Originally shared on the public FactorioPrints / Factorio School archive (factorioprints.com · factorio.school). Authorship preserved from the public catalog.
Provider and Requester Stations to make train logistics much easier.
Simple set of rails (T, straight, corner, U) based on the max spacing of big electric poles (red and green wires already in place).
Refuel and Depot Stations.
Overview
Provider/Requester stations broadcast how many train loads of items/fluid are available/needed.
Provider/Requester stations are dedicated to a single item/fluid type.
Trains carry one item/fluid type at a time but will be automatically reassigned as demand varies.
Trains refuel at a dedicated refueling station.
Made for 1-2 trains (locomotive, cargo, cargo).
Right hand drive.
Why use this rail system?
The same fleet of trains will be shared across all item (or fluid) types.
This means you only need two fleets of trains (one for items and one for fluids).
Hovering over any big electric pole in the rail system shows how many train loads are available (green) and needed (red).
This makes it easy to find the bottleneck (do I need more copper mines? or more smelters? etc.).
Provider/Requester stations set their priority based on the number of train loads available/needed.
This results in the item/fluid being picked up from the fullest provider station and delivered to the emptiest requester station.
Provider/Requester station setup is easy (just set constant combinator output to select item/fluid type).
Stations requiring configuration use a speaker (silent) to explain what to do (until it's configured).
Setup
Basics:
When placing rail/stations, overlap an existing big electric pole in the rail system.
Provider Station:
Change station name from "? Provider" to "Iron Ore Provider" (or whatever item/fluid the station will be providing).
Requester Station:
Change station name from "? Requester" to "Iron Ore Requester" (or whatever item/fluid the station will be requesting).
Set the constant combinator to output Iron Ore = 1 (or whatever item/fluid the station will be requesting).
Refuel Station:
Replace constant combinator (set to coal) with a belt supplying coal.
Train Groups:
<ins>Smart Items</ins>
Schedule
Items Depotuntil 1 second of inactivity.
Interrupts
Refuel
Conditions: Fuel (any) <sup>Coal</sup> < 50
Targets: Refueluntil full fuel.
Iron Ore Provider
Condition: Circuit <sup>Iron Ore</sup> < 0
Targets: Iron Ore Provideruntil full cargo
Iron Ore Requester
Condition: Circuit <sup>Iron Ore</sup> > 0
Targets: Iron Ore Requesteruntil empty cargo AND 1 second of inactivity.
Copper Ore Provider
Condition: Circuit <sup>Copper Ore</sup> < 0
Targets: Copper Ore Provideruntil full cargo
Copper Ore Requester
Condition: Circuit <sup>Copper Ore</sup> > 0
Targets: Copper Ore Requesteruntil empty cargo AND 1 second of inactivity.
etc.
<ins>Smart Fluids</ins>
Schedule
Fluids Depotuntil 1 second of inactivity.
Interrupts
Refuel
Conditions: Fuel (any) <sup>Coal</sup> < 50
Targets: Refueluntil full fuel.
Oil Provider
Condition: Circuit <sup>Oil</sup> < 0
Targets: Oil Provideruntil full cargo
Oil Requester
Condition: Circuit <sup>Oil</sup> > 0
Targets: Oil Requesteruntil empty cargo AND 1 second of inactivity.
Water Provider
Condition: Circuit <sup>Water</sup> < 0
Targets: Water Provideruntil full cargo
Water Requester
Condition: Circuit <sup>Water</sup> > 0
Targets: Water Requesteruntil empty cargo AND 1 second of inactivity.
etc.
You'll need to add a provider & requester interrupt for each item/fluid type you want to transport.
Trains:
Place a 1-2 train (locomotive, cargo, cargo).
Set train group to Smart Items (or Smart Fluids).
Add a little fuel and set train to automatic.
Troubleshooting
One thing that's always worth checking for is an alert with a train station icon to the right of your hotbar. If you see such an alert, hover over it and follow the instructions.
Hover your mouse over a big electric pole in the Provider/Requester/Depot's T junction and look at the signals.
If you don't see a signal with a green background for the item/fluid, it means the system doesn't think there is a provider station with a full train load of it ready for pickup (excluding loads with a train already dispatched).
If you don't see a signal with a red background for the item/fluid, it means the system doesn't think there is a requester station in need of a full train load of it (excluding loads with a train already dispatched).
Select the Provider/Requester/Depot blueprint and hover over an existing Provider/Requester/Depot. If you see any green/red tiles (instead of all blue), it means those tiles are missing/incorrect. Remove any incorrect tiles, place the blueprint again, and place whatever is missing (ghostly green). Remember that placing the blueprint again will reset everything so you'll need to do the Provider/Requester setup steps again.
