Advice with train unloading in series.

[shelmak.gc@gmail.com]

Hi, I want to do something a bit strange with my train network but I cannot find a solution.

I want two trains to be able to stop in series and unload at the same time, for my train logistics I have named all stations with the same name and the trains are working using interrupts to select automatically these stations. If the train is full, an interrupt is triggered to send it to a "Iron Depot", this works pretty well when the tracks are in parallel as the train will select the next free station and go there.

Because of throughput issues, I am trying to use the same lane for two trains so when the first train is unloading, the second (the one who is waiting to deliver cargo on the first station) is also being unloaded.

I can't get it working, I've tried putting stop signals just before the train and new trains get there, but as that is not their final destination, the inserters/loaders just do not work (I tried both)
I also tried to wire the stations toguether so the second station is only active while there is a train ID on the first station.
Same happens if I set priority "50" for first station and "40" for the second. Still no luck with this, the train just waits there but cargo can't be unloaded.
The only thing that works is if I set the train to manual while it is there, then the loaders start to work and unload all the ore.

Any advice about how to do this? The system runs fine except for this little thing, because if the second train is emptied by hand it just goes to the first startion and leaves inmediatelly to get more ore.

11-09-2024, 00-09-18.png (2.23 MiB) Viewed 446 times

[Tertius]

How about just 1 train with 8 wagons? Or 2 trains with 4 wagons? Helps tremendously if you have throughput issues, because 1 big train is more efficient than 2 half trains.

[shelmak.gc@gmail.com]

How about just 1 train with 8 wagons? Or 2 trains with 4 wagons? Helps tremendously if you have throughput issues, because 1 big train is more efficient than 2 half trains.

Yeah, but had to redesign all my buffers on the mining stations, I wanted to avoid this as my train network has some problems with big trains causing deadlocks...
I "solved it" but I still hope this has another solution.

This is my new station, trains still wait on series, but I unload 4 trains at the same time now

11-09-2024, 02-21-05.png (1.84 MiB) Viewed 394 times

[astroshak]

Series stations with the same name wont work well. I’ve done train stops in series, and had it work well, but they were for different, and not-often-called-for trains.

There are two reasons for this, though they kind of overlap. When given the choice of multiple stations to go to with the same name, the train tries to go to the one the shortest distance away. Its not tiles, however the trains figure distance. This means that the trains will want to go to the first of the two (or more) series stations on the track. Second, once a train is at the first, it blocks another train’s access to the next one.

That second reason was why when I did it, the trains (a module delivery train and a garbage pickup train, IIRC) were not trains that were expected to be there simultaneously. Even if you name the train stops differently and assign different trains to the two stops (ore unload front, ore unload back, at a guess?) you would have to find a way to ensure that the trains assigned to “back” arrive before the ones assigned to “front”. And while it would be possible, the only way I can think of (only enable “front” when there is a read Train ID at “rear”) can potentially throttle your material intake at “front”.

While that sort of unloading idea is interesting, I dont think it would necessarily be worth the hassles.

[PssX]

I also tried to wire the stations together so the second station is only active while there is a train ID on the first station.

I tested like that:

Top station (from your screenshot): Read train id "T" -> Decider combinator: if "T" > 0 output "L" = 1 -> Bottom station: Set train limit to "L".

And it worked.