Automatic Loading/Unloading

Some of us are into the train mods just for fun, something different to roll around in, but I think most people are looking at them for a means to transport stuff.

This section mostly pertains to TrainCraft. Rails of War also has a third-party add-on that allows its freight cars to carry cargo, but I am not yet aware of other train mods with cargo capabilities.

Because of all the potential mods available and the intricacies of each being different in how they relate to Vanilla and TrainCraft, I can’t possibly show how each mod’s pipe or conveyor will operate in these ideas, so I will only use Vanilla chests and hoppers and BuildCraft fluid pipes here. If your mod’s handler will not work with RailCraft loaders, you can rest assured a Vanilla chest will act as a nice relay between your handler and your train loader block. I also strongly advise using RailCraft’s Advanced Item Loaders at all times. TrainCraft’s cars have vastly different hitbox ceilings, and it’s much less headache to set an Advanced Loader on the side of the track versus up above it.

Automatic Item Loading
Let’s go back to the Millienaire village I worked in for the Track Basics section. I bought a small house and a plot of land from the villagers there, and I’ve decided on turning the plot into a warehouse to handle whatever I dig up or collect near the village. I’ve also decided to devote half the building to a few sheep for breeding and shearing.

I may as well set it up to automatically load a couple of boxcars, right?

I will need two item loaders and a system to feed each.. easy enough in Vanilla. Here I have them set up, along with orange wool blocks to help me figure out where to stop the train to load.

Then add the hopper chain and chest inside…

RailCraft loaders don’t discriminate. They like to stuff items in whatever rolls by, but we can set them to only load certain cars. Here I am setting each loader to load a different color boxcar. Grab the car from your inventory, and click one of the two middle slots on the loader’s UI. This will set it to only load that specific car.

And wouldn’t you know it works like a charm.

 

Stepping Up

In situations where you will have a lot of one thing to process via loaders/unloaders, you would be better served to set the blocks to only grab certain items. Here at my rock crusher plant on TrainSerb, I have to deal with many different cars coming out of quarries and have to rely on specific item filters for this unloader to work.

Of course, you can apply aesthetic to your freight operations. Here I have Advanced Item Loaders set up beneath the tracks to help keep the illusion that logs are loaded via a large conveyor.

Liquid Loading
Liquid loaders and unloaders work just like the Item loaders and unloaders, except they cannot be placed anywhere but above (loaders) or below (unloaders). The benefit, though, is they can reach like BuildCraft’s pump. These can also be set to take from certain cars, or just take a certain liquid. I highly advise setting these, otherwise your Oil unloader might suck water or Diesel fuel out of your locomotive.

Above is my main Oil handling center. This facility has both a battery of oil unloaders and BC fuel unloaders.


TrainSerb Commie’s central fuel refinery.