Stupid Simple Train Refueling (2024)

This one is probably a no-brainer but I thought I would share.

For anyone who either likes to build spread out or "Railworld" style like myself, one of the first problems you run into is how to refuel trains that don't all arrive at some central point.

The setup is simple and can probably be done most successfully starting with Solid Fuel and of course eventually Rocket Fuel.

1st Setup a place to make fuel. For me this is my PetroChem facility. I start usually by mixing extra petro into blocks. Later I build Liquefaction to ramp up production for Rocket fuel. A 1-1 train should be sufficient for most networks to handle deliveries.

2nd Identify places of common intersect. For me this is my Home base, Science Base, Ore Smelting Yard, and Nuclear depot. Here I create a Fuel specific station for drop off and 1 roboport (or enough to cover all stations at this base)and a single stack of bots (more depending on the amount of trains) It really doesn't take many. Rocket Fuel burns sloooooooooooooooooooooow.
-Limit the size of your drop off chest to a reasonable number. I chose 100 Rocket Fuel
-Wire the output chest to your station. Station should enable when fuel is less than some number (100 Rocket Fuel in my case)
-Requester chests are set to a full train load of fuel (30 Rocket Fuel or 150 Solid Fuel depending) though you could easily go with 1 stack of fuel (10/50).

The delivery train is set to pickup fuel then hit each drop off station in sequence. Because stations disable when full the train will automatically skip these.
Wait conditions on the delivery train are flexible for fuel pickup but probably best at "Empty or Inactivity=5" for drop off.

A final note on priming this system. 100 fuel per drop point + 30 fuel per requester chest and a train car that carries 400 means the system could take a bit to prime. I recommend starting with a good amount of fuel stock before switching from coal. I hard switched from belted coal to this with about 500 rocket fuel on something like 50 trains no problem. The 10 fuel (50 for Solid Fuel) number per train is probably a good place to start. At the time I only had 4 assemblers making fuel just prior to setting up liquefaction.

I use a very similar setup: A fuel delivery train from the refinery through each of the major train hubs, with a roboport at each one to shuttle fuel to each train stop. You only need a very few logi bots when using rocket fuel, because as you said: It burns slooooow. I have 10 bots in most, with 20 at the busiest hubs.
Can confirm that it works really well.

I was not disabling the fuel stations when they were not needed though, thanks for that good tip!

While adding that to my system, I noticed that if the station is in range of the refuel roboport you can link it to the logistics network directly, instead of running circuit wires between the [passive supply] dropoff chest & fuel station. Makes it a bit easier to setup.
I have the stack inserter unloading the fuel linked to the logi network too, limited to only unload up to the required amount. I find it more reliable than just limiting the chest contents [as I often forget to check, and end up with full chests & an empty train].

Killcreek2 wrote:While adding that to my system, I noticed that if the station is in range of the refuel roboport you can link it to the logistics network directly, instead of running circuit wires between the [passive supply] dropoff chest & fuel station. Makes it a bit easier to setup.

I experimented with this as well and I liked it though I was concerned that something I hadn't planned for touching that logi network would throw it off and affect the count (storage chest or something). That really was the only reason I tied it directly to the unload chest. Really it should work equally well both ways if there is little chance that fuel ends up in logi trash on that network.

I, too, use almost exactly the same system.

I use a 1-1-1 train to distribute fuel, though, because then I don't have to worry about turning around (and it's really easy to wedge small terminus stations into whatever space is left after building an outpost/town). I usually pull a spur off the main line, then split it into a fuel drop and pax station.

I also put a single log into the last two fuel slots on all the trains. This helps the "priming" time immensely by cutting the fuel the locos carry by 66%. No reason any train should ever need more than 10 rocket fuel, anyway...

SpeedDaemon wrote:No reason any train should ever need more than 10 rocket fuel, anyway...

Sounds like a challenge. Now to set up an outpost that's over an hour's drive round trip...

225 MJ/RF / 600 kW * 10 RF/stack / 60 s/min = 62.5 min/stack

My solution from a long time ago (v.13 i guess), but still in use (doesn´t go well with omni stations):
1) Send fuel to your smelters and oil and load the Locos with it
2) at the destinations (eg green circuit), unload the fuel from the locos to a non provider chest restricted to 1 stack (first stop after refuling I usually restrict it to 2 stacks)
3) from that chest, load it into a provider chest with an inserter wired to a signal with enable red=0
4) load the next train (eg green circuits to blue) with fuel
5) repeat from 2)

that way, your fuel spreads on the map like a virus