Loading Long Coal Trains??

boleyd

Well-known member
A coal train with 25 cars arrives at a tipple. The basic industry track takes control. The train then proceeds through the tipple and only the first 7 cars are loaded. The remainder go through but no coal is deposited. I assume that the tipple exhausted its storage of coal. My question then becomes what is the process to build a long train of loaded coal cars. One tactic may be to send out one or more short coal trains, return to the yard and added each train of loaded cars to the existing long train. Then deliver the coal. That is only a guess. In the real world how would a 50 car train be assembled fully loaded with coal?
 
While editing your session, go to the coal mine and use the under the building objects and change the amount of coal the mine has.

RJ Artim
 
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Just to add to what RJArtim suggested.

If you are using a coal tipple with its own interactive capabilities and you want to keep it because of the way it looks:

Disconnect the tipple from the track and temporarily move it out of the way a few yards (meters?).
Now you have two unconnected sections of track.
Insert a Mutliple Utility track like Mult Ind str l=10m EN KUID 2:102376:63031:4
Set it up with massive amount of coal
Connect your track to the MU.
Connect and then delete a section of invisible track to the Coal Tipple to "hide" its section of track.
Move the Coal Tipple back over the MU.

You won't get the effect of seeing the tipple's chutes operate, but the MU will show each car being loaded.


Real world? If you have to space, set up another/other mine(s) further down the line.
 
Hi Dick

It all depends on whether you are trying to operate the coal train realistically or not. If not then I would ramp up production at the coal tipple so that it keeps the tipple full all of the time. You can then load as many wagons you want at a time without running out of coal.

On the other hand if you want more realism then have a look at this thread https://forums.auran.com/trainz/sho...master-web-site-now-open&highlight=shedmaster

When set up correctly Shedmaster will monitor the coal mine queue (or that of almost any other industry) and only send for a train to come and load or unload when the queue reaches a certain level i.e. when there is sufficient coal to load or enough room to empty all of the train. This is much more realistic as the freight trains are only called to run when there is a load available for them. The industries control the operations on the railway, much as in real life. It's a steep learning curve but is well worth it for the realistic operations that are possible.

Regards

Brian
 
You might want to also check the config file to see how much coal each car is supposed to load. Sometimes, content creators specify an unrealistic and enormous amount of coal for the cars (wagons) and when this happens, the cars unload the mines very quickly and cars stop showing loads.

Also, you can also specify a very low (but also unrealistic) load amount for the cars in the config so that very very long trains can and will show all loaded cars.
 
For now I have adopted the brute force of overloading the tipple. I have tried to learn the Shedmaster but I did not have a reason at the time, beyond curiosity which was not enough. I may revisit now that I have switched from beautification to creating a functioning railroad. It is interesting that with few cars the tipple loads them individually, but with a modest amount they load two at a time and a larger consist is three at a time. Real, but less boring. Ah 5 years from now you will buy a kit of four lasers and arrange them to project the "game" into a virtual reality space. Stand to close to the virtual train and you get hit by virtual coal spilling from the loading train. Just do not look down the lens of the laser.....

I am using the older East Kentucky that I have running quite well (within reason) in TANE SP3. It is big but with an emphasis on coal which is in a mine directly beneath my house (not active). Unfortunately Westmoreland Coal Co. owns the mineral rights. I need to get a lamp, some calcium carbide and find the entrance.
 
You might want to also check the config file to see how much coal each car is supposed to load. Sometimes, content creators specify an unrealistic and enormous amount of coal for the cars (wagons) and when this happens, the cars unload the mines very quickly and cars stop showing loads.

Also, you can also specify a very low (but also unrealistic) load amount for the cars in the config so that very very long trains can and will show all loaded cars.

I have tried various load amounts and the cars display a corresponding level of coal in the car. I am sing SECx 4bay cars. I could go to gondolas. Since I like to see the cars visually with full loads the gondolas would put less "strain" on the mine, possibly leading to work actions! Does TANE have picket signs?
 
I like to use FG MovLoad Coal(5 mph) by felix_g. If your mine is connected to track, undo it. Place the FG loader where the mine would normally do the loading. Connect your track to each end of it. In your session set amounts at 500000 each and you should be good to go? Your old mine is just there as eye candy. The bonus of using the FG Loaders is they have smoke(dust) effect. I use these for 100 plus cars at a time.
Dean
 
I like to use FG MovLoad Coal(5 mph) by felix_g. If your mine is connected to track, undo it. Place the FG loader where the mine would normally do the loading. Connect your track to each end of it. In your session set amounts at 500000 each and you should be good to go? Your old mine is just there as eye candy. The bonus of using the FG Loaders is they have smoke(dust) effect. I use these for 100 plus cars at a time.
Dean
I have used this on super freights as long a 6 miles. Takes a bit of time to actually load, but the whole show is flawless.
 
I like to use FG MovLoad Coal(5 mph) by felix_g. If your mine is connected to track, undo it. Place the FG loader where the mine would normally do the loading. Connect your track to each end of it. In your session set amounts at 500000 each and you should be good to go? Your old mine is just there as eye candy. The bonus of using the FG Loaders is they have smoke(dust) effect. I use these for 100 plus cars at a time.
Dean

I have to give these a try too. I have a couple of mines that will load up ancient hoppers fine, but anything modern, such as the 100 Ton hoppers will eat up the mine's daily output in three hoppers. It's not as though I want to load 100-car coal consists, but I do want to handle more than three.
 
What I do for really long trains is to place another load track just past the mine tipple. This is like a topup loader, as used at many mines.
One thing with increasing the amount at the tipple, is to not put maximum amounts in the settings. This causes a lag in how often the mine produces.
Cheers,
Mike
 
FG MovLoad Coal(5 mph)

This loader is used in Coal Country. Tried it but did not activate the tipple . I didn't realize that the loader and the tipple no longer interacted. Not a big deal since the dust show is well done.
 
Three of my favorite mine tipples are from JR.

Mine tipple Summerlee,
Mine tipple Whipple,
Mine tipple Diamond River.

All three build the same with different skin.

They have two animated loading bays.

When adjusting the amount of coal producing to the maximum I can load trains without any limit.
I have 4 coal trains with 15 cars each.
The tipple can handle two trains at the same time.
While loading the speed of the trains is 1 or 2 km/h.
Very slow, like it should be.
Time between loading is around 10 minutes.
The unloading takes the same time at 1 to 2 km/h.

So when the coal producing is at max and the consuming of the powerplant is too, the trains will keep doing their job for hours.

Realistic? Maybe not.
Fun? Yes! Good for a lot of action!

 
Yes, the balance between real and boring. And, that may be different depending own your mood that day. Maybe I need some 5 car tipples - slow and real, plus some faster processing 25 car loading with a cloud of dust and move on. Old TV Program " cloud of dust, and a hearty "Hi-yo, Silver".
 
I like to use FG MovLoad Coal(5 mph) by felix_g. If your mine is connected to track, undo it. Place the FG loader where the mine would normally do the loading. Connect your track to each end of it. In your session set amounts at 500000 each and you should be good to go? Your old mine is just there as eye candy. The bonus of using the FG Loaders is they have smoke(dust) effect. I use these for 100 plus cars at a time.
Dean
I gave this a try with a mixed-car freight and four different hoppers. Pfx Animation is 'ON'. The train DrivesTo it. The Load ICon gets activated. The train slows to 7 mph and drives past the FG. No loading, no dust,nothing. I tried it with just hoppers, same thing.

TANE 94916


Maybe what I'm missing relates to "In your session set amounts at 500000 each". What amounts?
 
In surveyor(session) click on the objects tab, click on the properties button(?) and then click on the loader and you should see the values. In a session pick the mine under driver commands(I believe it is navigate to, the top choice normally?) and add load after.
Dean
 
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Using FG MovLoad and an 8 car train Navigate to FG MovLoad. Unload. Train passes over the Loader and nothing loads. However, when the last car passes the Loader it is loaded. And, magically, the first three cars , long past the Loader, also load.

I think I will just wait for TS19. Thanks for all the help....
 
Whenever I'm trying something new I usually use a route for setting things up. A baseboard or two that's blank. That way I'm not distracted by other things going on? One thing I've found is you have to watch where any type of speed limit is. I will use a 05 mph ahead of the loader(although I don't think it's critical), but what is critical is that there can't be another speed sign(higher than 5 mph) where the back end of the consist will hit before loading is completed. Also if there switches or signals after the loader where the train will have to stop before loading is complete it could disrupt loading.
Dean
 
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I have done the baseboard only with similar results. I am consistently seinge the last car of an 8 car string filled with a "cloud of dust". I removed that car and no cars are filled. I have a mine with FG MOV working so it is not the base nor the type track and particular cars. I have other things to do and spending anymore time is not in my best interests.

Thanks all for their interest. We will see what TS19 brings since it is "built on TANE". Off to work on some software to control one of my radio transmitters.
 
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