Running Trains Without Many, Or Any Signals.

[opensteam]

I'm looking for new ways to design my rails. I'm not good with signals so I make a seperate rail for each train. I was wondering how others build without using many, or any signals.

My example:

# :Train Garage
= :Track
Stat :Station

#[StatPower]=[Stat,coal1]#
...................#[Stat]=[coal2]#

[lawton27]

Without using any signals there is little more you can do than simple point to points...

There's some websites available with good signaling tutorials, you haven't specified which game you are playing so I couldn't tell you where to look. If you're playing OTTD the best place would be the OTTD wiki.

[opensteam]

I am using Open TTD.

Is there a big difference in profit possiblity between signals vs none, or are signal setups just more for show?

[PikkaBird]

Well, you can easily run more trains in a smaller space if you don't have to provide separate platforms, running lines and depots for each one, and you don't have the expense of building the extra infrastructure...

[Supercheese]

I used to run all my trains in the same way, dedicated track for each. I was intrigued by the promises of vastly improved throughputs using signaling that others had achieved, so I started using simple double-track terminus setups, which are easy to start with when you're coming from a dedicated-line mindset: http://wiki.openttd.org/Terminus#Terminus
Easy and very much an improvement! Simply make all track double rather than single and drag one-way signals (path or otherwise; the signal drag-density is configurable) for one direction on the right and the other on the left (I drive on the right, but plenty of folk don't so take your pick!) If the line is short (and/or has a lot of trains), you'll want all stations to have at least two platforms, like in the picture from the above link. If it's a long line with enough distances between trains, you can get away with just one shared platform:

[Lockwood]

When I started, I tended to copy the AI and do single track with passing places.

Currently, my first train will be a 2 track station, with some dual ahead of it, then narrowing to single. It then widens out to a 2 track station the other end in the same way. I will then put passing places in which will then get converted to double tracks later. I'd usually run 2 trains on a line like this, possibly 3 if it's a long line. More than that and you get too much queuing.
This is faily easy to signal and is then extendable.