4shveil: Add a screenshot of a route being built; a new route already has its first spawn variant

2026-10-09T13:45:44Z

Add a screenshot of a route being built; a new route already has its first spawn variant

4shveil: New guide: making routes, spawn and turnaround variants, calling patterns and headcodes

2026-10-09T13:18:13Z

New guide: making routes, spawn and turnaround variants, calling patterns and headcodes

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<p class="sg-lede">A route is a service that runs on your map: who runs it, which trains it uses, where they appear, and which way they go. Without routes, no trains run on your map in a game. You build them in the '''Routes''' tab of the [[map editor]].</p>

Build routes last, once your [[Signals in the map editor|signals and next signals]] are done: a route follows the next signals.

== Making a route ==
In the '''Routes''' tab, press '''+''' (New route). Then fill in:

* '''Id''': a short name of its own.
* '''Operator''': Connect, Express, AirLink, Waterline or Metro. Trains show it, and a game's traffic settings use it.
* '''Name''': a longer name, such as ''Stepford Central – Airport''. Only the editor shows it.
* '''Trains''': leave this empty to run the operator's usual trains, or add the trains you want from the list.

== Variants ==
Each route has one or more '''variants''': the paths its trains take. There are two kinds.

{| class="wikitable"
! Kind !! What it is
|-
| '''Spawn''' || Where trains enter the game and the way they go from there. Trains only ever appear at a spawn variant's start.
|-
| '''Turnaround''' || Starts where the route's trains end. A train that ends there may turn round and carry on along it. Nothing appears there.
|}

A route with no spawn variant never runs.

=== Building a spawn variant ===
# Press '''+ Spawn'''.
# Give it a '''Headcode''' (see [[#Headcodes|below]]).
# Set its '''Spawn signal''': press the pick button and click the signal on the map. On the official map, every route starts at a shunt signal leading out of a siding or depot.
# Now build the path. Next to the last signal in the list:
#* '''Follow line''' adds signals along the line until it reaches a junction or the end.
#* At a junction, click one of the '''Next:''' suggestions to choose a way.
#* Or press the pick button and click the signals on the map, in order.
# Keep going until the path reaches its end: a buffer stop, or a platform trains can't go on from.

Each step must follow the signals' next signals. If it doesn't, the Check tab warns you, and the game will look for its own way along the track.

To let trains take more than one way at a junction, use the '''Also:''' suggestions, or the branch pick button, to add another way from the same signal.

=== Calling at stations ===
Each platform on the path shows as '''calls''' or '''passes'''. Click it to switch. Trains stop where it says ''calls'' and run through where it says ''passes''.

=== Building a turnaround variant ===
Add a spawn variant first; then press '''+ Turnaround'''. Its start is where the route's trains end, and the editor suggests those places for you. On the official map, turnarounds start at the buffer stop, or at the starter of the platform where trains reverse. Then build its path the same way.

How often trains turn round instead of leaving the game is set on the '''Map''' tab, under '''Traffic''': '''Continue (%)''' is the chance a train turns round at its terminus when its route has a turnaround there.

== Headcodes ==
A headcode is two characters: a class digit, then a letter for where the train is going. For example, '''2A''' is a stopping train to Airport Central. Trains add a number of their own, as in 2A04.

{| class="wikitable"
! Digit !! Train
|-
| 1 || Semi-fast
|-
| 2 || Stopping
|-
| 3 || Empty stock
|-
| 9 || High-priority express
|}

Signallers usually let trains go in this order: 9 first, then 1, 2 and 3; then late trains; then Express, AirLink, Connect, Waterline and Metro.

== Checking routes ==
The '''Check''' tab warns you when a route:
* has no operator, or no trains it can run,
* has no spawn variant, so no train will ever run it,
* has a step that doesn't follow the next signals,
* goes to a signal that isn't on the map, or
* has a turnaround where none of its other variants end.

Use the crosshair button on a route to select all its signals on the map.

[[Category:Map editor]]
[[Category:Guides]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:45, 9 October 2026
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	Build routes last, once your [[Signals in the map editor\|signals and next signals]] are done: a route follows the next signals.		Build routes last, once your [[Signals in the map editor\|signals and next signals]] are done: a route follows the next signals.

			[[File:Map editor route.png\|thumb\|none\|700px\|A route on the example map: Connect trains with headcode 2E start at the siding's shunt signal S1, take the branch at A, and end at platform 2 of Example Central. The blue line on the map shows the path; the green ring is where trains appear and the orange ring where they end.]]

	== Making a route ==		== Making a route ==
	In the '''Routes''' tab, press '''+''' (New route). Then fill in:		In the '''Routes''' tab, press '''+''' (New route). Then fill in:

	* '''Id''': a short name of its own.		* '''Id''': a short name of its own. The editor fills one in, such as R001.
	* '''Operator''': Connect, Express, AirLink, Waterline or Metro. Trains show it, and a game's traffic settings use it.		* '''Operator''': Connect, Express, AirLink, Waterline or Metro. Trains show it, and a game's traffic settings use it.
	* '''Name''': a longer name, such as ''Stepford Central – Airport''. Only the editor shows it.		* '''Name''': a longer name, such as ''Stepford Central – Airport''. Only the editor shows it.
Line 25:		Line 27:

	=== Building a spawn variant ===		=== Building a spawn variant ===
	# Press '''+ Spawn'''.		A new route already has one spawn variant. Press '''+ Spawn''' to add another.

	# Give it a '''Headcode''' (see [[#Headcodes\|below]]).		# Give it a '''Headcode''' (see [[#Headcodes\|below]]).
	# Set its '''Spawn signal''': press the pick button and click the signal on the map. On the official map, every route starts at a shunt signal leading out of a siding or depot.		# Set its '''Spawn signal''': press the pick button beside it and click the signal on the map. On the official map, every route starts at a shunt signal leading out of a siding or depot.
	# Now build the path. Next to the last signal in the list:		# Now build the path. Next to the last signal in the list:
	#* '''Follow line''' adds signals along the line until it reaches a junction or the end.		#* '''Follow line''' adds signals along the line until it reaches a junction or the end.
	#* At a junction, click one of the '''Next:''' suggestions to choose a way.		#* At a junction, click one of the '''Next:''' suggestions to choose a way.
	#* Or press the pick button and click the signals on the map, in order.		#* Or press the pick button and click the signals on the map, in order.
	# Keep going until the path reaches its end: a buffer stop, or a platform trains can't go on from.		# Keep going until the path reaches its end: a buffer stop, or a platform trains can't go on from. The editor marks it '''Terminus''' and sums the path up underneath, such as ''1 path; terminates at Example Central P2''.

	Each step must follow the signals' next signals. If it doesn't, the Check tab warns you, and the game will look for its own way along the track.		Each step must follow the signals' next signals. If it doesn't, the Check tab warns you, and the game will look for its own way along the track.

	To let trains take more than one way at a junction, use the '''Also:''' suggestions, or the branch pick button, to add another way from the same signal.		To let trains take more than one way at a junction, use the '''Also:''' suggestions, or the branch pick button, to add another way from the same signal. In the picture, '''+ A2''' under A would let these trains go straight on as well.

	=== Calling at stations ===		=== Calling at stations ===

Routes in the map editor - Revision history

4shveil: Add a screenshot of a route being built; a new route already has its first spawn variant

4shveil: New guide: making routes, spawn and turnaround variants, calling patterns and headcodes