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RightSide driving not possible??

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RightSide driving not possible?? 06/02/2016 at 01:09 #80429
Kl408
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A friend told me about this simulation and i'm having a lot of fun with it... To ease into it i decided to try Aston cause it seemed reasonably simple to get to know the procedures with not too many tracks/stations/trains at the same time but i'm stuck already and could not find an answer in the wiki so here goes: To have a faster train pass a slower train i'm trying to have one of them run on the "wrong" track but i can't seem to be able to set a route, the signal won't even react to a mouseclick so could one of the guru's here tell me if it is at all possible.

The situation is as follows:
I want to have a slow train coming from Aston to Lichfield City platform 2 to cross onto the "wrong" track at Blake Street and continue to platform 2 Lichfield City so the faster train can pass underneath and continue on the "normal" track to platform 1 Lichfield City. This would mean setting a route from BS 2 via signal AN143 to LC 2 signal AN163 but the sim will not let me. I can have the slow train cross to platform 2 at BS of course(it starts yelling that i'm messing with the timetable but hey i'm the signaller so it's my call ;-) ) but i can't activate AN143 no matter what i try. I'm a traindriver in the Netherland and for me that route would be perfectly acceptable so i'm a bit at a loss here...

Am i trying something not allowed in the UK or is it not in the sim or am i doing it the wrong way round???

Tnx guys

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RightSide driving not possible?? 06/02/2016 at 02:36 #80430
headshot119
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4869 posts
The Down Sutton line between Blake Street and Lichfield City isn't signaled for bidirectional running, hence the sim doesn't let you set the route, as no route exists.

AN143 exists purely to allow trains to terminate at Blake Street and turn back towards Aston and Birmingham. It is what is known as a fixed red signal.

"Passengers for New Lane, should be seated in the rear coach of the train " - Opinions are my own and not those of my employer
Last edited: 06/02/2016 at 02:36 by headshot119
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RightSide driving not possible?? 06/02/2016 at 13:46 #80437
Kl408
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Ah, tnx for clearing that up, that would most certainly explain why i couldn't get it to work .

This baffled me since we don't have stretches of track that can't be traveled two-way(albeit complicated at some places) and it never occurred to me that it might be impossible. Is there a way to see which track is suitable and which isn't or is that just trail and error??

Since i'm asking could you see if the following (for my understanding) is possible anywhere in the UK: same sim, Four Oaks plat3 signal AN124 to the UP and back to the DN via shunt signal AN302 or is the latter solely meant to go from DN to UP at Wylde Green together with AN303??

Thanks again...

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RightSide driving not possible?? 06/02/2016 at 14:08 #80438
Steamer
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3913 posts
With bi-directional track, there are two main cases to consider:

Around large stations with busy track layouts, it's common to find that some approach lines are bi-directional. The give away is signals pointing in both directions in fairly close proximity.

Away from large stations, it's less common to find bi-directional signalling, although it's gradually becoming more common- see the Rugby simulations, for example. In these cases, there will be more signals pointing in the 'wrong' direction than there are on Aston. For instance, if the move you originally asked about was possible, there would almost certainly be another signal on the Up line in the same position as AN155 is on the Down line.

" said:
Since i'm asking could you see if the following (for my understanding) is possible anywhere in the UK: same sim, Four Oaks plat3 signal AN124 to the UP and back to the DN via shunt signal AN302 or is the latter solely meant to go from DN to UP at Wylde Green together with AN303??
I think you've got your Ups and Downs mixed up. The Down line is the Aston- Lichfield line, and the Up is Lichfield- Aston.

The move is not allowed- if you left Four Oaks on the Down line (heading to Aston), you'd reach AN304 first. AN304 is a limit of shunt signal, and cannot be passed under normal circumstances. It allows trains to shunt from platforms 2 or 3 at Four Oaks over to Platform 1 to head back to Lichfield. In any case, wrong-line running over that sort of distance would use main signals, not shunt signals. You are correct that AN302 and 303 are only there for trains to reverse behind before crossing to the other line.

It is possible to run wrong-line in the UK without bi-directional signalling, however this requires Single Line Working to be set up. This involves a lot of forms and a person to act as 'pilotman' to essentially act as a human token to avoid the risk of a head-on collision. It's only set up in emergencies, and wouldn't be used to allow a train to overtake another one.

It can be a bit difficult to spot which moves are valid, especially if you're used to another country's operating practice- take a look at some other simulations, continue to trial-and-error moves and you'll start to build up an intuition of what's allowed and what isn't. Aston is a bit of an odd case, as there are a few moves (Lichfield City P2 to Lichfield Trent Valley and TV44 to AN162) that look valid and would be possible on similar layouts elsewhere, but aren't at Aston.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
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RightSide driving not possible?? 06/02/2016 at 15:41 #80439
Jan
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Direction of Flow arrows are another thing to look out for - for longer stretches of bi-directional running, they are almost always provided.
Two million people attempt to use Birmingham's magnificent rail network every year, with just over a million of them managing to get further than Smethwick.
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RightSide driving not possible?? 07/02/2016 at 23:25 #80460
bill_gensheet
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Edinburgh has a fair stretch of bi-directonal on the ECML towards Grantshouse, originally provided for overtaking freights.

Bill

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RightSide driving not possible?? 08/02/2017 at 18:07 #93010
Chromatix
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190 posts
The Swindon-Didcot sim has a good stretch of bidirectional track, if you're looking for an example. This is very useful for coping with infrastructure failures on the higher difficulty settings, but the longer block sections do demand a lot of care in regulation.

Whenever you have a block section several miles long, there will (must!) always be a Distant signal (showing at least Yellow, and marked with an R on the diagram) at a full braking distance from the first Home signal (capable of showing Red). Sometimes there is also an Outer Distant showing Double Yellow (and marked RR). On bidirectional schemes, these will normally be directly opposite the corresponding signals on the "normal" track. If there is no Distant signal on a section you know to be more than a couple of miles long, you should assume that the route along that section is not valid.

Last edited: 08/02/2017 at 18:11 by Chromatix
Reason: Arrrrr.

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RightSide driving not possible?? 10/02/2017 at 23:50 #93033
pip1976uk
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Exeter Sim has some bi-directional track in paticular the section from Dawlish Warren to Newton Abbot. This is to allow trains Down Trains to use the Up Line in times of stormy weather in order to keep the trains away from the edge of the sea wall!
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