[charland]

I'm starting to set up AI traffic through Fonda for the FJ&Gv2 route. I'm trying the first passenger train and it runs in MSTS but not in Open Rails. Any idea why that would be?

Paul :-)

[R H Steele]

Hi Paul, Saw the post over at TS ... did you look in the log for AI traffic errors or warnings? Gerry

[charland]

Thanks Gerry,

Answered over on TS but it turned out to be the F40s I was using that OR doesn't like.

Paul :-)

[R H Steele]

It is an incorrect Damping UoM that MSTS ignored, but OR needs accurate data points and UoM, however, usually it just produces a warning, I don't see how it would prevent the AI from running, unless there was something else that hindered OR from rendering the model in the simulation...if that happened the log would almost certainly have something about it.

Anyway, happy you got it solved.

[charland]

Hi All,

I did find the cause and now have Amtrak running.

First a little background. Conrail through Fonda has a eastbound mainline (Track 1), then a westbound mainline (Track 2). Track 3 has been removed, then Track 4 is used to let the way freight clear the mainline and that connects to the FJ&G. Track 4 connects at each end to track 2. In real life there are crossovers between tracks 1 and 2 but they are miles away from Fonda so I never modeled them seeing as the Conrail mainlines are just for AI traffic passing through.

That turned out to be the reason my Amtrak train wouldn't spawn in OR but did in MSTS. While vacuuming I started to wonder if this was creating the problem, Track 1 was not touching any of the rest of the route. I added a crossover at one end and a few hundred meters of double track and that cured the problem.

It's nice to find the solution but that leads to other problems in other routes where a foreign railroad just happens to pass your railroad and doesn't have a physical connection, your AI traffic on that railroad will not spawn. Or several of my routes have flight paths, track buried under the terrain for an aircraft to follow but do not connect to anything, plane is grounded there.

Anyway, something to keep in mind if you're wondering where you AI traffic is.

https://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr160/paul_charland/2134_zpshu7ioweh.jpg

Paul :-)

[vince]

Paul,

I'm at a complete loss to understand this.
l can't imagine how could this can happen as all track in a route is part of the same Track Database!
It does not matter if the track is connected to the main route or not. Or it should not matter! All track in a route should be usable as long as it's in the TDB.

The LIRR has an isolated 2 mile section of the #7 NY Subway line running above Sunnyside Yards.
In the LILCO Coal Activity I have constant running NY subway trains running during the 1/2 hour time the player is assembling his freight train . . . and they run just fine. So the isolated track cant run AI theory doesn't fly.

Did you happen to look at the F5 Dispatcher HUD at time of the questionable spawn?
There is a comprehensive list of all running AI traffic to be found here.
The index for reading the info can be found in the OR Manual.

regards,
vince

[charland]

The only think I can think of is that the south mainline doesn't touch anything else and seeing as it didn't have a single switch, it didn't have a single track node... just a guess but adding one fixed the problem.

You say you have a 2 mile section of the subway running above the Sunnyside Yards, is this just a single length of track or is there any crossovers or other switches?

The Dispatcher Window showed no train spawned and no errors. Minutes later when a freight on Track 2 (which connects to all the other tracks in the route) the Dispatcher's window blinked and did show the freight running.

I have a beta up before I added the crossover this morning if you want to try yourself.

Paul :-)

[roeter]

The cause of the problem is actually quite simple.
If there is a track which has no signals, points or anything, it consists of only one 'track circuit'. These 'track circuits' are the basic sections used to control train movements.
What happens in this situation is that when the train is placed on the track, it is obviously placed on this one 'track circuit'. As this is the only TC in the train's path, it is also the last TC. So, the train is stationary, and is located in the last TC of its path - that is one of the (many) criteria used to check if the train has reached the end of its path. So, the program decides has indeed reached the end and removes the train before it has had a chance to run at all.

For timetable mode, I'm working on a code change which sorts out this kind of problem, with trains being removed before they have ran at all.
The criteria for timetable mode differ from those in activity mode. I do not know how this is handled in activity mode.

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

[vince]

charland, on 12 June 2019 - 04:04 PM, said:

The only think I can think of is that the south mainline doesn't touch anything else and seeing as it didn't have a single switch, it didn't have a single track node... just a guess but adding one fixed the problem.
You say you have a 2 mile section of the subway running above the Sunnyside Yards, is this just a single length of track or is there any crossovers or other switches? The Dispatcher Window showed no train spawned and no errors. Minutes later when a freight on Track 2 (which connects to all the other tracks in the route) the Dispatcher's window blinked and did show the freight running. I have a beta up before I added the crossover this morning if you want to try yourself. Paul :-)

Hi Paul,

It appears Rob has explained it, but to answer your question Paul, the #7 line is two tracks AND (which I didn't remember until now) a crossover between the two tracks.
I remembered (at 3:00 am) I use this xover to use a single AI service to simulate two running trains.So that and the clue of you adding a crossover plus Rob's explaination clears up my confusion. Thanks to both of you.

best regards,
vince

[charland]

Interesting stuff, thanks Rob.

Odd things that pop into your head in the middle of the night or while vacuuming Vince!

Paul :-)