Tips for converting large networks

[BobMem]

Hello everyone,

I've returned to OpenTTD after an absence of about 8-10 years. I'm really loving some of new features. I've also started to dip my toe into the complicated world of NewGRFs, but that's a different subject altogether.

This post was to ask if there are any hints and tips for converting large rail networks to monorail or maglev. On my current save, which is pretty vanilla, found it really hard to get all the trains into the right places, and had to create new trains with fresh orders for a lot of routes, because there were trains from multiple routes in the same depot. But if you spend ages sending trains all to their 'home' depot then you affect all your resource production and downstream cargo for even longer!

Is there a 'best' way to do it?

As an aside, I had a station at a steelworks. Although it was a single station, it effectively acted as two separate stations for incoming iron ore, and outgoing steel. When I selected "trains that visit this station", then filtered on "Iron ore trains", then sent all to depot, it sent EVERY train to the depot despite the filter. For the next hour I kept finding steel trains in random depots doing nothing!

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bob.

[skc]

This is what I do:

1. Place a depot a few train lengths before the pick-up station, add an order for the trains to 'go for servicing if needed' that depot.
2. Build a maglev or monorail depot between the rail depot and the pick-up station
3. Build a new train in the new depot, using the Ctrl+Click so that it shares orders with an existing train
4. Change the 'depot' order to be 'stop at depot'
5. Start converting the track
6. Create copies of the new train in the new depot and sending them on their way
7. Delete the old trains
8. Remove old depot
9. Delete new depot and re-build in place of 1st rail depot
10. Edit/replace the depot order to get the new maglev/monorail trains to go via the newest depot

Note #1: Firstly, you'll need to ensure each group of trains is sharing orders.
Note #2: Use the groups feature, which further simplifies managing these sorts of changeovers.

Additionally, I tend to make all of my industrial lines isolated loops from one pick-up station to one set-down station, rather than making more realistic networks, which means I can upgrade each part of the network one segment at a time without interfering with any other.

[BobMem]

Thanks for the tip on creating a dedicated depot for change over. That will be handy!

My biggest network is feeding a factory. It has about 10 farms, each with 2-3 trains, plus about 15-20 steel trains. So unfortunately I think I'll have to handball depoting trains whenever they return from the factory, until no more appear!