Navigation while driving

What is your method?

Plan ahead and write it down? Follow signs?
Follow on the fly using mini map?
Print the whole layout in several mini maps?

none of the above?

Please do tell...

A little bit of all of the above. The mini-map works as my dispatcher too when I'm avoiding traffic, checking signals, and setting routes. I wish that maybe some day we can put the mini-map on a separate monitor because that would be helpful in situations such as this as well as for creating driver sessions, and because we can then easily follow along the route and see where the track marks are as we build the driver command queue.

For actual driving, I qualify on the line first by riding with an AI driver a few times whose given the route to follow. These AI drivers will follow track marks and navigate to and drive to destinations and my job is to watch the speed signs, blow horns and ring the bell. After doing this a few times or sometimes longer, I know what to look for and then I can take the engineer's seat most of the time. The most difficult places to drive are in yards where there are lots of junctions to set. This is mostly due to the close proximity of junctions, making it difficult sometimes to select the right one. In places like this, I have often times let the driver take over. It's a lot saner that way.

Print the whole layout in several mini maps? I have a bunch of them to keep things going.

RJ Artim

I agree. Most of the time I see myself slowing down just to see ahead...afraid of busting the junction I need to turn. Sharing a MP session in the same train would also help. I don't know if this is possible.

My method depends on the route. I often will hit Pause, find where I'm going on the map, then return to Driving. I've only made (printed) maps for two routes... both being Philskene "looping" routes. And even then it turned out that had I really examined the layout closely I would have discovered that what was seemingly very complicated was actually a basic layout. So I'd have to say "All of the above." How I navigate is largely dependent on the speed at which things are coming....

I thought using Extended Interlocking Towers was supposed to be the answer to this problem.

Ken

You must study your entire route in surveyor, and place your own special notations of importance, on various signs, ie:

C+ SO Note (Scenery) White Nameable - by: itareus <KUID:243828:1945>

Instruction sign, 12 lines scripted - Willem2 - <KUID2:97008:29100:1>

ie: "Junction Zoo Interlocking-1 mile", or "SLOW DOWN-RED SIGNAL AHEAD"

There are many nameable milepost signs, and you can write them down in a Marble Notebook

A real engineer, and conductor, are trained by an elder engineer or foreman, and are taken for a instruction trip down entire the rail line, receiving verbal instructions from their elder experienced instructor, teacher. Only when they know the entire line by heart, and can predict each and every next location, milepost, industry spur, station, or signal, then and only then, are they officially "Certified" by the instructor or road foreman, to be able to drive on their own, down the line, from terminus to terminus.