My Shinkansen route from Hiroshima to Okayama

[martinvk]

Now that the trip mentioned in this post is in the past, I've started to build my version of the Shinkansen line from Hiroshima to Okayama. That's the one I had the pleasure to ride during the tour. One other incentive to do that line was that that it goes through a lot of tunnels which reduces the view to just outside the window for much of the ride. Bit of a downer during the trip but makes landscaping so much easier since there will be less to see.

I started with an overview in Google Earth

Next a side trip to TransDEM to get the terrain and rail network to put into Trainz.

Still have to trim the blank tiles to lighten the load on the GPU.

A closer view of one of the stations on the route

At the tunnel entrances and exits I placed markers to help with the alignment and elevation of the track

To help maintain a constant spacing, I used some guides with 5m spacing (two tracks)

and 4 tracks

Once the tracks are attached, the red parts are replaced by whatever track is attached. All that are visible in Surveyor and Driver are the little trackside monuments that also help space multiple guides apart if needed.
The guide pushpins are only visible in Surveyor

Now the long journey to complete the track network continues. First on the list is to remove all the extra spline joints that TransDEM made. Nice to control the alignment but by careful use of straightened track segments I get the same results along with a smoother track overall.

Still have to give a deep think about the level of landscaping I'll do. At the speed those trains move, most trackside scenery is a blur and with all the tunnels, there will not be much to see in the distance.

 

[martinvk]

With just the mainline track placed, I was able to make a oneway proof run with a test train aka Doctor Yellow. Nothing like an actual run-through to reveal anomalies, both big and small. It also confirmed that except for cities where it stops, there is little of the country side that is seen from the cab so that part of the scenery can be pretty minimal. Plus all the tunnels. Thanks to TransDEM, major structures like buildings have been located so it's just a matter of finding an appropriate object to place at each spot.

 

[martinvk]

I found these good looking Japanese bridges and tunnel that fit well in my route. JMA-Shinkansen bridges and tunnels.
All is well except for one section where the tracks in the tunnel crossover, between two bridges. Have not had this behaviour elsewhere in the route.
Even if I delete the offending object and even the immediate neighbouring objects, the strange behaviour returns.

Any ideas as to the cause and how to fix it?

 

[java23]

Hi Martin,

I don't use these specific splines, but I've noticed this behaviour on some "dissymetric" splines (fences, hedges, catenaries, etc) . These might have been built by their creator in such a way that, if you delete a section, or add a new section, the deleted ot the new added section makes its neighbours inversed .
The best way to understand it, is to lay just one section of this spline, from right to left, and then from left to right, and look for eventual differences of behaviour, or dissymetric appearance .
Once you've understood this behaviour, delete the wrong section, and add a new one ... in the correct direction .
Hope this is clear ...

Cheers,

Philippe

 

[martinvk]

You may be onto something. I seem to remember track reversing direction when adding new sections in certain circumstances. The only effect on track would be the placement of signals (left or right side) and other trackside objects attached to the track. If that is the cause here with those double track bridges and tunnels, keeping track (pun intended) of the their direction will be a real PITA.
Doesn't appear to affect short sections. Will try with longer ones. Naturally when trying to have the issue appear - it doesn't. Will have to wait for it to happened again on the main line and then see if two short sections of single track between the two double track splines will solve the problem.
Got it

Both bridges were placed towards the curve. The curved piece was then placed and the tracks crossed. From first looks, it doesn't appear to affect all combinations of JMA bridge and tunnel splines. When I have more time, I'll have to test all combinations to see which ones are subject to this issue.

 

[martinvk]

See my test of the crossover behaviour here.