Tb Enbankment spline and track laying

dman26

Well-known member
I'm still new to the ins and outs of route building. Some of the routes in TS19 use the Tb enbankment spline with track laid on top of it. I really like the look of it and want to know how to replicate it. What tips can be provided to do this efficiently and with relative ease? Also, is there a "trick/hack" to lay this enbankment spline under existing track on a route? Thanks in advance.
 
My Content Manager doesn't show a "Tb Embankment" Do you know the actual asset name or KUID so I can find the route/s it's used in?
 
Is this the asset?
<kuid:19691:100925> Tb embankment GG_2_GG 1/1 0-5m 1t

This is by user toxa_batoxa and is a road spline (scenery item). You place this down first and adjust the height then place your tracks on top carefully to ensure that the track doesn't float above its surface.

In the future, please provide the KUID number as well as the asset name because searching for items can be difficult, even with a simple name, due to the number of assets on the DLS and installed. I was lucky that I had this asset installed. Here's the embankment set at 1 meter above the surface with track placed at 1.1 meters on top of the spline.

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I've used them myself. You lay it same as any spline, noting it's not a track type. If you already have track laid you can lay it beside it, move it into place and then carefully raise it up to where you want it. There are quite a few different coloured versions to choose from.
 
There are many others too by FMA, jim_spb, and many others. They are great not just for placement under tracks, but also work well as retaining walls alongside riverbanks and under roads as well.
 
My Content Manager doesn't show a "Tb Embankment" Do you know the actual asset name or KUID so I can find the route/s it's used in?

jcardana, please put your banner on a image hosting website other than what your using, as Malwarebytes is flagging it as malicious.
 
I made some embankments to match JR track. I find it easiest to lay my track and pull the ground down a bit then add the embankments (if two track do 1 at a time, go back and get then apply vertex height). I keep the embankment vertex and the track vertex offset a bit forward or backward so it's easier to tell which is which.
 
Thank you all for the comments. Seems like it's trial and error to get it right.
In general yes. With 2 separate assets, embankment and track, I put the track down 1st, grade it to the required level and then add the embankment spline. It's relatively easy to do and you need spline points set closely to the ones used in the track. Then adjust the embankment spline height so just the right amount of the track spline shows above it. Use the shift or ctrl keys to allow fine tuning of the height as you adjust it with the scenery spline height tool. Straighten the scenery spline everywhere you straighten the track spline so it stays in alignment with it. You'll see why you need to have a embankment spline point close to where you have a track spline point as you follow the curves and grade height changes.

I make sure the track is in correct alignment and graded before I start fooling with the embankment so I only have to do it once on sections that need it.

There is another type that has the embankment built into the track. It could be part of the track mesh in very old track assets or included as an attached spline in the new type track. You can easily make your own by simply adding a suitable embankment spline as an attached spline to any new track asset (a spline that allows an attached-splines container in the config). Trouble is while the embankment spline would be the ideal choice to use it unfortunately may be created with the 0.0 height at the wrong location in the mesh to work as a child spline with the track where the top of the rail is set exactly at 0.3m. If you do add it to the attached-splines container you may see most the track mesh embedded in the embankment. But that depends on the 0.0 local origin for the embankment mesh.

Hence I say suitable scenery spline. You can create your own scenery spline with the local axis so the top of the mesh comes in about z= 0.0 m and try it (probably something like z= 0.15 will match ballast/ties and embankment profiles better). I'm not sure if any available are made like that but I think there are some on the dls. N3V has a horizontal offset tag for attached splines but not a vertical offset tag. Too bad as it would make track more efficient in cases where we'd be using 2 separate splines to achieve the same results.

Check out Trainboi1's new procedural track with the name "terrain" in them. They have an embankment of sorts built into the track. They're actually created a bit differently than I described above in that the ballast spline is made a little wider than normal and the bottom is fixed to the top of the terrain (baseboard surface) so it stays connected to the terrain as you move the track height up and down. I find it's good for shallow embankments but for larger ones - the sides are then too vertical to match real slopes.

Bob Pearson
 
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I keep the embankment vertex and the track vertex offset a bit forward or backward so it's easier to tell which is which.
Limit contextual information fixes that, only shows track or road spline points when those categories are selected
 
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