LTN and efficient transportation of barrels
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 3:52 pm
I'm trying to figure out how to best use LTN with a barreled-petrochem setup.
It is of course possible to have two separate stations on both the production and consumption ends. At the refinery, one station provides filled barrels and another station requests them, and vice-versa at the consumption end. (Of course this could be the same physical station.)
But in a setup like that, there will be two separate LTN deliveries, right? One to deliver filled barrels and one to deliver emptied barrels. This seems inefficient. What I want is for the train that delivers filled barrels to the consuming station to pick up empties at the same time, and drop those empties off when filling up back at the refinery (perhaps after a stop at a depot).
My current thinking is to have one LTN network for all barrel-related trains. The filled-barrel providers and filled-barrel requestors will be LTN stations. No stations will request or provide empty barrels via LTN, but the physical stations will be set up to handle them. The LTN trains will deliver filled barrels, pick up empty barrels (though they don't know it), and return to the depot; when an order for filled barrels comes in, they will travel to the refinery. At the refinery they will pick up filled barrels and unwittingly drop off the empties.
Does this make sense, or is there a better way of doing it?
It is of course possible to have two separate stations on both the production and consumption ends. At the refinery, one station provides filled barrels and another station requests them, and vice-versa at the consumption end. (Of course this could be the same physical station.)
But in a setup like that, there will be two separate LTN deliveries, right? One to deliver filled barrels and one to deliver emptied barrels. This seems inefficient. What I want is for the train that delivers filled barrels to the consuming station to pick up empties at the same time, and drop those empties off when filling up back at the refinery (perhaps after a stop at a depot).
My current thinking is to have one LTN network for all barrel-related trains. The filled-barrel providers and filled-barrel requestors will be LTN stations. No stations will request or provide empty barrels via LTN, but the physical stations will be set up to handle them. The LTN trains will deliver filled barrels, pick up empty barrels (though they don't know it), and return to the depot; when an order for filled barrels comes in, they will travel to the refinery. At the refinery they will pick up filled barrels and unwittingly drop off the empties.
Does this make sense, or is there a better way of doing it?