simonjackson1964

Level crossing barriers are something that a lot of people seem to have trouble with. I've had my fair share of issues with them - mostly on the road vehicle side, with cars nor stopping, pushing other cars into the path of the train, not starting again. It has taken quite a bit of work to sort them out and make them behave . So I'm wondering if there could be a way to make them a bit more intuitive? Signals didn't use to have built in track contacts, but they have since V5. And now these all integrate with routes to control train movement. Could something similar be done with the level crossings? Integrate a track contact for the rails, to close them and automatically count the number of trains on or heading for the crossing, and at the same time force all road traffic to stop when the lights start to flash and start again when the barriers open? I mean, it's something that needs to be done on every level crossing, if you intend to have it work realistically, so why not take the code and the track contacts and make them into one "black box" unit...?

... I have to ask this, because... Does the Steam version of MBS also support Diesel and Electric?

That's why I use the + sign on the end of the track!

The other possibility is that the train is still over the track contact that sets the speed to 30kph when it hits the second contact that sets the speed to 20. I've had this happen before, and it creates a conflict in the system, causing the train to ignore the speed set by the second contact and keep moving at the speed set by the first. There are a couple of possible answers: one is (obviously) to shorten the train or lengthen the gap between the contacts, but this is not always possible. Another is to increase the breaking time of the locomotive, and remove the intermediate contacts. The train should then slow down realistically. My final solution is one I'm not sure will work, and it depends on how you have things set up. If you use the "Decelerate to" option on the contact itself, and don't use the "Accelerate to" option, these should work cumulatively. A train already travelling slower than 30kph will not be affected by a command to slow to that speed. ........................... Edit to add: I have tested this (at V8.5) and it does exactly what it's supposed to. However, the problem ten comes when you start the train again, as it will still be sitting on one or more contacts telling it to slow down. The solution is to have an event that turns off all the deceleration contacts, when the signal is changed (Note that this will also work even if the train didn't stop!)

OH! That's what that does!

Just my 2p worth here: There's always alternative ways of doing something. For example: set a global boolean variable to true before calling the subroutine. At the end of the subroutine, set the same boolean to false. Then the second part of your main routine becomes an event that monitors that variable. When it changes, if the value is True, do nothing. If the value is False, do the second part of the action. Just saying...!

This is the case even if you have a single track piece such as a diamond crossing, if the track does not include a switch. You can get collisions no matter that you have used a single track segment for the crossing. The only safe way is to ensure that all crossings are switchable, thus the route selected will block the others.

Thanks. It's just a shame it's too complex to get actually working! Maybe I'll come back to it some day!

Thanks. It's slow going for a number of reasons, but I'll get there, possibly before v9!

@EASY, Brilliant! Wish I'd thought of that! ... Except you got the times the wrong way around, but hey, that's cosmetic! Still a great slution!

Sorry to chip in here, but I'm not sure that the answer given answered the question asked? Of course, I could be wrong, in which case please ignore me! Goetz said that it is not possible to change the time that the day settings and night settings switch over, and Neo stated that this will be available at V9, but the way I read the question is that Ern45 is asking if the default time setting for day and night that are set by the day/night toggle button can be changed. Currently, these are 12:00 Noon and 00:00 Midnight. It is possible to change the time that the layout is at, simply by editing the time in the edit box next to the day/night toggle button, and then saving the layout. However, whenever that button is used, the time will always go to either noon or midnight. I don't think there is a way around this, other than to manually change it. I did try and create an event that would do the trick, but in order for it to work, simulated time needs to be running....

Upload the layout you're working on as a draft, Make a note of te upload ID, Log in to the site using your new computer and down;load the version you own. I think it asks for your ID and password again, it's been a while since my last computer change. Then down load your draft layout using the ID you previously noted. I may have forgotten a step or two. If you want to transfer more than one layout, I think you might be able to upload more drafts from the old computer and download them to the new one. Unfortunately my old computer died before I could upload anything from it!

Here's a hint: you can put as many keywords on one contact as you like - and remember that all signals have an attached track contact. So you can have a single track contact do multiple functions depending on the existence of a keyword on a loco, or the value of a variable on the loco. I've found that there are two competing options for successful operation of a layout: you can have a huge EV with lots of duplicate events, or you can have a lot of keywords and variables all over the place, and make use of the "trigger" variable a lot in the events, and make your EV a lot smaller by having generic events that will control anything depending on the settings of certain variables or properties. Personally, I like the smaller EV. It's a lot of work up front to put the controls in place on the objects that need them, but a lot less coding!

One of the things "last" can be used for, is when a light locomotive is heading into a run-around. The locomotive leaves a track that happens to be the turnout at the start of the head shunt. Delay the action by half a second and stop the loco. Then change the setting of the "last" track. Delay another half second and start the loco moving in the opposite direction.... That's just an example of how "Last Track" might be useful. Personally, I stopped using that method when V5 came out with track contacts. You can achieve the same thing with a track contact placed part way down the head shunt, and actually use a route to set the full length of the run-around along with any signals involved.

May I suggest using track contacts? These have "enter", "centre" and "leave" triggers, and can be located wherever you need them. Using a keyword to identify the contact is probably the easiest way to select them. Just my 2p worth