Your explanation of how signals cut the track into "sections" is what really made it click for me. From one signal to another is a stretch of track that only one train is allowed to occupy--THAT is what kept giving me trouble in the past, and what I totally wasn't understanding until I found this video!
I like using one-way only signals on my double track so I can be sure that trains always run on the right-hand side track. That way I can easily keep all traffic moving in the same way which is really useful when later in the game and you have LOTS of train lines all merging and splitting and going in different directions. Two-way signals are useful for loops coming out/in from depots as it lets trains move both ways on a single line in that case where there is not much traffic expected.
@@browl218 one-way makes it so that the train only can go into the direction of the arrow. In this video, the cargo track he put down is a two-way. If he were to make it a one-way, the train wouldn't have a way back. He'd have to put down another track going the opposite direction.
i finally found a tutorial my 1-iq brain can comprehend. I'd watched and read a number of others, but for some reason this one finally clicked and I'm figuring signals out. Within about 30 minuets of watching this I set up a 4-train line connecting construction materials to a town. Already subbed for your other stuff, but thanks a ton!
Hi, I don't think you can assign priority with these signals. You are right if both trains approach at same time, the passenger will have priority in your example. But in the (equally as likely) scenario where the passenger train is behind your lower signal and approaching it, it will be forced to stop and wait needlessly (in terms of the track ahead to junction is clear) if the cargo is already crossing - so all things equal you are not gaining anything and you may as well place the signals right next to the junction for the passenger train as well.
The best way is to have a ratio of the sections of track (between signals), as you have trains on said route. For example, if i have a double-tracked route going from an Oil Well to a Refinery, with two trains on it. Then i actually only want TWO sections of track, one going "up" to the refinery, and one going "down" to the oil well. So only one signal at each station. Because this means that the trains will automatically space themselves out so they are at exactly opposite ends when they get the green signal. If i have FOUR trains, then i want FOUR sections of track. So same as above, but with 2 signals on both double-tracks, in the exact middle of the route. This because that means my second full load of oil will space itself out half-length away from the first full load just as it got done delivering. You can fiddle with the ratios, actually i like having one extra section of track for every train. So if i run 4 trains, i like having 5 sections of track, just to keep a clear buffer, but thats up to you.
Yes, but when you want to add trains later on, for example from 2 go to 3 trains, the sections don't work out. You then need to move all the signals. Als when a train needs to move trough your line as you are redeploying it or you only have a train depot far away, it messes up the perfect schedule. Hense I go for signals near stations, when tracks merge or cross amd break up long stretches of track. I try to keep the streches of similar lengjt though. As a rule you should have atleast as many sections as trains, but the same number and all of exactly the same lenght is for the ideal world and in reality, sometimes/often things get messy. ;)
@@erikwillems6466 Not necessarily. If you have trains which are traveling at equal speed then you won't have a problem. Sure, they might not be perfectly spaced out, but I personally don't care for that.
Ah yes, they should have an equal speed. But that is the theoretical situation where everything is perfect. In actuality, yerrein differences cause slopes and curves modifying the speed at certain parts so tracks shouldn't be of equal lenght. But the real problem occurs when you go to the extreme, 2 trains and 2 tracks. Then the third train that is "just passing trough" once, will cause all kinds of conflicts. While more signals would make your network more robust.
Nice clear description, but one small error I believe. At about 06:10 you say that the train in view won't move until the other train goes through the station and comes back to where this train is. In TpF1, the station has an implied signal so this train will start to move as soon af the other train *has left* the station (i.e. much earlier). Of course this is unless TpF2 is different in this instance from TpF1 (and I have no reason to believe this is the case).
@@Stealth17Gaming it's not that the station has a built in signal, but the fact that the train now has a clear route to it's destination or the next signal. Here's a little demonstration I made: i.imgur.com/xawYpvs.jpeg As the 1st train clears the intersection going left, the second train that will go straight receives a green signal and starts moving even though both trains are technically on the same section of the track - there are no other signals on this track and none of the trains are in a station. If, however, the second train was also going left on the intersection, the signal would remain red. Also, I don't think there's any real way to give priority of one track over the other. In your example of an intersection between passenger and cargo trains, if the cargo train is going through the intersection the passenger trains will still have to wait either inside the station or at the section signal on the other side. In this situation I would put the signals on the passenger line as close as possible to the intersection so that, if passenger trains do have to wait until cargo clears the intersection, they will occupy as little track as possible and minimise chances of affecting other trains. For example, there are two passenger trains - one in the station, and another one waiting to go into the station. If we put signals as close to the intersection as possible, the 1st train will go up to this signal and wait for the cargo train to pass, while also allowing the 2nd train to enter the station. Otherwise the 2nd train will be waiting for the 1st train to clear the station while the 1st train is waiting in the station for the cargo train to clear the intersection.
A simple passing loop half way down the line with one-way signals is all you need to begin with and is much more cost effective. This game is brutal early on and you're really going to feel your over spending hard until you pay off your loan. Two trains on a single line with a passing loop half way would be fine, then gradually add more coaches to and upgrade the engines of those first two trains. Eventually you will reach a balance where one train picks up all the passengers at either end of the line, both trains pass at the center point, and by the time it reaches the other end the station has filled up with passengers again. My late-game large map American themed game has only one line connecting each town (except two) with 7-cars per train and with the exception of stations, each acting as a passing loop, the entire line is single track. The only time I add double-track is when freight trains are using that line, so they don't get in the way of my passenger trains on their return journey. And just to be a nitpicky sod, you should have your arriving line going straight in to your station, or loop, as this would prevent the train having to slam on for a slow turnout, whereas departing trains would traverse the turnout slowly anyway.
Great video! The one bone I'd pick with it is that you didn't explicitly warn people to consider what gets blocked when a train stops. This can be problematic and you did put one signal on the "wrong side" of a road when you didn't really need to.
How did the new signals not make your Top 5 Improvements list? The little arrow tooltip that pops out is, for me, the second greatest improvement after the customizable buildings. I hope these videos do well, I've always enjoyed Train Fever/Transport Fever gameplay.
This game doesn't need quite as much faffing with signals as Factorio does, Factorio signalling would be overkill for this game. In this game it's quite clever already and you only really need a few signals along a long two-way route. There's no need to put them in and out of stations, or at all crossings etc.
Really well explained. However for any new players out there or anyone who doesn't understand signals - may a "passing point" on the single line might have been a good idea to explain away. 1 line. 1 line with passing, 2 lines -- sort of the upgrade I do depending on the length of line.
The passing point is pretty handy, can double your capacity for cheap without having to run 2 tracks for the entire line and can be upgraded by adding more passing points and eventually just connecting the passes together to form a second track
I have issues with having a dubble station, and using |x| tracks in the railroad line, so that the trains pass eachother and use both tracks on the stations to unload/load but they still use only one load/unload track, how do I fix that? ( very hard to explain it in text for me )
It sounds like a language issue but next time you do tutorial, us the word "block" as a section of track, even in Holland, is divided into "Blocks". And only one train is allowed to occupy a single block.
I forgot to add that the reason I mention this, is that a selection of a track, can have several "blocks" within it. so using the word selection can be misleading.
This was helpful, but wondering if this would work the same if I put 2 tracks at each station instead of 1 or if there'd be some issue. And if I had a 3rd station connect to the station in the middle how that would work.
not sure what you mean by have 2 tracks. He basically built that if you mean 2 separate complete tracks with stops he had 3 trains after adding the signals. 1 train per full track will always work. but if you ever have more then one train on a track you need signals or it wont work. It is cheaper to understand signals and have 5 trains on 2 tracks then have 5 trains and 5 tracks.
if he had 2 complete tracks you basically just add another line and switch it to the other track. but again you could only have 2 trains. 1 per complete line
My trains had been running fine, but all of a sudden I ran into an issue where they will become stuck in the station when another stops at the signal, and only at one end of the track. Is it just a bug? I can’t figure it out
if its a bug turning the train can help. this resets the train and it looks again if it can pass. What also could be a problem is that you placed the signal AFTER the lines merged into one line. This would mean the train waiting blocks the only exit and the other train can't go to the other rail.
I have this same problem and I cant figure out why it happens. Ive had it happen multiple times now. Ive made sure my signals aren't too close to where the single track splits into 2
@@Stealth17Gaming At 6:10 you say that the train will wait at the signal untill the other train passes the signal on the track next to it. This is not correct. As soon as the train leaves the switch at the station, the waiting train can go.
Your explanation of how signals cut the track into "sections" is what really made it click for me. From one signal to another is a stretch of track that only one train is allowed to occupy--THAT is what kept giving me trouble in the past, and what I totally wasn't understanding until I found this video!
WOOOHOOOOO
I like using one-way only signals on my double track so I can be sure that trains always run on the right-hand side track. That way I can easily keep all traffic moving in the same way which is really useful when later in the game and you have LOTS of train lines all merging and splitting and going in different directions. Two-way signals are useful for loops coming out/in from depots as it lets trains move both ways on a single line in that case where there is not much traffic expected.
I know that you wrote it 2 years ago but what is the difference between one way and two way. I don't get it
@@browl218 one-way makes it so that the train only can go into the direction of the arrow. In this video, the cargo track he put down is a two-way. If he were to make it a one-way, the train wouldn't have a way back. He'd have to put down another track going the opposite direction.
You can see this on the swiss made mission
I just bought transport fever 2, and your tutorials have been really helpful thank you Stealth.
Excellent explanation. I was worried about trains being much dumber in path-finding than OTTD in this game. This video cleared it for me.
Aha now i understand. I thought they would only wait if a train was coming not if it occupied the next section. This is so helpful
Glad it helped :)
This game is like transport giant from 2004 but transport giant 2... I waited 17 years for this omg goooooooood
The signals have very simple / straight forward , good.
Thanks man for this appreciated, i will watch other tutorial too from your channel soon👍
i finally found a tutorial my 1-iq brain can comprehend. I'd watched and read a number of others, but for some reason this one finally clicked and I'm figuring signals out. Within about 30 minuets of watching this I set up a 4-train line connecting construction materials to a town. Already subbed for your other stuff, but thanks a ton!
Glad to hear it! Happy training :)
Hi, I don't think you can assign priority with these signals. You are right if both trains approach at same time, the passenger will have priority in your example. But in the (equally as likely) scenario where the passenger train is behind your lower signal and approaching it, it will be forced to stop and wait needlessly (in terms of the track ahead to junction is clear) if the cargo is already crossing - so all things equal you are not gaining anything and you may as well place the signals right next to the junction for the passenger train as well.
i noted this thing too
The best way is to have a ratio of the sections of track (between signals), as you have trains on said route.
For example, if i have a double-tracked route going from an Oil Well to a Refinery, with two trains on it.
Then i actually only want TWO sections of track, one going "up" to the refinery, and one going "down" to the oil well. So only one signal at each station. Because this means that the trains will automatically space themselves out so they are at exactly opposite ends when they get the green signal.
If i have FOUR trains, then i want FOUR sections of track. So same as above, but with 2 signals on both double-tracks, in the exact middle of the route.
This because that means my second full load of oil will space itself out half-length away from the first full load just as it got done delivering.
You can fiddle with the ratios, actually i like having one extra section of track for every train. So if i run 4 trains, i like having 5 sections of track, just to keep a clear buffer, but thats up to you.
Clever!
Yes, but when you want to add trains later on, for example from 2 go to 3 trains, the sections don't work out. You then need to move all the signals. Als when a train needs to move trough your line as you are redeploying it or you only have a train depot far away, it messes up the perfect schedule.
Hense I go for signals near stations, when tracks merge or cross amd break up long stretches of track. I try to keep the streches of similar lengjt though.
As a rule you should have atleast as many sections as trains, but the same number and all of exactly the same lenght is for the ideal world and in reality, sometimes/often things get messy. ;)
@@erikwillems6466 Not necessarily. If you have trains which are traveling at equal speed then you won't have a problem. Sure, they might not be perfectly spaced out, but I personally don't care for that.
Ah yes, they should have an equal speed. But that is the theoretical situation where everything is perfect.
In actuality, yerrein differences cause slopes and curves modifying the speed at certain parts so tracks shouldn't be of equal lenght.
But the real problem occurs when you go to the extreme, 2 trains and 2 tracks. Then the third train that is "just passing trough" once, will cause all kinds of conflicts. While more signals would make your network more robust.
Thanks!
Thanks for your donation!
Nice clear description, but one small error I believe. At about 06:10 you say that the train in view won't move until the other train goes through the station and comes back to where this train is. In TpF1, the station has an implied signal so this train will start to move as soon af the other train *has left* the station (i.e. much earlier).
Of course this is unless TpF2 is different in this instance from TpF1 (and I have no reason to believe this is the case).
True. The station have a signal built in.
@@Stealth17Gaming it's not that the station has a built in signal, but the fact that the train now has a clear route to it's destination or the next signal. Here's a little demonstration I made: i.imgur.com/xawYpvs.jpeg
As the 1st train clears the intersection going left, the second train that will go straight receives a green signal and starts moving even though both trains are technically on the same section of the track - there are no other signals on this track and none of the trains are in a station. If, however, the second train was also going left on the intersection, the signal would remain red.
Also, I don't think there's any real way to give priority of one track over the other. In your example of an intersection between passenger and cargo trains, if the cargo train is going through the intersection the passenger trains will still have to wait either inside the station or at the section signal on the other side. In this situation I would put the signals on the passenger line as close as possible to the intersection so that, if passenger trains do have to wait until cargo clears the intersection, they will occupy as little track as possible and minimise chances of affecting other trains.
For example, there are two passenger trains - one in the station, and another one waiting to go into the station. If we put signals as close to the intersection as possible, the 1st train will go up to this signal and wait for the cargo train to pass, while also allowing the 2nd train to enter the station. Otherwise the 2nd train will be waiting for the 1st train to clear the station while the 1st train is waiting in the station for the cargo train to clear the intersection.
A simple passing loop half way down the line with one-way signals is all you need to begin with and is much more cost effective.
This game is brutal early on and you're really going to feel your over spending hard until you pay off your loan.
Two trains on a single line with a passing loop half way would be fine, then gradually add more coaches to and upgrade the engines of those first two trains. Eventually you will reach a balance where one train picks up all the passengers at either end of the line, both trains pass at the center point, and by the time it reaches the other end the station has filled up with passengers again.
My late-game large map American themed game has only one line connecting each town (except two) with 7-cars per train and with the exception of stations, each acting as a passing loop, the entire line is single track.
The only time I add double-track is when freight trains are using that line, so they don't get in the way of my passenger trains on their return journey.
And just to be a nitpicky sod, you should have your arriving line going straight in to your station, or loop, as this would prevent the train having to slam on for a slow turnout, whereas departing trains would traverse the turnout slowly anyway.
I used to drive trains to Clitheroe and funnily enough there used to be a very long section [8-10 miles] without signals all the way to Clitheroe!
and yet you don't comment on how he pronouced Clitheroe-eee
@@afacelessname1378 lol I know and some others. But who cares, he is speaking English which is not his native tongue, so give him credit.
@@afacelessname1378 Could have been worse I guess...
Great video!
The one bone I'd pick with it is that you didn't explicitly warn people to consider what gets blocked when a train stops. This can be problematic and you did put one signal on the "wrong side" of a road when you didn't really need to.
Its actually quiet like that in RL except with different means of detecting a train on the railway.
Well Demonstrated, thanks for sharing
How did the new signals not make your Top 5 Improvements list? The little arrow tooltip that pops out is, for me, the second greatest improvement after the customizable buildings. I hope these videos do well, I've always enjoyed Train Fever/Transport Fever gameplay.
Not sure what you mean when you say "the new signals" they seem to be very much like they were in transport fever 1
Factorio Train tutorials normally have a good explanation of signals. FF2 works in a very similar way.
This game doesn't need quite as much faffing with signals as Factorio does, Factorio signalling would be overkill for this game. In this game it's quite clever already and you only really need a few signals along a long two-way route. There's no need to put them in and out of stations, or at all crossings etc.
you can use space to pause and you press the tab button to use speed 2 times
Really well explained. However for any new players out there or anyone who doesn't understand signals - may a "passing point" on the single line might have been a good idea to explain away. 1 line. 1 line with passing, 2 lines -- sort of the upgrade I do depending on the length of line.
The passing point is pretty handy, can double your capacity for cheap without having to run 2 tracks for the entire line and can be upgraded by adding more passing points and eventually just connecting the passes together to form a second track
Thank you, this Viedeo was very helpful👍👌
amazing tutorial man. thanks alot
Dit had ik ff nodig, dankjewel!!
thanks for the video!
Great video. TY. Any crossing gates for traffic?
hey stealth17gaming you can also use overpassses instead of a intierly new line even tough its a bit tedious its cheaper
Is there a way to place multiple stop signals in a track at onve like in similar transport games?
Thank you so much for this!!!
I have a double track with cross overs at each end. I put singles at each cross over and I always get train conflicts. I can’t fix it. HELP!
I have issues with having a dubble station, and using |x| tracks in the railroad line, so that the trains pass eachother and use both tracks on the stations to unload/load but they still use only one load/unload track, how do I fix that? ( very hard to explain it in text for me )
You have to choose the platform in the line configuration
It sounds like a language issue but next time you do tutorial, us the word "block" as a section of track, even in Holland, is divided into "Blocks". And only one train is allowed to occupy a single block.
I forgot to add that the reason I mention this, is that a selection of a track, can have several "blocks" within it. so using the word selection can be misleading.
This was helpful, but wondering if this would work the same if I put 2 tracks at each station instead of 1 or if there'd be some issue. And if I had a 3rd station connect to the station in the middle how that would work.
not sure what you mean by have 2 tracks. He basically built that if you mean 2 separate complete tracks with stops he had 3 trains after adding the signals. 1 train per full track will always work. but if you ever have more then one train on a track you need signals or it wont work.
It is cheaper to understand signals and have 5 trains on 2 tracks then have 5 trains and 5 tracks.
if he had 2 complete tracks you basically just add another line and switch it to the other track. but again you could only have 2 trains. 1 per complete line
My trains had been running fine, but all of a sudden I ran into an issue where they will become stuck in the station when another stops at the signal, and only at one end of the track. Is it just a bug? I can’t figure it out
if its a bug turning the train can help. this resets the train and it looks again if it can pass. What also could be a problem is that you placed the signal AFTER the lines merged into one line. This would mean the train waiting blocks the only exit and the other train can't go to the other rail.
I have this same problem and I cant figure out why it happens. Ive had it happen multiple times now. Ive made sure my signals aren't too close to where the single track splits into 2
thank you
Why do my tracks always have catinary above them?
Might be the era. You can (usually) turn it off on the right hand side panel.
Green means CLEAR!
goede videos toppie
Interesting
Awesome
1000… grand signal video.
nice :)
incorrect info here to
A more useful comment would to then provide correct info, as opposed to just saying "this is wrong"
@@Stealth17Gaming At 6:10 you say that the train will wait at the signal untill the other train passes the signal on the track next to it.
This is not correct. As soon as the train leaves the switch at the station, the waiting train can go.
thank you