![]() The only problem with it is that left and right tracks reverse themselves in the process, and while this isn’t a huge problem in itself it does present problems when it comes to connecting to other parts of the track. This is a very simple 3-way junction that is both compact and efficient. For the most part trains don’t get too confused about this, but it still strikes me as a less-than-ideal concept, hence my next few examples. My main gripe is that trains have to double back on themselves, turning a full 270 degrees and going completely the wrong way for a moment. Some people swear by it, and for the most part so do I. Ideally this should be a little more spaced out to ensure that trains waiting at signals don’t hold up the main lines, but if you’re pushed for space then this is the smallest you can realistically get it. This is the classic 4-way junction, a tried and tested intersection that is even used in real-life. And no horrible right-angle bends either! This is no good for busy stations as trains will get backed up onto the main line and snarl things up big time, but for a low-use station in a tight spot this could come in handy. This is just a squashed up version of the above layout, but with the trains coming into the station from the other end to make the junction a little more compact. If you’re in a hurry to build an offline station this is probably the quickest way of linking it all up. Traditionally we would use a half cloverleaf approach (which I’ll talk about later), but this is a simpler solution that works almost as well. Sure you could put in a junction (see below) so it effectively is at the end of a line, but this solution allows you to have trains entering a RoRo station from either direction, and exiting onto either side of the track afterwards too. Terminus stations are inefficient, but the above solution is only good for stations at the end of a line. In this example it’s all rather scaled-down so there is no real benefit, other than in looking more interesting, but when the station gets enormous this system could bring some benefits in allowing multiple trains to come in at once. The signals effectively split the station up into sections, so when one fills up trains will fill up the next section. Here, we make use of the third special signal state, which is a combination of the two first ones. ![]() This concept takes the basic RoRo idea and puts a little more control in place. With the signalling doing its work you can extend the station almost indefinitely and it will still work, although if you are planning on having stations with 100 platforms then you’ll probably want a more sophisticated approach to let more than one train come in at once! This is often referred to as a RoRo station (Roll On, Roll Off), and the basic idea is that trains enter the station at one end and exit at the other, which solves the problem of trains holding each other up. This means that if the station is full the first signal will still show red, even though there is no train on the next piece of track. Things are made slightly more clever by the use of those colour-coded signals: the signal with the yellow horizontal bar only shows green if at least one of the signals after it with the white vertical bar is green. Not particularly efficient if you have a lot of traffic, since trains leaving stop trains coming in, and vice versa. A two-way railway line (one in, one out) ending in a small terminus station. This is pretty much as simple as you can get. Here, then, are some screenshots of some junctions I have just built for demonstration purposes. But rather than quietly indulge in my own private geekiness I opted to share my obsession with the world. Having recently installed the Mac version of OpenTTD (which is the open-source release of Transport Tycoon Deluxe) I have been reliving my wasted youth building expansive rail networks with complex junctions and sprawling airports. Over a decade later and the game has been ported to other platforms, developed almost beyond recognition, and has a cult following of enthusiasts still hooked by the thrill of the money-spinning construction game. Years ago, long before the likes of Rollercoaster Tycoon came on the scene, Chris Sawyer released Transport Tycoon for the PC, a DOS-based game working on an isometric grid where the player created complex transport networks between industries and towns.
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