!!! what do you mean !!!... its bloody there!

[adriansw]

Okay!.

Heres a fun one.
I started putting together some AI to run the Faversham to Dover line.
Downhill works great. Leaves the station, stops at Canterbury 1, then heads for Dover 1.
On the flip side....
I setup a train starting at Dover 3. Stop at every station and head for Faversham 3.
It gets as far as CanterburyEast 2, then as soon as I add Selling 2 in. I get !!!.

Wondering. I checked the track for any big or small red boxes. None at all.

I then plopped a train into Canterbury, set markers along the track between canterbury and selling. Gave it stop instructions and Oh look... It can get there. It found Selling 2 from Canterbury 2.
Now, take into account that there is no switch track between Canterbury and Selling, or indeed Canterbury and Bekesbourne (the station before Canterbury, that the AI finds happily).

I think, perhaps its the distance?. But the other Loco can get from Faversham 2 to Dover 1 quite happily.

Maybe 7 stops on the one instruction is too many?.

Any ideas why I can get from B to C, A to B, but not A to B to C?.

[adriansw]

Okay.
Trouble shooting is not something you can do easily.

I did find the issue.
And I did find out the reasons why the previouse trouble shooting failed....

The problem:
Cant find location A from location B.
Can find Location A from about 100 feet out.
Cant find location A from 300 feet out.....?? Huh?

Checked the track. Made a break and rewelded.
Same issue remains. !!!

Closer look. (by slowly moving the loco back and fourth, halfing the distance each time). Narrowed the problem down to a section.

Trackes fine, welded, no breaks. The station is right there dang it! You can physicaly see the platform you insane driver!! ARGH!!!!!!!.
Oooo.. Wait. Let me check the track properties....

Somehow, on that one single 50foot streach of track, the direction had been switched from "both", to "up/down". After highliting a section of track and looking, I saw the "direction" was 'unchanged'.. (what exactly does 'unchanged' mean anyway!? shouldnt it say something sencible like 'multiple'?)


So.
When I did my previouse testing. I placed multiple destination markers and told the train to go to them one after the other. I must have placed one of the markers inside that 50 section which forced the Loco to move into the up/down traffic zone. Once in there, it could find its way on to the platform.

You know what this means??.
The signals I deleted from the Dover sidings were probably A-OK...

Im going to go smach my brains out with a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick......