Rail Doctor

Rail Doctor

"Could not connect stations" - but where, and why? Rail Doctor adds a card to the line window of a broken rail line that says what is in the way and takes you to it: a stop on the wrong terminal, a one-way signal facing the wrong way, a gap in the track, a waypoint on the wrong track or missing catenary. And on lines that work, it notices when trains quietly take the long way round.

Features

• A Rail Doctor card in the line window, shown for rail lines the game reports as broken (no path, or an alternative terminal trains can't use) and for lines with a silent detour.
• Wrong terminals: works out which terminal changes give every leg a path without breaking a leg that works, e.g. Use Terminal 2 at Ardmore Station (now Terminal 1).
• Wrong-way one-way signals: names each one-way signal trains would have to pass from behind, with its distance from the station, by the name the game gives it (Signal #4).
• Gaps: when the only way round would run against traffic, shows the furthest point trains get to instead: usually right at the break.
• Waypoints: spots a waypoint on the track for the other direction, and offers either moving it or changing the signals.
• Silent detours: on rail lines that work, a check in the background spots legs where trains take the long way round (at least 25% and 500 m longer than they could be), usually through another station, because a stop is on the wrong terminal. A pin shows where the long way round goes furthest out, usually a turning loop. It suggests the terminals that make the whole line shortest, e.g. To shorten the line (6.1 km → 3.0 km in all), or says when only track changes can help. Lines without a detour show no card.
• Alternative terminals: says which alternative can't be reached or left.
• Missing catenary (and other track-type problems): the game's own reason and location.
• Every place it names has a locate pin: click the row and the camera zooms in on it.

How to use

1. Open the window of a rail line with a "could not connect" warning.
2. Read the Rail Doctor card. Hover a row for more detail; click it to look at the spot.
3. Fix it, by changing a terminal in Manage Line or turning a signal round, and the card goes away by itself.

Good to know

• Rail Doctor follows the track the way a train can: it carries on only where the track continues in the same direction and reverses only at the stop. Before it advises anything, it checks that its own search agrees with the game on every leg of the line, and if it doesn't, it says so instead of guessing.
• Some station mods put one-way signals on their station tracks on purpose (Express & Local Rail Stations does). If Rail Doctor names one of those, changing the terminal or the line is usually the better fix.
• If a mod assigns terminals automatically (such as Auto Assign Terminals), turn that off for the line before you change its terminals. Note that it leaves lines without vehicles alone.
• The check runs once when the line window opens. For broken lines it stops after a second on very large networks; the detour check runs a few milliseconds per frame, so opening a window doesn't stutter.
• Translated into all languages TF3 supports, as a best effort by a non-native speaker. Corrections are welcome in the comments.
• This is a cosmetic mod. It doesn't change the simulation, so achievements stay available, and you can add it to or remove it from existing saves.