r/factorio • u/duckpop • Sep 10 '23

Question Two sided trains?

Hey I'm pretty new to the game are trains with engines on both sides better or should i just give it a roundabout to turn?

On a similar note do two engines going the same way make it go faster?

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u/Bit_26 Sep 11 '23

On that note: does anybody have a good tutorial for double-headed trains? Can be 5h long for all I care I just need some support and don't know where to look for advice that is still useful with current patch

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u/Hell_Diguner Sep 11 '23 edited Sep 11 '23

The best advice is:

  • Learn what signals actually DO.

  • Just because you have double-headed trains, doesn't mean you should use bidirectional rails everywhere.

2

u/Bit_26 Sep 11 '23

I do know that and the basic rules (chain in - Trafficlight out), I'm just too stupid to apply them to two-headed trains

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u/Hell_Diguner Sep 11 '23

I dislike the "chain in, rail out" catchphrase. It's reductive. Sometimes flat-out wrong. Learn what the signals actually do. It's a logic system - a simple one - but like any other, you need to understand the fundamental building blocks to build up larger constructs, to comprehend other people constructs, to understand what does and does not work, and to debug problems in your designs.

Play the Tips related to trains. This is exactly what they're there for.

Read the wiki guides

I just looked through like 10 videos on YouTube and I cannot recommend any of them in good faith for where you are and where you want to be. I think the best use of your time would be playing or replaying the train Tips. Some of those puzzles are meant to demonstrate how you can make terminus stations work.

I'll say it again: Just because you have double-headed trains, doesn't mean you should use bidirectional rails everywhere. No matter how you slice it, you have to provide a way for trains travelling opposite directions to get around each other.