modular train

[Sneaker2]

This is more of an aesthetic idea.

I find it kind of strange that most of my trains have more units of engines than actual train cars. Not really an efficient way to transport stuff, yet I always need 2 engines to make a shuttle service possible but more than one freight car is only useful if u find a really big ore deposit (considering medium map settings). and yet I really like the speed of the trains so much, that I set up my own personal shuttle train, just 2 engines and some special tracks at every important station, so I have a fast way to anywhere.

So I was wonderung if the train parts could be split up into modules. like "standart frame", "engine-modul" and "cargo modul". It would be possible to place 2 modules on each "standart frame", so you can create a very small personal shuttle, avery strong one way locomotive, a very small one-way cargo train or a complete cargo car. it would be possible to choose the "power direction" of the "engine modul" on the "standart frame", so u can drive to both sides in automatic mode with just 1 "standart frame.

This could also open up some ways to embed "tank cars", "war module" "akkumulator cars" and so on. maybe "standart frame" + "storage tank" on the left side + "steel chest" on the right side would convert into a freight car with fluid storage on the left side and normal storage the right side.

Yet of course there are some problems with refuling a train, and trains of different lenghts, because in order to load and unload the right stuff, the network would need to know what kind of module it has in front of it, so it doesnt accidentally unload the fuel from the engine module. But i guess if this could get solved, there are some nice options available in the future.

How about that as an idea?

[ssilk]

This idea has been made times. Look into these threads:

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=30589 Factory Streets / Star Wars like robot factories / Frame Mounting / Modular Production
search.php?keywords=modular&t=17734&sf=msgonly New types of vehicles (train, tank, car, plane, ship...)

I added it to the vehicles-thread.