Transfert systems
7 posts by 2 users
03/01, 2011 06:13AM
calimero
21 posts
People usually use transfert orders only to make feeders. I tried to make full transfert systems where vehicules not only feed but deliver at the same time. There was a problem: a vehicule with orders transfert and load often takes back his own cargo, even if there is cargo from other stations waiting to be picked up.
To solve this issue i made up a dual station transfert system. Lets say i have a transfert station B with vehicules coming from A and C. In B i make 2 stations: vehicules coming from A will unload at B1 and pickup at B2, and vehicules coming from C will unload at B2 and pickup at B1. This prevent the vehicules from taking the wrong cargo.
Once this soluced I applied this station design for different purposes. After some tests I found several situations where this can be profitable.
# First use: the pax hub: a transfert station in the center of a start network: all the passengers are transfered to the hub, and they are picked up to travel to some other city of the network.
To be profitable it is very important that both sides of the transfert hub bring in about the same number of passengers. That means some fine tuning with the number of vehicules on each side, depending on the distance from the hub and population of the city. For example if A provides more passengers than C to handle all the trafic you will need to set full load orders in the city A while not in B, so the vehicules do not wait and can pickup in the transfert station all the passengers from A. It is very important that passengers don't wait in the transfert station, or the income will drop. To balance both branches of the network it is also possible to use side feeders to provides passengers from the nearby towns, as showed in the second savegame below with the trains.
I make other posts for next uses to be able to attach screenshots and savegames.
To solve this issue i made up a dual station transfert system. Lets say i have a transfert station B with vehicules coming from A and C. In B i make 2 stations: vehicules coming from A will unload at B1 and pickup at B2, and vehicules coming from C will unload at B2 and pickup at B1. This prevent the vehicules from taking the wrong cargo.
Once this soluced I applied this station design for different purposes. After some tests I found several situations where this can be profitable.
# First use: the pax hub: a transfert station in the center of a start network: all the passengers are transfered to the hub, and they are picked up to travel to some other city of the network.
To be profitable it is very important that both sides of the transfert hub bring in about the same number of passengers. That means some fine tuning with the number of vehicules on each side, depending on the distance from the hub and population of the city. For example if A provides more passengers than C to handle all the trafic you will need to set full load orders in the city A while not in B, so the vehicules do not wait and can pickup in the transfert station all the passengers from A. It is very important that passengers don't wait in the transfert station, or the income will drop. To balance both branches of the network it is also possible to use side feeders to provides passengers from the nearby towns, as showed in the second savegame below with the trains.
I make other posts for next uses to be able to attach screenshots and savegames.
03/01, 2011 07:09AM
calimero
21 posts
# Second use: dispatcher. Here the pax hub is also used to transport goods or food to the cities of the network. The goods are delivered to the hub and picked up by the pax and mail trains on their way back. Depending on the number of goods but the pax trains must have only one, maybe two wagons of goods, no more than 1/3 off the train.
To be efficient, this method requires a high frequency of trains entering the hub, so the goods are always picked up. The full load orders are not always possible because the network must stay fluent. So the good station rating must be obtained by the frequency of trains entering in. A balance between number of trains/wagons per train must be found.
In the example below a farm is located near the hub. Livestock and cereals are transfered to the hub by trucks. Some trains pickup these to bring them to the food factory. Once at the food factory they drop their cargo and pickup goods to transfert them back to the hub, where they will be handled by intercity trains.
This system is quite hard to maintain because it requires fine tuning with number of wagons/number of trains and it can change while the network evolves. You also need some money to make it work good: it is less profitable than direct lines in the begining but more efficient when it is sized: you can handle a lot of cargo with less trains, keeping a high station rating.
To be efficient, this method requires a high frequency of trains entering the hub, so the goods are always picked up. The full load orders are not always possible because the network must stay fluent. So the good station rating must be obtained by the frequency of trains entering in. A balance between number of trains/wagons per train must be found.
In the example below a farm is located near the hub. Livestock and cereals are transfered to the hub by trucks. Some trains pickup these to bring them to the food factory. Once at the food factory they drop their cargo and pickup goods to transfert them back to the hub, where they will be handled by intercity trains.
This system is quite hard to maintain because it requires fine tuning with number of wagons/number of trains and it can change while the network evolves. You also need some money to make it work good: it is less profitable than direct lines in the begining but more efficient when it is sized: you can handle a lot of cargo with less trains, keeping a high station rating.
03/01, 2011 07:54AM
calimero
21 posts
# Delivery station. This one is simple. We have lets say a farm with a line to the food factory. The trains deliver to the factory and pickup the goods there to transfert them to the farm station. After this the goods are delivered to their final destination by other vehicules.
Advantage: less trains to make the goods travel, and they can go further with less investment. In the example below the food factory is producing a lots of goods, feeded by several farms. So the trains from the main farm have more goods wagons than livestock and cereals, because the factory production is high. Difficulty: it is only efficient when there is enough trains to handle the production.
Advantage: less trains to make the goods travel, and they can go further with less investment. In the example below the food factory is producing a lots of goods, feeded by several farms. So the trains from the main farm have more goods wagons than livestock and cereals, because the factory production is high. Difficulty: it is only efficient when there is enough trains to handle the production.
03/01, 2011 08:48AM
calimero
21 posts
# Junction. This is for the case of a station is not reachable by a vehicule and it needs a relay. Example: to connect by boat a city near to the sea to another city that is not close enough to the sea to be covered by the harbour. The boats drop passengers at the junction and the buses pick them up as they feed the junction from the city.
I use the unload all order here instead of the transfert order. The ships load at the junction station and will make money on the delivery. When they come back they do not make money, just drop the passengers. With this the buses that make the junction get all the income, and this does not affect min profit.
You can choose to handle all the trafic from the biggest city, or only take from it the same number of passengers provided by the smallest city. To do this set full load orders to the ships on the weakest station, and full load order for the buses at the transfert station, so they will only bring in passengers if they pickup some. To handle all remove switch the full load orders : city for the buses and transfert station for the boats; and just increase their number to match the volume.
This type of junction works well, the difficulty is as long as the trafic rises you need to keep an eye on it and tune it so that both sides bring the same amount of trafic, or the profits will decrease badly.
I use the unload all order here instead of the transfert order. The ships load at the junction station and will make money on the delivery. When they come back they do not make money, just drop the passengers. With this the buses that make the junction get all the income, and this does not affect min profit.
You can choose to handle all the trafic from the biggest city, or only take from it the same number of passengers provided by the smallest city. To do this set full load orders to the ships on the weakest station, and full load order for the buses at the transfert station, so they will only bring in passengers if they pickup some. To handle all remove switch the full load orders : city for the buses and transfert station for the boats; and just increase their number to match the volume.
This type of junction works well, the difficulty is as long as the trafic rises you need to keep an eye on it and tune it so that both sides bring the same amount of trafic, or the profits will decrease badly.
03/01, 2011 08:57AM
calimero
21 posts
What are you uses of the transfert orders? Have you experimented original ways or profitable situations to use them?
03/03, 2011 08:55PM
JStaxton
162 posts
Hi calimero,
just wanted to thank you writing all your insights down! Thanks for that!
I only used the transfer orders to make feeders, but maybe now I will test your things out.
JStaxton
just wanted to thank you writing all your insights down! Thanks for that!
I only used the transfer orders to make feeders, but maybe now I will test your things out.
JStaxton
03/04, 2011 04:21PM
calimero
21 posts
Thanx for you support JStaxton.
Another variation I found:
# The switch. Situation: 3 high populated cities at equal distance, short. The problem was to transport all the passengers from the 3 cities with maximum profit. I could have done direct lines, but income would be low for the vehicules because of the sort distance to the central city. So I made a transfert switch in the central city. In this way the buses transport passengers from the outside cities and passenges from the central one, so their individual profit gets higher.
To keep the exact amount of vehicules needed full load orders can be used at the switch for the weakest side of the network's vehicules.
Another variation I found:
# The switch. Situation: 3 high populated cities at equal distance, short. The problem was to transport all the passengers from the 3 cities with maximum profit. I could have done direct lines, but income would be low for the vehicules because of the sort distance to the central city. So I made a transfert switch in the central city. In this way the buses transport passengers from the outside cities and passenges from the central one, so their individual profit gets higher.
To keep the exact amount of vehicules needed full load orders can be used at the switch for the weakest side of the network's vehicules.