HowTo/Place Signals
Regional Trackside Appearance of Signals
Australian & UK signals appear on the left of the track, USA signals appear on the right. European signals vary depending on the track.
- Careful placement of signals will allow you to operate complex operations involving several moving consists without incident.
- It is important to consider that the signals are there to protect the trains from each other, and any situation where their paths may cross should be protected by a signal.
- Extended sections of single line should be relieved by sections of double track or “crossing loops” that enable trains to either pass or cross each other.
- At the entrance to a section of single line there can be two signals protecting the same block, i.e. one on each track to enable faster trains to pass slower ones.
- Keep in mind that once your train passes a signal, any following train will not be permitted to pass until your train reaches the next signal,
- ...if traffic is going to be heavy, don’t place them too far apart.
- It is recommended that you place at least one signal between each junction, and more on longer sections.
- To protect AI trains from over running terminating track, a rail end marker or buffer must be used.
USA Signals by Auran - Special Considerations
For those modeling with the Auran USA Signals (both the 'US'/'USA' series [searchlight-style] and 'US2'/'USA2' [traffic light-style] signals, please be aware that there are two distinct categories that behave quite differently: "Absolute" signals and "Automatic" signals.
An Auran USA Absolute signal maintains absolute control on the driver. He/she absolutely cannot pass on red, must throttle to 1/2 the speed limit on yellow, and is permitted the full speed limit on green. Absolute signals are used to maintain safe single train occupation of blocks.
An Auran USA Automatic signal however, gives credence to the driver's judgement. For a red indication, the driver is actually permitted to pass the signal if he/she has visual line of sight verification that the train can proceed safely, but then at only half speed. Similarly for yellow, the driver can proceed at the speed of his/her discretion. Automatic signals are useful for single track end-to-end sequential blocks with little or no junctions. They optimize a train's forward motion while preventing sequentially trains on the same track from colliding. Other than the USA, other countries with wide open single track stretches
Note: At the time of writing, TANE signals are not capable of detecting a train crossing a block via a diamond crossing. If you wish to operate a fully automated system, diamond crossings should not be used in the path of AI trains.
