Need Rail Signal Help...All Trains Freezing Up

[cmclark]

See attached save file.

I have a two-lane rail system that splits off for pick-ups and drop-offs. I might be doing something wrong with some of the drop-offs because it will go one-way in and split to allow multiple trains to drop off resources at the same time before jumping back onto the main line. I've been tinkering with the signals to try to get it working and I'm totally stumped. I'll see what appears to be completely open blocks ahead of a red signal but it won't change to green. The end result is some intersections that get a lot of traffic all get stuck on red with no one apparent line green to get things moving again.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Some of the rail signaling just doesn't make sense to me even after practicing and watching videos/reading tutorials.

[Loewchen]

You did not do any signaling, the whole main line around the stations is one giant block.

[cmclark]

Yeah that's after I kept deleting it and starting over. I've probably gone through 10 renditions trying to get it to work.

Could I get some help seeing how it should be setup so I can learn from that?

Attached is a version with signals.

[mmmPI]

Could I get some help seeing how it should be setup so I can learn from that?

It's not possible to fix everything though. It's like a compilation of things that could go wrong, i'm sorry to say.

One thing i would recommend is starting with small scale system, just to try things out and then copy a system that worked at small scale.

Such places are difficult to signal because to do it one need to have an intent of where the trains are allowed to go/stay , it's difficult to learn or debug those no wonder you have trouble :

example.png (2.05 MiB) Viewed 814 times

There are segments of rails where there is not enough room to fit a train so for safety it forces harder questionning before placing signals, if i'm joining someone's server and being asked for help i would do this :

example2.png (1.91 MiB) Viewed 814 times

It's not perfect though, but there are regular signal supposedly only before blocks that are the size of at least 1 train, otherwise it's using chain signal, and it cuts blocks almost in sensible locations, there was a place where given how the rails are layout, a signal couldn't be placed , so i added extra chain signal compared to strict necessary, that's not "bad" or "broken" just suboptimal, to make it more obvious where you can cut blocks, it's ok to have "too small" blocks, as long as you use chain signal.

[cmclark]

Thanks for the help, this makes a lot of sense, especially seeing what you did in context.
I agree with you it got a little cramped in that area which is a bit of a mistake, I might try to migrate the copper dropoff since that seems to have been a large source of confusion for the trains.
Everything was working really well for a long time until I added a couple of extra trains going through there and I guess the traffic locked up the system.
I'll try it out and get back with some results, thanks!

EDIT: I went thorough with my chain signals and they got everything moving. Some of the trains are getting stopped momentarily at spots which is like you said, suboptimal but I have everything moving now instead of being locked in place. I'm attaching the new save. Thanks again!

[astroshak]

I’d advise either making yourself, or looking for online, rail piece blueprints. Obviously homemade is better, but if you don’t get signals then store bought would work just as well.

What you would be looking for (or making) would be Straight, 90 Turn, Tee, Crossing, and optionally Station Off Ramp and Station On Ramp. Note that these are more descriptive than actual names. Two track, at least 3 rail tile spacing, and proper signaling. These pieces can then be connected to form pretty much any rail network you want to make, either planned out or grown organically.

When 2.0 hits you would need to redo the blueprints; hopefully between now and then you get a good grasp on signals.

[cmclark]

Good to know, I haven't been using blueprints for rails since the main junctions are quite simple but not a bad idea. They can be tedious. The good news is all of the practice has really helped and I'm finally starting to understand how these signals really operate!

[mmmPI]

One thing about blueprinting your own design is that you know why they work and how to plug them together or add or change a piece when needed. Because when you start to understand the signals, you can lay out your rails to leave room for signals, and make the signaling easier for yourself, make only situations where you know how to signal for sure and keep the experiment for the non busy areas

Even if you really understand signals, there will be sometimes one signal is overlooked, forgotten, or sometimes it's just a gosth of a signal, and you don't realize but then it's quick to identify the problem. It's rewarding to do the effort to understand them because then it's somewhat automatic, you don't have places where you wonder if this is an area where train could wait, or shouldn't, signaling goes fast, you can experiment with bi-directionnal trains or tracks to make it faster to start using trains or require less footprint on the map, or just because it look nice