Why train refueling stations?

[NineNine]

I'm always seeing people make train refueling stations, and use interrupts to send trains there when they need fuel. Alternately, I just put a blue chest with train fuel at each train stop, and never have to think about train fuel at all. Am I missing something? Is there a reason to use train refueling stations instead of just letting bots to keep them fueled up?

[Tertius]

A central refueling station is quite useful before you get bots, because you need to provide fuel (via belts) just to one station. So I build one. Later, with the logistic network, it's definitely much less useful because it's sufficient to just place a requester chest and one inserter at every local station - usually at all your unloading stations. That's how I did it in Factorio 1.1: direct refuel at every unloading station.

But I switched to an interrupt based dedicated refuel station with 2.0 and kept the concept of a refuel station even with bots, because the refuel interrupt already exists in all schedules and I don't wanted to add the refuel chest to the existing stations retroactively. I just don't need to change anything - it continues to work as before.

It also makes fuel change easier. If you have one dedicated refuel station, you switch fuel by just changing the refuel station configuration. You don't need to exchange fuel in any other chest. My refuel station will unload any "old" fuel in case a locomotive arrives with a leftover of this, then load the current fuel. If you don't unload old fuel and you get mixed fuel in the locomotive fuel slots, it's never clear with which fuel the locomotive will run.

Finally, it's 2 tiles more space in the station area. I like compact setups. Some unloading stations of mine include a belt balancer near the station. The empty space next to the locomotive is a good space for it, but only if it isn't occupied by the refuel chest+inserter.

[Bömmeli]

Alternately, I just put a blue chest with train fuel at each train stop, and never have to think about train fuel at all.

I'm using another alternative. Each production line has an waiting area, so each train which want to (un)load have to pass it. I use these waiting areas for refueling. For a few waiting areas, there's a fuel station above, which provides the fuel to the waiting area with belts. And the fuel station is feeded by a train, which fetches new fuel from the fuel production line if cargo is empty.

fuelprovider.jpg (1.14 MiB) Viewed 139 times

[quineotio]

I'm always seeing people make train refueling stations, and use interrupts to send trains there when they need fuel. Alternately, I just put a blue chest with train fuel at each train stop, and never have to think about train fuel at all. Am I missing something? Is there a reason to use train refueling stations instead of just letting bots to keep them fueled up?

I think diverting every single train to a dedicated refueling station every time they need fuel is insane. I just have a single dedicated train that carries fuel to the train stops so that the regular trains get fuel automatically without interrupting their schedule.

[mmmPI]

I think diverting every single train to a dedicated refueling station every time they need fuel is insane. I just have a single dedicated train that carries fuel to the train stops so that the regular trains get fuel automatically without interrupting their schedule.

Same for once

[angramania]

Am I missing something? Is there a reason to use train refueling stations instead of just letting bots to keep them fueled up?

Instead of one giant logistic network player may choose to use multiple small networks or even have areas without any logistic network. In this case your approach will not work.

[NineNine]

Am I missing something? Is there a reason to use train refueling stations instead of just letting bots to keep them fueled up?

Instead of one giant logistic network player may choose to use multiple small networks or even have areas without any logistic network. In this case your approach will not work.

Oh, that makes sense. That's the best answer so far (in my opinion). Personally, I always do a single bot network for the sake of simplicity, so I never really considered that. But sure, that makes sense if you don't do a single bot network.

Inside of a single bot network, though... I still don't see a reason why I'd want to send my trains all over the place for fuel. Seems like it would cause a lot of unnecessary train traffic, potential traffic jams, and FPS/UPS degradation.

[mmmPI]

Personally, I always do a single bot network for the sake of simplicity, so I never really considered that. But sure, that makes sense if you don't do a single bot network.
Inside of a single bot network, though... I still don't see a reason why I'd want to send my trains all over the place for fuel. Seems like it would cause a lot of unnecessary train traffic, potential traffic jams, and FPS/UPS degradation.

Even with multiple bot networks, i use a refueling trains, when my bases are decentralized, i distribute fuel with trains to the different places that need it, where there are already bundles of train stations.

The problem i have with refuel station is that it create a cap, a unique bottleneck where all train have to go, it's mostly fine, but it's a case where if something wrong happens or capacity are slowly all used, then it can cascade off very badly. ( plus the "unecessary travel")