Shunting

Shunting

In the station window of a wagon yard, enter Shunt wagons to: the name of another wagon yard and choose when: right away, when empty or when full.

Whenever wagons are left there, a free shunting locomotive

1. drives to a point 16 tiles before the end of the wagons (the end it can reach – not through the wagons' own signal block),
2. moves up slowly and couples,
3. brings them to the target – pushing, so dead-end tracks work; if needed it changes direction at the nearest turnaround first,
4. uncouples and returns to its shunting depot.

Several wagon yards may share a name (e.g. three tracks called "Loading track"): the locomotive takes a free one.

Shunting locomotives are normal trains with at least one locomotive facing each way (e.g. 1 + 1 or 2 + 2). They only work within 400 tiles of the wagons, so each yard uses its own locomotives. UTL does not send them to refuel: give them plenty of fuel or a "fuel low" interrupt.

Example: like a real railway

• Mainline train leaves full wagons at Arrival (mode only leave, shunt to "Unloading track", right away).
• Shunting locomotive brings them to a free Unloading track (shunt to "Provision", when empty).
• When empty, it brings them to Provision; the next mainline train picks them up at Departure and pulls them away.