Hello everyone, and congratulations on finishing our introduction to this wonderful game.
Later, in my blog posts, I will also talk about other “train games” that came before OpenTTD and those that came after, because the topic of train games is not finished in this last lesson 🙂 Today we have the sixth and final lesson. In it, I will try to tell you something new.
Since path signals appeared, the old signals are no longer really needed. However, just out of interest, or “for history’s sake,” it is worth learning about them.
The first difference is that a path signal is controlled by the train itself, while the other signals are controlled by the situation on the tracks.

This is a block signal. It blocks entry to a section that already has a train, even if that train does not interfere with another train.
In the original version (without patches or add-ons), only these signals were available.

Imagine that a train is using the left branch, but the right branch is free.
A train coming from below could go to the right branch without any problems.
However, a block signal will not allow this.

In this case, passing is allowed if the train goes to the right.
But at the same time, the train will enter the junction and block it 😞

In this case, passing is forbidden only when both tracks after the split are occupied.

This is like a logical AND element for those who know programming or logic.
That means the signal will be red only when all signals with a white stripe are red.
Then the signal with the yellow horizontal stripe (Entry signal) will also be red, because it depends on them.

About the yellow signal with a vertical stripe:
for the signal before it, it is an Exit signal,
and for the signals after it, it is an Entry signal.

Learning these additional and historically older signals will allow you to build transport networks more flexibly.

Here, the train is a passive part of the network.

But with path signals, the train becomes an active part of the network.
It reserves the path it will use, and if it does not block another train, there is no problem—even if the signals are red.

Transport junctions.

If 3–4 or even more transport directions meet at one place on the map, then with heavy traffic the junction can become a bottleneck and cause traffic jams and delays in the continuous movement of trains.

With a large number of trains and intensive traffic, you should build more efficient junctions instead of a simple crossing.
For example, like this one.

The page https://wiki.openttd.org/Category/en/Manual/Train%20Junctions shows a very large number of railway junctions.
Most of them are quite complex, but they are still worth looking at.

Homework

This time we will not connect to a server. I cannot run my own server because of power problems, and other public servers often restart. So the task will be creative for you.

Task 1 (5 points):

Explore and use old types of signals in your network. Create a railway network with a simple junction of two directions (4 branches).

Task 2 (5 points):

Rebuild this primitive junction into a more efficient one of your choice.
Show creativity when building your railway network, or choose a nice design from this page

✨Rules for Participation

🚌 Title of your work: SLC S28 Week6 - SteemitTTD - Old signals & Railway junctions

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Rewards:

✈️ SC01/SC02 will evaluate posts across all participating teaching teams. Upvotes are not guaranteed for all articles.

✈️ Your work will be reviewed, commented on, and evaluated by me. Six best works will be selected. Participants who won last week will have a lower chance of being selected again, while those who did not win previously will have a higher chance if their work is well executed.