Create: Directional Pantographs

Create: Directional Pantographs is a standalone NeoForge 1.21.1 addon I created for Create: Pantographs and Wires (P&W). I got tired of pantographs staying raised regardless of which way a train was moving, breaking immersion. I built this mod to bring much-needed realism and automation to electric trains by making sure pantographs only raise facing the actual direction of travel.

⚙️ How It Works

The mod integrates directly into your existing railway setup. By interacting with any Train Station, you can open a custom control screen to configure your entire train or individual carriages:

• Smart Directional Control: Switch your train between Automatic and Manual modes. In Automatic mode, the mod calculates movement and dynamically raises only the correct pantographs, while blocking players from manually toggling them by hand.
• Per-Pantograph Overrides: Need a custom setup? You can override individual pantographs on your assembly to be Automatic, Manual, Reversed (only raising when moving backward), or Default.

🖥️ Interactive Train Visualizer

To make configuring massive trains easy, I built a custom interactive control screen:

• Accurate Carriage Diagrams: Displays a precise 2D side-profile silhouette of your parked train.
• Mod Compatibility: The visualizer reads baked models to accurately draw complex geometries like vanilla stairs and slabs, Copycats+ slopes and panels, Create Railways Navigator displays, and Train Utilities doors. Glass blocks and windows also get distinct outlines.

🛤️ Train Schedule Integration

You can fully automate pantographs using Create's schedule system:

• Custom Instructions: I added a new pantograph schedule instruction so you can dynamically change pantograph behavior mid-journey.
• Route-Specific Rules: Automatically lower pantographs for un-electrified sections of track, reverse them, or re-enable them upon reaching specific stations.

🌐 Server & Multiplayer Ready

I built this with multiplayer performance and security in mind:

• Server-Authoritative State: Pantograph settings are saved directly to train data, surviving server restarts and world rejoins so your pantographs never unexpectedly drop.
• Edit Concurrency & Locking: Only one player can edit a train's settings at a time to prevent conflicts. You can also permanently lock your train's settings to prevent unauthorized players from messing with your setup.

📦 Dependencies

• Minecraft: 1.21.1
• Loader: NeoForge
• Required Mods: Create, Create: Pantographs & Wires

🚀 Roadmap & Future Plans

• I am planning to port the mod to other loaders (like Fabric/Forge) and bring it to other Minecraft versions in future updates!

📄 License & Permissions

• Modpacks: Allowed! Feel free to include this mod in any public or private modpack.
• Rights: All Rights Reserved (ARR). Please do not re-upload, mirror, or redistribute this mod on other sites without my permission.