Last night I was doing a run from Preston to Burn Naze and on approach to Poulton-le-Fylde I passed 2 clear signals. And to my surprise when the end of the platform come into view the signal was red. I was slowing for the speed restriction so luckily I stopped my train with only a couple of feet to spare. Anyway this got the adrenaline flowing and I was wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences on other routes?
I get it with German routes. I think I’m quite good a judging what a signal is telling most times but other times a yellow signal just comes out of nowhere with a red too close for comfort. This is even more challenging if you’re driving with PZB in a train with a tap changer since in some you have to wait for the taps to run down before braking
Yes I have definitely been caught out with the German signals on many occasions. Although normally you get green, yellow then red, even if the distance between the warning and the stop signal is a bit close for comfort. Waiting for the rundown normally results in a spad. On this occasion though I had a green signal followed by a green distant followed by a red signal.
NTP was and still is a bit notorious for wrong side signalling setup, where you don't get a correct distant signal. Also IOW 2022 you get a clear distant with the associated section signal at danger.
I believe that signal only shows red when you are scheduled to stop at that station and it's quite a slow speed restriction across the points. But whether it is correct or not I couldn't tell you.
Yes, this often happens at this location on the Blackpool route (I’ve never known it anywhere else on that route, though). West Cornwall has the same problem and, as others have mentioned, so does Northern Transpennine. The issue seems to be particular to semaphore signals in TSD. With colour light signals I’ve had other issues (incorrect indications at junctions etc) but I don’t think I’ve ever had a red without a single yellow before it. It feels as if there must be some issue in the core with the way the game deals with semaphore signals, as otherwise it seems odd that three different developers - DTG, Rivet and Just Trains - have all produced routes with the same issue.
Perhaps that's what they mean by prepare for the unexpected. I got caught out on a US route also with green then red. I definitely see where it's the mixture of semaphore and colour signals (apart from us). I'm sure I've had an experience on sos where the colour signals displaying yellow followed by clear semaphores.
Unfortunately, approach control isn't completely set up correctly on most routes. The newer ones are much much better though. Its almost there, but some signals are forgotten about which require it. For example, MAC is the best route yet imo, but a few signals are missing this important aspect needed for ultra realism. Difficult task though with the myriad of junctions and different types of app control on that route. If driving hudless you can be completely surprised by a diverging route with no prior warning of the upcoming speed reduction. A big immersion killer for me.
That's what I miss from tsc is the AWS warnings for speed reductions. It may not be realistic but really does help with route learning. Yeah that's a killer, sometimes I'm driving along and next thing I'm speeding without warning. If with good route knowledge it's hard without hud sometimes.
ive noticed a few of the shunt signals are lit up when you are running in on the down fast into P4/5/6/7. there is also a missing AWS sound missing at styal on the down main before the airport junction. they are there on some routes but as above some are missing. the fixed distant bards on BPO do give a bell on the AWS. one thing about BPO is in 1986 there was no AWS and JT use scenario markers to slow you down and stop due to it being block working. it was their work around. there are 2 said markers on this service one at salwick and one at paulton. i was running it though to check the signals however my control unit died and had to nip out to get some AAA battery's
This happened to me on Fife circle on a on foot session with a spawned train. I SPAD on the forth bridge. Had a green at the start of the bridge, one at the end was danger, no caution. Couldn’t slow down in time. Quite annoying!
Ideally you should wait for the taps to run down, but not when faced with an unexpected caution signal. Safety first, equipment longetivity second. So brake immediately, so you are within the PZB curve and not of danger of spading. Weird, never happened to me on Blackpool branches. One note to semaphores though. A single distance semaphore signal can protect multiple main signals, in sequence. So when you pass a semaphore that has the yellow bar at caution, it means that any signal before the next distant (yellow bar) signal can be at danger. This can caught you, If you drive by what the hud tells you, and not what the semaphores/signals show, because on hud it is green -> red situation. Hud also doesn't show signs like these Which mean permanent caution signal.
I vaguely remember something like that happening to me. Since ntp I always expect the next signal to be red on any route. Finger ready for the emergency brake. Sometimes you can stop sometimes there's no chance. Yes it can be quite annoying, especially if you are quite far into a journey. Still waiting for the auto save feature to come back.
It's only that junction on the blackpool branch it's happened to me. Only if there's a train coming the other way. Otherwise it's a clear signal.
Unfortunately, in the case of Poulton-le-Fylde signals are actually bugged. When coming from Preston, first signal after Singleton signalbox is the colour light distant for Poulton-le-Fylde, then semaphore after a left curve before the station, and another one at the end of a platform. In the game, if the last semaphore is at danger, distant will still show green, so you get green at distant, green at home, and then suddenly red at the end of the platform.
That’s what I experience, and it happens a lot. Luckily the low line speed (even if you’re not stopping, you’re slowing for the 20mph at the junction) means you’re not actually likely to SPAD the signal at the platform end as a result. In fact, my suspicion is that a lot of people have experienced this incorrect signal sequence and haven’t even noticed it.
I like the way they used to throw in a couple of colour signals here and there between semaphore signals. Was they controlled by a signalling centre instead of the signal boxes? One of my local lines wasn't updated to modern signalling until 2004 and that had colour signals thrown in here and there.
just finished off the freight run to burn naze and had the same results. i think the reason why most haven't noticed it is because as i stated on my last post there is a stop at location (on the freight run so you should be slowing anyway) and and most passenger trains stop there. those that don't wouldn't notice ether because of a clear run though. the 3 light signal seems to work correct, it will show orange if there is a train in the station, it caught me out a few times when i've run through the second semaphore on red. im no expert on signaling but my only logical way of thinking if it was set like this IRL is that the 3 light gives you an indication as to traffic in the station and to slow as the next signal could be set against you, you then have the 50mph speed restriction. you then pass the second semaphore but by now you would be in the mind set of A you are stopping or B dropping to 20mph if going straight though. you would also have a good sighting of the third 2 signals in the station and would already be slowing, so it would leave you with more than enough time to slow to a stop or roll through.
on the blackpool line it was signal boxes they lasted until november 2017. not sure who runs it now. one would think a control station at preston. we still have the buxton line near me that is still absolute block working, with 5 signal boxes at hazel grove, norbury hollow, furness vale chapel en le frith and buxton still using semaphore signals. always good fun when network rail cannot get enough staff to man the chapel box and it gets blocked out making buxton to furness vale one section and there is a freight train following the stopper that the have to stop blocking the level crossing at furness vale for a good 20mins until the stopper gets to buxton creating traffic carnage on the main A6 near by. on MAC stockport from heaton norris junction to edgley junction is also absolute block working still run from the 4 boxes. at edgley 2 signaling control centres located on the former shed sight control further south and east. been in them many times. their address is still to this day 9B edgley depot network rail
Had exactly the same as this just yesterday, though I spawned into a service. Green signals all across the bridge, then boom! Red signal, no chance to slow down in time.
