Dwarf hauls the minecart instead of push/riding it

Question

I have set up a minecart to move wood to my wood dependent workshops, the return travel is to just push the cart towards the other stop. Here my dwarf fails. They apparently "push" the cart, the cart doesn't move (at least I didn't see it moving) and they decide to haul it to the other stop. I noticed that they have no problem guiding it.

The stop is configured like this:

 z+0         z-1
░░░░░       ░░░░░
══▼░░       ░▲╗░░
░░░░░       ░░S░░
░░░░░       ░░░░░

There's a track stop with maximum friction on the stop. I don't know how much speed is loosing by friction since it's per tick, but I think the minimum is 6000 speed (1000 per corner and 5000 per upwards ramp), with a push of 20000 there should be enough speed to go up to the other side. The track is constructed from siltstone blocks and the cart is made of finger lime wood.

Answer 1

The minecart simply doesn't have enough momentum to go up ramps if you are push/riding it. I tested with a simpler (carved this time) with the same results, the cart needs at least 5 ticks to go upwards the ramp with the speed when it reaches it (the math is: push + 1 tick = 19990 - 1010 (corner) = 18980/100000 = 0.1898 titles per tick), but it decelerates 24550 in that 5 ticks which is more than it current speed of 18980 (actually the deceleration is continuous while the cart is in the ramp).

This is a table per tick of what happens:

Tick     current speed   where is the cart
1        19990           NW track
2        19980           NW track
3        19970           NW track
4        19960           NW track
5        18950           EW ramp
6        14040           EW ramp
7         9130           EW ramp
8         4220           EW ramp
9         -690           EW ramp

Everything happens in a mere 9 ticks, that's why you don't notice it. You can use a roller in the ramp for this case to help the upwards movement.

It was in the wiki you linked:

The difference between "Push" and "Ride" is whether the dwarf will go along with the cart or not. Push: the dwarf will give the cart an initial push, not enough to go up a ramp, but enough to go some way along flat track, and the dwarf will remain at the first stop, ready for a new job.