6)

Why this is the case, I am not sure as the config.txt file is correct for these later items. Just another quirk in Trainz I guess.

Thanks again for your feedback!

Bob

 

[mtldrm38]

I only use the TTR trackends which are pretty realistic looking for the U.S. hayes bumper...

 

[martrain]

I am not sure I am following you here. Are you saying the overall appearance of the signal is not prototypical, or are you saying that the aspects are not correct for the diverging signal being shown in the screenshot for that situation?

Regarding U.S. signals, here is a quote from Wikipedia (emphasis on the no from me): "There is no national standard or system for railroad signaling in North America. Individual railroad corporations are free to devise their own signaling systems as long as they uphold some basic regulated safety requirements."

This quote comes from here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_railroad_signals

Prior to releasing these I did some checking/research and found that over the years there have been many, many different types of U.S. railroad signals in just about any kind of configuration and appearance you can imagine - and I saw some pretty weird ones. Today it's a lot more standardized than it was in the past. Given that I don't think these are too far beyond the pale at all considering many of the ones I saw online and they uphold the required Trainz aspect settings.

As for the overall appearance, it works for me and looks and functions pretty good I think. If folks don't agree, of course they are free to use other available signals on the DLS that meet there needs, to include your fine ones.

Bob

There is no national standard or system for railroad signaling in North America
__________________________________________________________________________________

_ Regarding signals, the claim that there are no rules in North America is false, at least for Canada.

Canadian railway signals must comply with Transport Canada regulations. Whether it's CN, CPKC, or other local railways, all must follow the same railway signalling rules across the country.

This rule follows the regulations of the CROR* Canada.

*Canadian Rail Operating Rules.

For signal definitions, please refer to Rules 401 to 440 in the Rules Book.

Canadian Rail Operating Rules

These rules prescribe operating requirements for employees involved in the movement of trains in Canada. In effect: October 1, 2022

tc.canada.ca

Happy reading.

 

[martrain]

Dude, in the first image those are two permissive intermediate signals, one for each track.
The other ones are two absolute signals, one for each track. Never is this a "diverging signal".

It's like talking to a brick. Here is a man unwilling to learn anything! good luck all.

I think maybe you just jumped to that conclusion. As an experienced creator, as you noted, I just wanted to know how these signals are supposed to work. I said they would make a good stand in for model rr signals. This means that I thought surely you had some kind of plan about how these function but I see you just wanted more content scraped from someplace else and any thoughts or ideas or comments that weren't just praise on them be dammed- and I don't really care anymore about it.

Myself and others have tried to offer help here or elsewhere but it is always met with if-you-don't-like-it-then-go-away attitude.
You consistently tell others who have not shoveled content onto the DLS like you have that they have no say.
You tell those who have more than 500 items on the DLS, 250 signals, and around 500 locomotives authored that they have no say.
That big DLS upload number doesn't at all mean you know what you are doing. I am done with this thread.

Here, in this game, there's one basic rule to follow.

Everyone can create things according to their needs and imagination. No creator is obligated to make a 100% prototype item.

Although for most operators, anything as close to a 100% prototype as possible is a plus. For me, it's essential.

For others, it's not.

It's like model trains. Some will want to create prototypes, others see it as less important. The idea is to run trains.

I think this applies just as much to the Trainz game.

Isn't it a kind of copy of model trains, actually?

I respect your opinions equally, everyone trying to promote their own approach to being a prototype... or less.

Besides, Canada (my country) has a slightly more sophisticated system for understanding the rules than the USA. Here, all railways must adhere to the same standard, governed by Transport Canada. In the USA, where you live, there are basic rules, but also rules added by the companies themselves. That's why various aspects can differ from one railway to another, including the appearance of the masts and the arrangement of the lights.

So... I really love your signals. Personally, I think they're the closest to the prototype signals.

Those presented by MSGSapper aren't prototypes, at least not in Canada! However, I respect his work in achieving his needs. He's free to create a model that suits him.

Like in model trains... His layout - His rules!!! LOL

Don't be offended. It's a game, after all.

As for me, your signals are fine. Only certain details are slightly different from those in Canada.

Well done, and keep up the good work.

The same goes for you as for Mr. MSGSapper.

 

[JCitron]

Here, in this game, there's one basic rule to follow.

Everyone can create things according to their needs and imagination. No creator is obligated to make a 100% prototype item.

Although for most operators, anything as close to a 100% prototype as possible is a plus. For me, it's essential.

For others, it's not.

It's like model trains. Some will want to create prototypes, others see it as less important. The idea is to run trains.

I think this applies just as much to the Trainz game.

Isn't it a kind of copy of model trains, actually?

I respect your opinions equally, everyone trying to promote their own approach to being a prototype... or less.

Besides, Canada (my country) has a slightly more sophisticated system for understanding the rules than the USA. Here, all railways must adhere to the same standard, governed by Transport Canada. In the USA, where you live, there are basic rules, but also rules added by the companies themselves. That's why various aspects can differ from one railway to another, including the appearance of the masts and the arrangement of the lights.

So... I really love your signals. Personally, I think they're the closest to the prototype signals.

Those presented by MSGSapper aren't prototypes, at least not in Canada! However, I respect his work in achieving his needs. He's free to create a model that suits him.

Like in model trains... His layout - His rules!!! LOL

Don't be offended. It's a game, after all.

As for me, your signals are fine. Only certain details are slightly different from those in Canada.

Well done, and keep up the good work.

The same goes for you as for Mr. MSGSapper.

In the US, it doesn't help that we have two different signaling system rulebooks and within these rulebooks are exceptions and customization depending upon the railroad. The northeast up to Chicago use NORAC while west of Chicago railroads use GCOR. Thrown in this is also your Canadian system and one found within greater Chicago.

While CSX and NS use NORAC for instance, their former railroads such as the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) and Wabash had their own spin on the same rules. This is the same for many short lines, regionals, and transit systems.

Railroad Signal Aspects from the Rulebooks

With Trainz being an international product, Auran developed a generic signaling system as a basis around which others could create custom signals.