Train to depot Trick - part 1:
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Train to depot Trick
Buses, Ships, Airplanes to depot:
Micro managing your vehicles
Breakdowns - how and when?
Too many depots
TTo - Old Transport Tycoon - is the main reference in this chapter.
I was using: "Trains reverse at stations...", which is not so good -
as I found out later. Also, without 1way signals I needed an alternative to
the Depot Force most of us use in TTdx.
Abbreviations:
TTd+ means: better in TTd;
TTd- means: more difficult in TTd;
TTd+- means: DIFFERENT in TTd
Train to depot Trick - part 1:
Since in TTo I usually let the trains enter the railway stations at one end only (in TTo this gave me much less train-trouble than with 'through' stations):
I can hitch depots straight onto to the back end of the station; so the trains have a very short way from station to depot, and back. This also makes it easy to turn the train quickly around and out when 'loading' (go to depot; NO, don't go to depot).
| ========= | ====== | D | Do you read this as a | |
| ========= | ====== | D | HTML-table generated 3-track | |
| ========= | ====== | D | Railway station with Back-Depots? | |
| - - - - - - - - | - - - - - | - | and a street ! ? |
| . | H | A | . | H | ^ | M | N | A | H | . | and multicoloured houses ... and some grass ... |
Sorry about that - part of my HTML training! Better pictures next time!
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Train to depot Trick - part 2:
Trains with a mixed cargo should not use Full Load.
But sometimes the train visits a source station too seldom.
As a result, the source produces little coal, iron etc. For good
production: visit frequency should be twice per month, or better.
Cure: Fix the train orders; instead of just:
Goto AA; Goto BB;use 4 to 7 pairs of:
Goto AA; Goto BB;Every time, or every 2nd time, or every 4th time: depending on length of your train trip:
Goto AA; Goto AA; Goto BB; Goto AA; Goto BB; Goto AA; Goto AA; Goto BB; Goto AA; Goto BB;Result - the train visits AA twice, once pointing IN; then (after depot visit) pointing OUT. Better visiting frequency: and production goes up! NB: if you DON't have a back-depot, (or short rail stub at the station back), your train must be shorter than the station for this to work; else it will turn and go out towards BB at once.
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Train to depot Trick - part 3 - combine 1 and 2.
Combining 1 and 2 above gives extra advantages:
- Suppose AA is a Source+Sink station - e.g. receives wood, produces goods. Then the extra visit will let the train pick up the extra lump of goods just produced because wood was unloaded! Very good results with mixed trains transporting both to and from a goods-producing site.
- When a train gets a double 'Goto AA', it will usually do so by going into the depot back of it's station track, then out again. As a result, the train regularly does an automatic depot visit; and won't need to go off depot-hunting at the wrong moment; which can waste a lot of time, as most of us have found out!
Dont't these extra frequent depot visits waste time?
A little, yes. But a lot more time can be wasted if your train goes off on
a long loooong depot hunt; which they often do on a complex rail network.
NB: If you don't want your train to enter the back-depot
every time, you might use the 'difficulty settings' option:
Trains reverse at stations, and at end of line.
But now, later: I prefer "Trains reverse at end of line only"! This makes it much easier to micro-manage your trains; change from plain GOTO to LOAD, without seeing them flip around etc.
For trains without automatic servicing, make sure to lower the service period! the standard 150 days set by the program is too long! maximum 70-90 days is my rule.
Note: In TTd, it's easier to fix Depot Forces anywhere on the way, because
of the one-way signals. The signal on the straight-through rail should
be a one-way signal, forcing the train into depot in one of the 2 directions.
In TTo, this 'classic' depot force (route going 'through' a depot, using only vertical and horizontal rails; straight-through rail removed) will often cause the train to misbehave and reject this route, selecting another - WRONG - track; usually the opposite direction!
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Buses, Ships, Airplanes to depot:
Definition: I use the word 'pushout' for "goto depot - no, don't", used to turn a vehicle out, or around.
I haven't made the automatic depot trick work for buses or ships;
if a ship sails straight through a sea depot, this doesn't
count as a depot visit!
But placing some sea depots at natural 'sail through' spots at least gives
the ship a chance.
Buses need some watching around depot time! - If 2 towns A and B are connected by road, a city A bus will often look for city B's depot!! and sometimes get quite lost, leading to 'Appalling' status
New bits of road laid out by the city sometimes lead a previously stable bus into a dead end! watch out for this!
In my experience: If I've forced a bus into a certain depot once, that bus will later find it's way back to the same depot. If you remove that depot, you might repeat the 'learning' process with a new depot.
Simplest method: have only 1 road depot per city; no roads between
them; use the road vehicles only LOCALLY.
This is simple and safe - needs no watching. Buses / Mail vans should
be for developing the cities, not for making MONEY!
Airplanes: On long flights they sometimes turn - BACK! to go to hangar;
but normally they plan to 'depot' at their next stop.
NB: If you order a plane to depot while it is on the ground heading for
the runway, it will usually go UP first, then land and go to the hangar!
stupid programming, but watch out for it.
Order your plane to hangar before it lands;
or while it's loading (it will go back and load more after the hangar visit).
NB: The 'pushout' trick - so useful for turning out trains
- works for airplanes. Saves much time - 'Loading' for 3 more mail ...
But Note: once you've 'Pushed out' a plane from A to B, it will insist on
going UP, even if you change your mind!
NB: Long plane trips in TTo sometimes give a negative income!
This is due to an overflow bug in the program - the same one that
gives you enormous INCOME from digging a looong tunnel ...
Irritating, but if you see this: stick to shorter flights or
smaller planes, until next TT version.
And, when making NEW GAME: use LOW INFLATION! - 2%
Or: play TTd instead! other bugs, but not this one.
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Micro managing your vehicles
TTd/TTo is a game where you can sit back and let your vehicles take
care of themselves. But this is not always wise to do!
It is possible to earn money faster, save expenses, get better station
and city ratings if you watch your vehicles, and fiddle a bit with them.
In the early game you have few vehicles and little cash - some micro
management is both useful and easy to do.
Later in the game I usually turn micro management off for most transport routes - the old stable ones - and keep it on only for new untested routes.
Definition: I use the word 'pushout' for "goto depot - no, don't" used to turn a vehicle out, or around.
Trains: Unless you are doing 'Full Load', don't let them Looooaad in
the station for 2-3 days! When they come in, turn them out: change
destination; then 'pushout' ("goto depot - no, don't") for a faster round trip.
I use combined trains with different types of wagon; . I set
these to 'FULL LOAD' for a while, then turn them out at the right moment,
just after an extra 36 wood or 9 passengers loaded up.
Having a train leave when the station is empty is good for your ratings!
Over time, you will probably have 5-10 points better ratings if you
take care of this.
When later in the game I stop micro-managing this train, the orders will be changed to plain 'Go To A'; not 'Go To A, FULL LOAD'.
Have a depot-force once per round trip - keep your trains healthy. If the round trip is very short, you might skip this, but set the service period down to 60..80 days instead.
The depot-force should be near to the main 'source' station on the train's
round trip. when in depot, you can change wagons to fit what's in the
station right now.
Suppose you need 9-10 wagons for this? Leave the least important ones
in the depot for the next train to pick up! Leave the grain hopper with
only 3 units, or that second passenger carriage with 5 people in it.
"I have no next train!" you say? - if you need 9-10 wagons,
you need an extra train on this route!
Road vehicles:
To 'pushout' these, you may send them to depot. then
"No, don't" a bit later, when the car has started to twist around in the
station. This may need much watching - it's often simpler to just change
the destination; the car will leave after half a day or so.
Buses and Mail vans are for developing cities. So I often push them out with just a little onboard, especially if the bus has several stations or a longish route to do. Don't wait for a full bus! Good station ratings are more important.
A quick 'pushout' on a car LOADing has a different effect:
The car will soon be 'LOADing' again, at the same station!
This can be put to use:
.
Ships: the main thing for those sloooow ships is to give them an
efficient route, using buoys as 'between' points.
Change-of-month: A number of things happen on the 1st of each month:
- you pay 'loan interest' per 10000 pounds of loan.
- you pay 'property maintenance' - about 50 pounds per station.
- you pay a tiny tax (see 'other').
So you might save a little by repaying some loan before the 1st, then
re-borrowing later.
If you're planning a new station - wait till after the 1st.
If you're 'hopping' a station: delete it before the 1st; hop on after.
If you're planning to BUY shares in an opponent: after the 1st he may
be cheaper.
Receiving an important subsidy should always happen early in
a month! If you receive one on the 29th, you get only 11 months' subsidy time,
not 12.
Breakdowns - how and when?
If you give your trains good and frequent service - never let'em get
below 85-90% reliability - then you should not have breakdowns at all?
Think again! The program comes with a pre-installed "Murphy's law"!
In several games I've observed that trains seem to have 'breakdown cycles':
Over a period of some months, all my well-serviced, high-reliability trains
break down, each one once, never twice;
sometimes on the way out from a depot!
This also happens in games with 'Breakdowns Reduced';
then the time between breakdowns is longer.
It seems the program has decided:
"Between June and October, Cecilie's trains No 1 to 14 will break down once".
Long-term restarts + trial runs see each train breaking down at different times,
but each one once.
Short term restarts - a few days only - show e.g. train No 3 breaking down
on July 7th.
If you stop Train no 3, it's 'scheduled' breakdown will be delayed -
it will be re-scheduled to sometime later.
If a train is loading in a station, it may be programmed to break down
shortly after going out.
Breakdown management! . . Ha Ha?!
Once I notice all this, I can plan for it: make a list of the trains;
tick off the ones which have had their breakdown - they're safe for
the next few months.
Use frequent trial runs. Watch the ones soon breaking down, keep
these away from busy rail crossings etc. Make a bypass for that
train coming up behind, etc.
The ones which will probably break down soon - give'em fewer wagons -
a lighter load - so they won't be so slow to start up again.
When only a few are left on the breakdown list, one might
lead them out on a siding, and leave them there - out of the way of
other trains; till they've had their train 'flu'.
These breakdown cycles occur for road vehicles too; in one game I had about 20 'piglet' trucks; they broke down in spite of never being more than 3..7 days from depot!
The breakdown cycle theory also answers the problem:
Should I buy the new faster stronger vehicle, with reliability 75%?
Or should I buy the old slow stable one, with reliability 95%?
Unless the reliability is very low, buy the new fast one! you may
get 4 breakdowns the 1st year instead of 3, but you won't get 6 or 10.
Having no breakdowns at all would be nicer, but that's not real life. I know it's possible to play with 'breakdowns none', but this feels like cheating to me. It removes one of the challenges in the game, instead of solving the problem.
Watch out for the Too many depots message! I've encountered this one after over-indulging in sea depots. There's a limit on the total number of depots, sea- or otherwise.
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NB! Many of these hints are from plain old TTo, no one way signals, etc!
- some hints may be obsolete, or downright wrong - in TTdx - TT deluxe.
- Too few graphics? Sorry, I had no screen capture facility - then!
Last updated:
traidepa.htm 2004-0409,0201, 2003-0106,
(2001-0602, 2000-0130, 0107, 990606 ...1998)
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