Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Smart setups of railway stations, intelligent routing, solutions to complex train-routing problems.
Please provide - only if it makes sense of course - a blueprint of your creation.
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Intangir_V
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Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by Intangir_V »

Intangir's Vanilla Train Network

I made a new train managing/routing network that utilizes a smart depo, a very carefully controlled release of just the necessary number of trains. It is intended to prevent trains from all rushing towards 1 station as it opens, and prevent trains from cluttering up the network and requiring stackers when waiting for a station.

The programming and design was influenced by Haphollas train network and Omnistop, but is drastically different from, and i think is better and easier to use than both now.

Features
  • No Mods needed
  • Easy Implementation (basic trains and circuits, and blueprints make it easy to use)
  • quick setup of new stations (just change a few things before connecting it)
  • supports many trains per resource
  • no stackers needed leading upto any stations
  • has a skip station to skip returning to depo with supply
  • Faster response than HTN and LTN because even on the demand side, trains are dispatched from the depo fully loaded
  • no routing stations needed along the route (like with omnistop), so trains can move full speed from depo to station and station to depo
  • no special track layout requirements
  • can have multiple depos far seperated across the network
  • auto recovers from MOST sync/state issues, and can operate fine out of sync most of the time too
  • Two variations of depo lanes, you can use thinner lane if you want to cram them closer together, or thicker lane if you need more space in between
Limitations
  • Having VERY large depos AND multiple depos AND many trains of the same commodity can increase the chance of two trains going out on the same signal and a state desync between depos/network (very rare)
  • Each train needs to be dedicated to a specific resource (no shared trains like omnistop can do)
  • needs a depo lane for every train, the depo essentially becomes the global stacker for all trains
  • If you don't fully setup the a station name, the station signal, and the train itself correctly it will lead to very confusing state issues
  • The network requires both green and red wires connecting all supply/request stations and depos
Blueprints:

Also available on factorioprints: https://factorioprints.com/view/-LpyJCHt58gu5__MLNZ4

How to video Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz1pv4YnFM8

Depo Computer and Depo Lanes (thin and thick):
ImageImageImage

Request Station
Image

Supply Station:
Image
Last edited by Intangir_V on Wed Oct 02, 2019 9:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

foamy
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Re: Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by foamy »

Your description sounds very interesting. Can you provide an overview of how it works? I've been trying to work out a solution to this same spec and running face first into timing and bandwidth issues.

Intangir_V
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Re: Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by Intangir_V »

i think i go into detail of the workings in my work in progress video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhba287opPo

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Re: Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by wobbycarly »

I wanted to build just such a thing but got tangled up... As soon as I get Factorio loaded up at home, I'm going to look at this with great interest! Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by randy00714 »

nice and easy! I use it on Nauvis Post Apocalypse scenario

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Re: Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by krag123 »

As someone who is just awful at using combinators and building smart train networks I would say that this setup was amazing. It took me an hour or two to figure out the few things I did wrong, but this network is amazingly simple to use and adjust to my needs.

Amazing work, thank you for providing the blueprints for this setup.

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Re: Intangir's Vanilla Train Network (w/ smart depo) v0.9

Post by noclaf »

Hello folks. I have a problem and I don't know what I have done wrong. :? For unload the trains are leaving ok. But for load they leave only once, when I plug in new station of the correct type. I rebuilded depo and stations to ensure all wires are in place as in blueprint...but still the same.
You can see, iron ore and coal available, but the iron train sitting in the station. :x
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EDIT :
When I unplug the red wire from the depot and reconnect, then the 1 train for iron ore will make as many load rounds as there are red iron ore signals when reconnected.
I.e. :
#1
I have station 1 and station 2 both full of iron ore (iron ore present in the station is more than 3 train loads). S1 is closer to the depot.
Reconnected.
Train loads in S1 -> Depot -> unloads -> Depot -> loads in S1 -> Depot -> unloads -> Depot.....
#2
I deleted S2 and I have only S1
Reconnected.
Train loads in S1 -> Depot -> unloads -> Depot...

I also tried resetting the computer by unplugging all the red wires from the corner combinator (as per the video).
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EDIT 2
It's working. But it would be extremely useful to know what happened and how to prevent it.
I dismantled trains, depo comp and depots.
Disconnected all stops from network.
Computer built
Depots built
I renamed one commodity stations back to FISH, created train, connected stops to network and renamed the stops as a final step.

Now the trains are rotating properly, but I'm extremely anxious if there is some (in)correct build order that ends up with the isues I had previously. :?:
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EDIT 3
Run into another sync issues. This time it was enough to dismantle the depot, build it again and connect. It happened while building a new smelting area for copper - the copper ore train (and stations) was the first on the map, while the coal train and stations were already existing before I added the new Coal - Request station. Copper ore train was running fine, but the existing coal train was out of sync. So it seems the issue is related to making a copy of already existing train stop.
The question being - when adding a station for which there already is a scheduled train - what is the correct approach?

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