A regular switch has 3 type of locks:
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User Lock – so that you cannot throw the switch accidentally under any circumstance
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Route Lock – so that you cannot throw the switch if a route is laid in thru the switch, or if there is currently a train occupying the switch
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Protect Lock – so that you cannot throw the switch if a nearby route is laid that requires protection against moving equipment from other tracks.
While Route Lock is applied based on current active routes and moving equipment, Protect Lock is applied only if specified in the routing table and the corresponding route is active. Both type of locks will be removed when the train release the route (Protect Locks only if not needed for any other active route). If routes are released partially, Route Locks will be released for the route section that has been released. For Protect Locks this depends on the information on the route in the routing table.
For Slip Switches, there are User Locks and Protect Locks on both machines (“L” and “R” to indicate the side a train would leave the switch). Route Locks apply to both machines simultaneously, so there is only one, bringing the overall number of locks to 5.
User Locks can be set by default (as part of the territory data). During Route Testing User Locks can be used to force particular paths for testing purpose only – the default for the territory file will not be affected by this, and the User Lock will return to the default value when leaving the route testing tool.