why separate refuel stations

[vanatteveldt]

SmartTrains allows separate refuel stations, sending a train to refeul if fuel is low.

I also refuel trains in my main base, since the base needs coal anyway I just have a single coal belt running past all dropoff points, with a splitter and a single blue inserter:

Code: Select all

  
        |       coal line
       /|       splitter
       #v X     inserter, underground belt entrance for coal, rail station
===========   railway line (unloading directly on left)
        ^     underground belt exit
        |     coal line to next station

Is there a good reason (i.e. non-RP) for preferring separate fueling?

[ccik]

It can be usefull if some of your trains operate away from any fuel source.

I have my base split up into different bases, some for mining, some for smelting, etc... So some of these trains run only from the mines to my smelting outpost. In case of the Iron smelting, i don't have any fuel nearby, and instead of bringing coal or solid fuel in, i can just tell the train to go to a refuelling station in my main base.
But, if a have a fuel item already somewhere close to one of the regular stops of my trains, it does not make much sense to build seperate refuelling stations.