this post was submitted on 10 May 2026
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So, I have 2 train routes for exports, highlighted for visibility:

  • A cement train that runs between the red line (at the end of which is a loading station for cement) and the customs house at the far end of the green line
  • A gravel train that runs from the aggregate loading station at the end of the blue line to the same customs house

Here's the behavior I want:

  • When returning from the green route, a train has right-of-way to return to its loading station
  • If a train arrives at the intersection from the red or blue route, it should proceed only if there is no train on the green line; otherwise, it should wait until the green line is clear

I'm not entirely sure how semaphores work and no combination of them seems to do the trick. I get trains unable to return from the customs house, trains colliding, or trains forever deadlocked at the junction. I've watched/read like 3 different tutorials and I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to do.

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[–] BeanisBrain@hexbear.net 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Thanks, that got it to work! The trains are running properly now.

That said, it's a LOT easier to make trains work seamlessly with dual parallel tracks (one going in each direction, using one-way semaphores to force the trains to use the correct side, and having junctions at the customs house to allow trains to start/end on any track). If cost is a concern, you can create what i'm going to call a "one and a half" track by adding a "passing lane" halfway between the customs house and your town, and using semaphores to make each side of the "passing lane" one-way (make sure the passing/waiting track section is at least as long as your longest train!).

I'll give it a shot, thanks for the suggestion. I feel like I'm slowly getting the hang of semaphores so I might be able to make this work.