How to Use Track Direction Markers

The information in this Wiki Page applies to TANE, TRS19, Trainz Plus and TRS22.

Track Direction Marks are yellow coloured markers that are invisible in Driver but visible in Surveyor They are "One Way" signs that force trains under AI control to travel in a specific direction through the track section where they are placed They only work on AI controlled trains and have no effect on manually controlled trains

What are Track Direction Marks?

While Track Marks can be used to direct trains around a layout, they must be added to the Driver Commands in the form of Drive Via commands, and similar, to individual train drivers to work. Direction Marks can perform some of the same work without needing to be added to the command lists of the drivers. Their disadvantage is that Direction Marks will affect all AI controlled trains while Track Marks will only affect those AI trains where they appear in the driver command lists. Direction Marks force AI drivers to follow a particular path. They only work on AI controlled trains and have no effect on manually controlled trains.

Route or Session?

Direction Marks can be placed in a Route Layer or in a Session Layer

Notes: Placing Direction Marks in a Route layer (e.g. in the same layer as the track) means that they will be available in all Sessions created using that particular Route. Placing Direction Marks in a Session layer means that they will only be available in that particular Session. This can be useful if two or more Sessions are being created and you want to use different Direction Marks in each Session.

Information on Route and Session layers can be found at:- How to Use Layers

Adding a Track Direction Mark

Notes: The only important property of a Direction Mark is the direction it is pointing. This is the direction that all AI controlled trains will be forced to take.

In Surveyor Classic (S10)

Adding a Direction Mark (S10)

Steps: To add a Track Direction Mark:- Open the Track Tool flyout or press the  F4  key Left Click on the Trackmark button or press the  V  key Left Click the item named Track Direction Marker in the asset list Left Click the  +  Add button - it may already be selected - or press the  A  key Left Click on the track location where the Track Mark is to be placed if it is not facing the right direction then Left Click on the Rotate Trackmark button or press the  R  key If necessary, you can adjust the position of the marker by dragging it along the track using the Move tool

Notes: To edit a Direction Mark after it has been placed you will need to manually open its Properties Window to:- enter a Name for the Direction Mark, and if needed, select a Layer and a Bound Layer - see the Trainz Wiki Page  How to Use layers for the details The direction that it faces is its only important property

Set its Effect Radius (S10)

At the bottom of the Track Tools flyout menu is an Advanced button. Left Click this button to open the advanced tools.

The Effect Radius sets the size of green "effect wings" attached to both ends of the marker.

Notes: The Effect Radius has no effect on the operation of a Direction Mark but it allows you to keep its "visibility" clear of other track objects such as junctions and other markers.

Steps: To set a Direction Mark Effect Radius:- In the Track Tools flyout, Left Click on the Advanced button to open the Radius tools and properties. You will have a choice of 4 methods to set and adjust the Effect Radius Options: Choose one of:- To copy the Effect Radius of an existing Direction Mark Left Click the Get Effect Radius icon Left Click on the Direction Mark whose radius you want to copy - the radius will be copied into the Effect Radius Value text box (the default value is 20.00 metres) To apply the new value see option below To manually alter the Effect Radius value Type the new value (in metres) into the Effect Radius Value text box To apply the new value see option below To apply a value in the Effect Radius Value text box (from methods , or ) to another Direction Mark Left Click the Copy Radius Value icon Left Click on the Direction Mark that is to receive the new value (you can click on more than one) To adjust the Effect Radius value up or down Left Click the Adjust Effect Radius button Select the Direction Mark Left Click and Drag Forward (to increase the value) or Backward (to reduce the value) The new value will be immediately applied to the selected Direction Mark as the mouse moves (but only one Direction Mark at a time)

Once you have an Effect Radius entered in the value box, you can apply it to any number of Direction Marks by using method shown above

In Surveyor 2.0 (S20)

Surveyor 2.0 is currently only available in Trainz Plus and TRS22 Platinum.

Adding a Direction Mark (S20)

In the Asset Palette either:-

Left Click on the Track Mesh Filter icon

OR

Left Click on the Content Drop-down Box Then select Track Objects

Notes: If the Assets Palette is not shown on the screen, then:- Steps: To display palettes:- open the Window Menu from the menu icons at the top of the screen   visible palettes have ticks next to their names invisible (hidden) palettes have no ticks next to their names if the Assets Palette, or any required palette, does not have a tick next to its name then Left Click on the name of the palette or on the empty box next to its name. This will add a and make the palette visible There is a Trainz Wiki Page specifically covering the S20 Palettes at  How to Use the Surveyor 2.0 Palettes

Shortcut  If you already have a Direction Mark placed in your route then:- move the tool pointer over the existing direction marker object and hold down the  Alt  key. The object name will appear in a ToolTip attached to the pointer  Alt  + Left Click (hold down the  Alt  key and Left Click) on the direction marker to identify it in the Assets Palette and to select the Placement Tool. Release the key. Jump to Step below.

To narrow down the filter list, type "mark" (UPPER/lower case does not matter) in the Search Text Box

This will list all the Track Objects containing the text "mark" in the filter list. Left Click on the item name AI Routing Direction Marker or Track Direction Marker. Notes: There are two separate Direction Marks available. Track Direction Marker - this is the original version AI Routing Direction Marker - this is similar to the original but it does not affect signal operations If you are not sure about an object then Double Left Click on the name to bring up its image and description.

Place the Direction Mark on the track.

Notes: To add a direction mark, or any object, you will need to select the Placement Tool To edit a direction mark once it has been placed you will usually use either the Free Move Tool or the Fine Adjustment Tool

Steps: To add a Direction Mark:- Select the Placement Tool (or press the  E  key) from the Tools Palette Left Click on the track at the position where you want to place the Direction Mark Notes: To delete a Direction Mark (or any object):- Steps: select either the:- Free Move Tool (or press  S ) OR Fine Adjustment Tool (or press  D ) Left Click on the Direction Mark press the  Delete  key

Set the Marker Direction (S20)

The direction that the marker points is its ONLY important property.

Steps: To reverse its direction:- select the Direction Mark and Left Click on its Context Menu Icon (or press the  T  key). From the popup Context Menu select the  Rotate Trackside  option

Change its Name (S20)

The name of the marker is only useful for finding it in the route. It is not needed for any operational purpose.

Steps: To change the name of a Direction Mark:- using either the Free Move Tool or the Fine Adjustment Tool select (Left Click on) the Direction Mark to be renamed in the Info Palette (you may need to make this palette visible - see the Notes: for Step  1  above) Left Click in the Name: entry box. Enter a name for the Direction Mark and press the  Enter  key

Set its Effect Radius (S20)

The Effect Radius sets the size of green "effect wings" attached to both ends of the marker. It has no effect on its operation but allows you to keep its "visibility" clear of other track objects such as junctions and other markers.

Steps: To adjust the effect radius of a Direction Mark:- Left Click and Drag Forward or Backward on the Green Dot next to the Track Mark to increase or reduce its Trigger Radius

Move the Direction Mark Along the Track (S20)

Direction Marks can be moved along the track or to other tracks.

Steps: To move the Direction Mark:- Left Click and Drag Forward or Backward on the Yellow Dot next to the Direction Mark to move it along the track or to another track

Move the Direction Mark Vertically (S20)

Direction Marks can be physically placed above (or below) the track. This feature allows them to be placed, for example, above the track so that they will not be hidden in Surveyor if a consist is parked on a marker.

Steps: To move a Direction Mark vertically:- This option is only available with the Fine Adjustment Tool - the  D  key Left Click and Drag Forward or Backward on the  Blue  Vertical Axis Line above the Direction Mark to it up or down If you need to return the Direction Mark to its original position then:- Steps: To correctly reattach the Direction Mark to the track:- select the object and open (Left Click on) its Context Menu Icon (or press the  T  key) from the popup menu select  Reattach to Track

Move the Direction Mark Horizontally (S20)

Direction Marks can be physically placed left or right alongside the track. This feature allows them to be placed, for example, beside the track so that they will not be hidden in Surveyor if a consist is parked on a marker.

Steps: To move a Direction Mark horizontally:- This option is only available with the Fine Adjustment Tool - the  D  key Left Click and Drag Forward or Backward on the  Red  Horizontal Axis Line attached to the Direction Mark to move it left or right Left Click and Drag Forward or Backward on the  Green  Horizontal Axis Line attached to the Direction Mark to move it forward or back If you need to return the Track Mark to its original position then:- Steps: To correctly reattach the Track Mark to the track:- select the object and open (Left Click on) its Context Menu Icon (or press the  T  key) from the popup menu select  Reattach to Track

Notes: The  Green  Horizontal Axis Line shown as in the image pointing forward from the Track Mark will move it forward/backward regardless of whether it is on the track or not. It has the same effect as Move a Direction Mark Along the Track. However, by using this tool it is possible to move the Track Mark beyond the end of the track if that is ever required.

Assign a Direction Mark to Another Layer (S20)

The Info Palette will show the layer assigned to the currently selected object. To the left of the layer name is a small arrowhead object.

Steps: To assign a Direction Mark to a layer:- In the Info Palette:- Left Click the small arrowhead next to the layer name. This will open the layer properties for the selected object Left Click the Layer drop down box to select a new layer for the object if required, Left Click the Binding drop down box to select a new binding layer for the object. It cannot be bound to its own layer if required, Left Click the  Lock Layer  button to lock the selected layer. If the layer is already locked then this will be shown as an  Unlock Layer  button WARNING: You will not be allowed to place a track object in a layer that is higher up the list than the layer containing the track Moving an object from one layer group to another (e.g. from the Route Layer Group to the Session Layer Group) will change where the object is saved (in the Route or in the Session) Information on layers can be found at:- How to Use Layers

Direction Mark Operation

	Track Direction Marks only work on AI controlled trains. They have no effect on manually controlled trains
	If the set path is blocked, then the AI will NOT attempt to find another path
	A set path will be ignored if a shorter path is available

Consider the situation represented in the diagrams below. An AI controlled train is moving left to right towards a junction and a loop line. A Direction Mark (yellow triangle) has been set on the main line which only allows AI trains traveling right-to-left to pass along that section of track.

In Figure 1 below, The train approaches the junction at the start of the one way section.

Figure 1

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In Figure 2 below, the train has been forced to take the loop line to avoid the section controlled by the Direction Mark.

Figure 2

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In Figure 3 below, the loop line has been blocked by another train. The moving train will attempt to use the loop line but it will be halted and will not attempt to find another path.

Figure 3

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Direction Marks can be ignored by the AI In Figure 4 below, the marker has been placed on the loop line and is pointing in the same direction as the moving train. However, the mainline path represents the shorter route for the consist so the "preferred" direction, as indicated by the Direction Mark, is ignored. Placing a Direction Mark is no guarantee that the path will be followed if more suitable paths are available.

Figure 4

Related Links

How to Use Track Markers How to Use Track Priority Markers How to Use Track Triggers

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Trainz Wiki

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