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Could someone explain how to put in signals and how they are linked to the tracks. I'm having a little problem figuring it out.You may all think that I'm insane but I started one more time to create the FAMOUS or should I say the INFAMOUS MBTA route. Tracks are laid from Boston to Ruggles and I havn't, (KNOCK ON WOOD), any problems so far. I'm just trying to figure out this signalling whatchamcallit thingamajig.Joe simerjoe@verizon.netPS Screen shots are in the near future. Wish me luck.
RE: How to use signals, Vince, Aug-09-04, 00:47 AM, (1) RE: How to use signals, sniper297, Aug-09-04, 04:43 PM, (2) RE: How to use signals, CGW409, Aug-09-04, 05:42 PM, (4) RE: How to use signals, Signalmaster, Aug-09-04, 07:16 PM, (5) RE: How to use signals, CGW409, Aug-09-04, 05:39 PM, (3) RE: How to use signals, Simerjoe, Aug-10-04, 04:44 PM, (6) RE: How to use signals, CGW409, Aug-10-04, 05:19 PM, (7) RE: How to use signals, Swissie, Aug-10-04, 05:38 PM, (8)
1. Place the signal between the two rails of a track section. 2. Press F4 and then use the numeric pad 4 or 6 key to rotate the signal so it faces in the direction you want. 3. Press F3 and then use the numeric pad 2,4,6 or 8 keys to slide the signal mast to the location you want next to or above the track. Or you can press F3 and drag the signal mast (or head) using the mouse. Holding the 'H' key while dragging will keep the signal mast (or head) at ground level. 4. Now, while the signal is still selected (wireframe) right click anywhere in the RE window and bring up the signal properties dialog. This is where you will link the signal to a divirging route (switch). 5. Follow the illustrated tutorial that SNIPER posted in answer to your question of a few days ago about linking signals.http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/12304.html#6******WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING******* You say:"Tracks are laid from Boston to Ruggles and I havn't, (KNOCK ON WOOD), any problems so far."Joe, if you are still laying track and are installing signals your route is headed for the toilet, down the tubes and into the cesspool.If with all the trouble you have had over the past three years you have not yet purchased Michael Vone's Guide to Routebuilding I don't see much hope of you ever completing a route. I'm sorry to be so blunt and tactless here but I have followed your posts from way back when and see you always getting into trouble and having to re-invent the wheel every time with basic no-no's (like installing track objects before completing trackwork).
Get the Guide (it's a PDF file), burn it on a CD then take the CD with the PDF file to a Kinkos or the like and have them print it out and put it in a binder. You won't be sorry and it will save you hours of frustration which I see is no stranger to you. I wish you joy.
Regards, Vince Cockeram NEC Track Team Author: NECv4 Route
"You may all think that I'm insane", anybody in this forum is by definition insane, since any sane person would get the hell out of the ring after going one round with the route editor.This is a hard question to answer. I normally recommend Mike Vone's step-by-step guide, and even for old salts it has some tips and tricks and useful references. Problem is he only lightly touches on signals. Bob Siederer did a tutorial, sigdoc_01.zip in the file library. That also covers some basics.The problem is the catch-22, AI traffic is affected by signals, signals are affected by the paths. So "how do I set up signals" depends on what you want them to do, simple activities with no AI traffic don't need signals, AI traffic running on parallel tracks that never cross the player path only need signals if they're intended to follow each other closely. How far apart should the signals be? Depends again, low speed freight route or high speed passenger, or a mix? Planning to do activities like the Cutbank Local? Signals are mostly decorative there, the AI train will clear the junction long before the player can get there to cause a collision.If you plan to have two-way AI traffic with player interaction, then you got a job ahead of you, lots of linked interlockings and then screwing around with timing and double reverse points in the activity editor. Further complication, how the signals are set up also depends on the track configuration, really complex junctions call for a completely different setup than the standard merge-diverge.And I do wish you luck, Joe, I spent six months figuring out how to get the godforsaken things to do what I wanted;http://www.train-sim.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2386&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes 1 http://www.train-sim.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2444&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes 2 http://www.train-sim.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2595&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes 3 http://www.train-sim.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=2670&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes 4http://www.train-sim.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=3073&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes signal ramblings http://www.train-sim.com/cgi/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=3909&forum=DCForumID6&archive=yes silly sig tutorialAltho my job was harder than the norm, since I was trying to get them to do what they weren't designed to do, namely let the player drive wherever he wants in an activity without following the Holy Path. If you're just trying to set something up for traditional activities it should be a lot easier. See if you can break it down to exactly what you want to do, and exactly what trouble you're having getting it to do that.
Sniper Maybe you can help me with this one. I'm at the signaling stage on the CA&E and using Xtracks, is there any way to make the interlocking signals work for two seperate rail lines that cross at grade or is that one of those things KUJU didn't figure on in the game engine?Gary S
42 year old future curmudgen(Hey you kids get offa my lawn!!)
XTracks crossings at grade work with signals just like switches. Traffic cleared on one leg will halt traffic on the other leg. It's neat to "stand trackside" and watch that interaction with two trains.There is a warning; TDB rebuilds sometimes dump the x-over markers and you may have to go back and select the section to enter it back into the TDB.Regards, Hank
Joe We all ready know you're crazy,you're messing with the route editor welcome to the crazy club Let me reiterate what Vince said, the one almost 100% surefire way to FUBAR all your hard work is to install signals(or any other interactive item, crossing signals,siding/station makers,basically anything that puts one of those pyramid deallies in the track)while laying track,finish track then signal.Another thing that'll save your rear is backup files, what I do is for example I finish my work for the night and I haven't done a backup in a day or two(if you've gotten a lot done,back up)I'll make a backup (ex) CAE 8904 now you've got backup #1 test your handy work, No probs? great. Now lets say you've done a lot of work make a backup CAE81004, you want at least two(sometimes 3) backups, why? I've actually had something go horribly wrong where for no apparent reason all the work I did in backup #2 went blooey on me and I had to fall back to backup #1, granted I lost a day or two worth of work but that's better than loosing months or years every so often burn one of those backups to CD that way you've always got some point of the route you know is good so you're not back at square 1.Gary S
42 year old future curmudgen(Hey you kids get offa my lawn!!)
Well, I'm taking your advice on putting in signals before track is all laid. I had 5 signals put in so I deleted them. Thanks for the support and advice. When you mention other interactive things, does that also mean Station Platforms?Joe
Hi Joe,yes - any interactive object is defined in relation to the switch node from which the section of track it sits on starts. Regardles of what kind of interactive object you talk, its information is always stored in the .w file and in the .tdb and .tit files, each need to be 100% in synch, or else troubles start.Basically, the safe way is to build bare tracks and roads without any interactive objects on them (platforms, signals, grade crossings, sound regions, mileposts, carspawners, speed limits etc.) first. Once the trackwork is done, you install all interactive objects.If you are not 110% familiar with how exactly the RE references these objects, this is the only way to do it.On the other hand, it is feasible, but definitely not advisable, to do changes to the track layout very very cautiously with interactive objects already present. The one thing to observe is that you do not touch any piece of dynamic track nor any switch or x-over section of track when any interactive object is on either section of track (the entire stretch of track extending either side all the way to the next node, i.e. red pole at the point of a switch). As little as accidentally selecting such a piece of track in the RE may cause the RE to alter the section ID, and - ka-blouie - the references of all the interactive objects are courrupt. When you want to save, you get the dreaded list of unknown items no longer properly referenced due to alterations to the track database, and no chance to fix them but to exit the RE without saving anything... Or in less technical terms: If you have a route with interactive objects already on it, it you can at the most dare to add new track "outwards", for example extend a spur or the mainline. But you cannot make any changes inwards before you have not made sure that all interactive objects are gone on the section you work on. Any. On the entire section. And on all neighbouring sections - just to be safe.So I repeat my advice: Put up all the track first, then do the signals.Lukas a.k.a Swissie