For most signalling you want the path signals. They come in 2 flavours: both kinds only do the path in one direction, one kind is non-blocking to trains running the opposite way, the other kind is blocking, one way only.

This combo lets you set up an upline and downline with a terminal station: you have one way only signals on the line, and non-blocking signals on the station entrances pointing into the station, and a crossing between. Trains will get to the end of the upline, and wait to get a path to the end of the station. Then they'll turn around and wait to get a path to the downline.

>This combo lets you set up an upline and downline with a terminal station:

That actually is nothing to do with path based signals, and could be done quite simply with purely vanilla TTD signals.

What path-based signaling allows is for multiple trains to make non-conflicting moves through a single block at the same time, which basic signals wouldn't.