ATLS vs TRC (for grade crossings) which one and why?

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frogpipe

Yesterdayz Trainz Member
ATLS vs TRC (for grade crossings) which one and why?

I've always used ATLS, but recently learned of (the new to me) TRC. I figure there must be a reason why TRC wa s created, so I'm curious what the advantage of TRC is?

Note: I am assuming TRC was created AFTER ATLS, since I had never heard of TRC before getting back into Trains after a 2 year or so long hiatus.
 
The ATLS crossings are still viable with multitudes of options. They have been updated to include some simpler assets to reduce the number required for each crossing.

The TRC crossings are very simple to use. The advantage is there's minimal programming and components, and no requirement needed for slaves and invisible track to wire things up/ There are some other options as well, but no other triggers are required like the ATLS crossings.

Hope this explains it in short.
 
The biggest advantage of TRC over ATLS is that with TRC, if a train stops after activating the crossing, but before crossing the crossing, the crossing deactivates, until the train starts moving towards the crossing again, which will cause the crossing to activate again. With ATLS, on the other hand, if the train stops before the crossing, but after activating the crossing, the crossing stays activated, until the train crosses all the triggers associated with the ATLS crossing.
 
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Isn't the "stays down until the train is gone, even if its stopped" (the way ATLS works) how actual gates work?
 
frogpipe said:
Isn't the "stays down until the train is gone, even if its stopped" (the way ATLS works) how actual gates work?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. However, I have seen trains sitting close to a railroad crossing and the gates are not activated. That is where TRC beats ATLS, even though there isn't as many TRC-compliant crossings as there is ATLS crossings.
 
frogpipe said:
Isn't the "stays down until the train is gone, even if its stopped" (the way ATLS works) how actual gates work?
Click to expand...
Mostly no. A few random cases of yes. The crossings near me will deactivate if the train stops short of fouling the road/rail after activating them. The yes is because when I travel, I occasionally get stuck at a crossing that stays active whether the train is moving or not. (I find these in the deep boonies though)
 
Which probably means thats how they *used* to work, and that crossings have gotten smarter over time.

That makes total sense actually. Its also a strike against TRC for *me* since I'm modeling circa 1950.

Still good to know. An earlier comment makes me think you can't use ATLS compatible gates - which is a pity because its the only type ive seen which has a "wig wag" type warning device.
 
frogpipe said:
Which probably means thats how they *used* to work, and that crossings have gotten smarter over time.

That makes total sense actually. Its also a strike against TRC for *me* since I'm modeling circa 1950.

Still good to know. An earlier comment makes me think you can't use ATLS compatible gates - which is a pity because its the only type ive seen which has a "wig wag" type warning device.
Click to expand...

Reggies Trainz has some TRC-compatible wig wags on their website, but they're payware, at $5.00. Link: https://www.reggiestrainz.com/product-page/magnetic-flagman-bundle
 
They do look nice! However I don't see any indication they are TRC (or ATLS compatible or anything really) scripts are mentioned but nothing else.
 
TRC gives you the option if you stop short of the crossing to either keep gates down or deactivate them. When you select the option to deactivate however, it will sense a speed decrease also so you have to be judicial in your usage.
 
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