Trains - Partial unload to redistribute goods across map?

[slime]

I've seen rail networks where very long trains stop and load at multiple resources before unloading. Also, sometimes these trains unload partially and pass on the cargo to others to redistribute efficiently. How do you build such a network and what are the techniques for doing so? These are some new techniques in OpenTTD that weren't available in Deluxe, so do include the basics of these features as well!

[FLHerne]

It'll be some combination of station-refitting, conditional orders, and cargo distribution. Difficult to guess exactly without more information.

- Station refitting (called 'autorefit' until 1.4.?) allows vehicles from NewGRF sets that support it (the default vehicles don't) to automatically refit to one or more cargos in a station.

- Conditional orders let you jump to another order based on various criteria.

An example some train orders for the above two, if A supplies Coal, B supplies Iron Ore and C supplies both:
1: Go to A (Refit to Coal)
2: Jump to order 6 when Load percentage is more than 90
3: Go to B (No unloading and take cargo with refit to Iron Ore)
4: Jump to order 6 when Load percentage is more than 90
5: Go to C (No unloading and take cargo with refit to available cargo)
6: Go to D (Unload and leave empty)

The train will go to A, B and C in turn, if it isn't nearly full already, and load cargo from each. Orders using refit at multiple stations like that don't make sense for road/ships, because they can only carry one cargo at a time, but a 'refit to available cargo' order is still useful at the pickup point if multiple cargos are being transported.


- Cargodist gives each unit of cargo a destination, so that cargo when being unloaded will wait for vehicles going a specific way, stay on the vehicle to a later stop, and generally be much more interesting. It's still disabled by default, but you should enable it.

[FooBar]

Partially unloading isn't possible. What I often do is use a train to transport goods to a central location in the middle of nowhere. From there I use either road vehicles or smaller trains to transport the goods to multiple locations.

If you don't use Cargo Distribution you'll have to set a transfer order for the big train.

[FLHerne]

Partially unloading isn't possible.

Cargodist does it, by not unloading cargo that should be going via the vehicle's next stop?
There's no way to order a partial unload though.

[FooBar]

You're right. I meant manually partially unloading, say like you want to unload 50% at a given station. With cargodist that will work, but then cargodist will determine what's unloaded for you.

[Baldy's Boss]

I have had a few trains carry both iron ore hoppers and steel trucks...they take ore from the mine to the steel mill,which converts it and loads the steel onto trucks the train then takes to the factory.If I had an iron-ore mine in a goods-accepting urban area I could add goods vans and make true "triangular trade"!