Add track

[longtrainz30]

The best way to add track that goes up into the mountains.

 

[pware]

Is that a statement? A question? or the first line of a haiku?

 

[longtrainz30]

My bad, its a question.

 

[autodctr]

Do you already have the mountain built? If so, pick a gradient that you want......I never go over 2.0% and start laying the track. You'll have to make it weave all around (back and forth) until you find the next place for it to touch the ground. If you do not have the mountain built, again pick you desired grade and start laying track. Then go back and fill in the mountain under the track. (I prefer this way, but your mileage may vary.)

 

[frogpipe]

For an established grade I often set Surveyor to lay a 2% (or whatever I want) grade and make many spline points along the general route I *think* I want, then slide the track around sideways trying to make it half in and half out of the hill side. Then I have to judge if the curves look reasonable and adjust as needed - accepting cuts here and there, fills here and there, maybe a trestle or two. Then where ever a trestle isn't going to be, I start clicking smooth spline to line up the terrain to the track.

This simulates the "take some from here and put it there" sort of grading that is done to make a smooth grade up a mountain.

Some "flying" around in google earth will show this at work in the real world. As much as practical, they will try and take 50% out of the uphill side, and use it to fill the other 50% on the downhill side to make the ROW.

 

[Forester1]

Don't you use "Smooth Spline" or something to make the ROW flatten out along the tracks like the dotted lines? Or is it something else?

 

[frogpipe]

Yes, smooth spline snaps the terrain up or down to the track. So with it half buried in the hillside it makes the shape that is shown by the dotted line.