AI locked junctions-possible fix?

[xcrosswitch]

Hi All,
I'm on a roll...I think.
I have been making a scenario for Stevens Pass. AMTRAK Pax out of Everett heading to Wenatchee station. I planted oncoming AI's in sidings at Scenic, Berne, Leavenworth and Cashmere. All AI were placed at the east end of the sidings, timed
to start when I passed over the west end switch(times taken from actual game play). I encountered Red lights at every siding and consequently wore the incoming AI in the face. All the automatic junctions were locked by the AI (sound familiar?)
Of course, it all looked sweet in VCR playback, but the timings of the meets in VCR were vastly different to what I experienced in actual game play. If the AI is working on the same page as the VCR it's no wonder there are problems.

Long story short. I set my Driver train priority to 'Special' instead of 'Standard Freight' or 'Stopping Passenger'. The result - I get a priority path with no red signals, and if I'm late, the AI's are waiting patiently at their red signal waiting for me to pass.
I remember reading somewhere long ago not to use 'Special" as a priority, although there was no reason given. I would like to have a break down explanation of the various priorities and the consequences of using them. It would possibly help scenario writers in their quest for perfection.
Anyway folks, I hope this works across the board.

Rob K

[artimrj]

You don't use Special for AI as it makes them lock their paths. You use it to assign priorities with the player train. I do not use special for anything though.

[Chacal]

You've probably read what's in the creator's manual:

Service Class
Select the service class of the train. This is Class used by the
RailWorks to prioritise the AI trains. An Express Passenger train has
priority over a Standard Freight, and a Special train has priority over
all.

The instruction only mentions AI trains.

What were the original classes of your player train and AI trains?
Setting your player train to any passenger class should give you priority over freight trains.

[xcrosswitch]

Sorry Guys, I should have explained. I have the AI prioritised as 'Standard Freight' and the player train is 'Special'
I'll admit, most of my scenarios in the past have been twin or multiple track jobs, so I use 'Standard freight' on everything. This is the first single track route I have
been exploring with the different priorities.
Rob K

[OldProf]

You have an intriguing technique there. I can only see one possible glitch: passenger AI trains. At least according to TS's list of possibilities, any passenger train takes priority over all freights; with the player train rated "Special", however, this wouldn't happen. Still, what right do those passengers have to claim precedence over the very freight that they depend upon?

Has any scenario writer on this forum experimented with the "International" designation?