Tracklaying and Repair on Cloned Routes: Questions, Strategies, Examples

RPearson said:

I turn this "feature" off since I use switch machines that have right and left side versions on my NG routes. I try to have the indictor on the driver side unless the track work doesn't permit it. And I have to consider right and left divergent turnouts. One size doesn't fit all cases with these switch machines. So I always add them manually. I usually get it right with the 2nd try. I mean there's only 2 choices. But if I haven't figured it out by the 3rd attempt it's time to get up and take a break.

Bob Pearson

Click to expand...

I've tried the manual approach myself, but I prefer let the program place my junctions for me then I bulk update them to what I want. Usually they manage to fall on the right side, but not always. As you duly noted, it's a 50% possibility of getting it right the first time.

At the moment, I am rebuilding an ancient route, actually part of a route I built back in 2005 or so. This was an "updated" version of an earlier route. For some reason, this version is missing junction levers when I updated it. It's not a '19 thing because I had brought the route into T:ANE originally and the problem exists there as well. Since there are no junction levers, I've been busily adding junctions and adjusting track to update the route to current standards. The process isn't quite as fast for me because I find myself forgetting to add in the junction levers and having to go back to them afterwards. This I know will bite me later because I'll forget them. With that said, I suppose if I got used to adding the junctions manually all along, I would automatically add in my junctions manually and not have to think of it.

I agree to each his own.

PBR textures near track can cause issues. While it is pretty PBR can really make some track a pain to level without incursions of land on top of the track. Fortunately Tony, and his crew made trains strong enough to plow through them, and mountains.

boleyd said:

PBR textures near track can cause issues. While it is pretty PBR can really make some track a pain to level without incursions of land on top of the track. Fortunately Tony, and his crew made trains strong enough to plow through them, and mountains.

Click to expand...

I agree the PBR textures are looking better and better, but I still don't like the jellyfish guts on the edges of cliffs and slopes.

Still a bit confused

JCitron said:

When you add tracks, a junction lever is usually added automatically. Each junction is then given a number so it can be found on the map. You can rename a junction to anything you want by clicking on the ? in the track-objects menu, and then clicking on the junction. With the little panel open, you can rename it by clicking in the name field.

Sometimes, it's not as bad as it used to be, junctions somehow don't get their junction lever. In this case, you can add one from the track-objects menu. They have various names such as switch machine, switch lever, etc., You can also use this to replace the red-stick levers put in by default to something you like by using this in conjunction with the bulk update/replace/delete tool.

You can end up with missing levers by deleting them by accident. I've done this and then not noticed afterwards. Grr!

Another case of junction missing a lever is the lever isn't missing, but during editing the track was stretched and the lever is now too far from the track spline point to work properly. Using the track-objects menu, you can slide the junction lever back in place and that fixes the problem. I most case, the faulty junction is all read instead of having both red and green arrows.

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I tried:

" Using the track-objects menu, you can slide the junction lever back in place and that fixes the problem "

and I was able to move the red/green arrows up and down the track. Does that mean the the red/green arrows = the junction lever? But I only see them where there is a switch ( turnout ) but in this other statement:

"When you add tracks, a junction lever is usually added automatically"

which seems to imply that there should be a junction lever every place where there is a dashed circle where sections of track are connected.

If one moves the red/green arrows is it safe to say that the proper positioning is when the arrows are in the exact center of the dashed circle?

I also looked for this:

"I most case, the faulty junction is all read instead of having both red and green arrows"

but did not see any in the area where the problem was supposed to be and re-adjusting the position of the arrows didn't solve my problem.

Thanks

Willy

To clarify...

When you add in a siding or diverging line, the junction levers should appear automatically. There is a setting to turn that off if you wish. There are cases, since the beginning of Trainz time, where removing track or fiddling with the tracks in that area with junctions, can cause the levers to disappear. This causes problems later on when you assume there's a lever there and there's not. The only time you find out there's no lever there, is when you or the AI are driving. You'll end up finding out the hard way when you drop to the ground unexpectedly, and your AI will complain.

Yes you can slide the levers. They will retain their red and green arrows up to a point, within a certain radius. If they get too far away, they'll turn red and this is the same if the track is broken.

All in all, placing junctions (switches) is pretty easy in Trainz unlike other programs which rely strictly on fixed shapes. In Trainz we can more or less place switches with nearly any radius, however, the newer track standards are more strict than they were in the past. This has its advantages because the tighter standards make for better track.

If you are having trouble creating switches, please provide details and we can help you.

Finding and fixing on an existing route

JCitron said:

To clarify...

When you add in a siding or diverging line, the junction levers should appear automatically. There is a setting to turn that off if you wish. There are cases, since the beginning of Trainz time, where removing track or fiddling with the tracks in that area with junctions, can cause the levers to disappear. This causes problems later on when you assume there's a lever there and there's not. The only time you find out there's no lever there, is when you or the AI are driving. You'll end up finding out the hard way when you drop to the ground unexpectedly, and your AI will complain.

Yes you can slide the levers. They will retain their red and green arrows up to a point, within a certain radius. If they get too far away, they'll turn red and this is the same if the track is broken.

All in all, placing junctions (switches) is pretty easy in Trainz unlike other programs which rely strictly on fixed shapes. In Trainz we can more or less place switches with nearly any radius, however, the newer track standards are more strict than they were in the past. This has its advantages because the tighter standards make for better track.

If you are having trouble creating switches, please provide details and we can help you.

Click to expand...

I'm not trying to create a switch, I'm trying to locate and fix a missing junction lever.

I've had the problem that AI cannot create a path past a missing lever but I didn't know that:

" The only time you find out there's no lever there, is when ......................... are driving. You'll end up finding out the hard way when you drop to the ground unexpectedly "

So, to find the exact location of a missing lever, I can drive through the area and my engine will wreck just because there is no lever at a switch???? The route in question seems to have " invisible " junction levers.

Thanks

Willy

WildWillyWacko said:

I'm not trying to create a switch, I'm trying to locate and fix a missing junction lever.

I've had the problem that AI cannot create a path past a missing lever but I didn't know that:

" The only time you find out there's no lever there, is when ......................... are driving. You'll end up finding out the hard way when you drop to the ground unexpectedly "

So, to find the exact location of a missing lever, I can drive through the area and my engine will wreck just because there is no lever at a switch???? The route in question seems to have " invisible " junction levers.

Thanks

Willy

Click to expand...

To find the missing lever, use CTRL+F and type in the junction name. Junction 12345, for example.

What this will do is bring you to that junction where you can troubleshoot from there.

Is this your own route, or is it one you downloaded?

If you have worked on the route in a Session and not in the Route, this can cause weird behavior like this. I untangled an awful mess for someone and that process took well over 10 hours on his massive route.

This doesn't answer my question.

JCitron said:

To find the missing lever, use CTRL+F and type in the junction name. Junction 12345, for example.

What this will do is bring you to that junction where you can troubleshoot from there.

Is this your own route, or is it one you downloaded?

If you have worked on the route in a Session and not in the Route, this can cause weird behavior like this. I untangled an awful mess for someone and that process took well over 10 hours on his massive route.

Click to expand...

When the AI says it can't plot a path because there is a missing junction lever beyond junction xxx , may I assume that the lever must be missing at the next junction yyy because if it is not the next then why did it not tell me that it can't plot a path because the missing junction lever is past yyy ?

The route seems to have " invisible " levers.

I see red and green arrows and no " all red condition" at junctions past junction xxx in all directions.

I already know how to find junction xxx but I can't identify the junction that is missing the lever because they are all invisible.

It is the trouble shooting that I don't understand.

Also I asked " does the presence of the red and green arrows mean that there is a lever present?

Thanks

Willy

Made some progress !

I took a break from Trainz for a while since I could not resolve my problem and then I came back and found these two recently resurected threads:

https://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?107791-Error-message-Junction-is-missing-lever

https://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?135103-Unable-to-Plot-due-to-Junction-Lever-Missing

Maybe it was just a difference in explaining things or the additional suggestion that a gap in the blue lines showing a possible missing section of track or a junction not connected properly but it inspired me to start trouble shooting again.

I started at a coalmine where I knew that one of the tracks leading to a tipple bay was causing derailments and when I looked at that spot in Surveyor, I could see the rails did not line-up at a junction and the dashed circle was a different color than the rest so I got a track tool and moved the end of the incomeing track and the junction snapped into place and the circle became white like the others in that row.

Then I went looking for the missing Junction Lever again and far away from the junction that the game said the problem was beyond, and many junctions away, I found another circle that was the odd color and I played with that and it seemed to fix my missing lever problem but it was a junction on a streight section not at a turn-out.

The route seems to have a lot of problems like:

Blue lines that don't cross rivers and there is no track visible and yet a train will cross

No track visible over rivers where there is a blue line in the map

There seems to be missing bridge assets but when I try to get them from DLS I'm told they are " unknown ". I could live without the visuals and the trains still run over some rivers but I don't know if any are causing AI paths not to form. With the instruction to look for gaps in the blue lines on the map as a problem I'm baffled as to why the trains run over any of them.

Wild Willy the Wacko