Is there any easy-to-use bridge trestle for TS12?

I need standard gauge with a single track built in and I need the content to behave as any "normal" track in Surveyor: fully-bendable and can be added right at an existing spline point using the Add tool.

Most of the bridge trestle track content I tried will not curve or connect directly to an existing track spline point (end vertex). You have to use the Move tool to try to get it to connect and this throws an existing track spline point out of place.

Up until now, I have not been using bridge trestles for elevated track; just the track built up on an embankment that is formed by using Smooth Track.

I wanted to see if I could find trestle track content that is as easy to use as JR track or most other track.

Yes there are ... And they all are easy to use ... from UTC, to TS10, they all work in TS12 ... You have to "Search" on your own, for assets ... No one is going to hold anyone's hand and lead them through the million assets on the DLS ... what exactly is a : "trestle track" ? Do you have a picture ?

Bridges don't normally connect to track. track attaches to the bridge
You can't always bend a bridge to the exact place you have your end track spline
You usually end up with a weird looking piece of track at the join or a bridge of straight sections with bends all over the place
Set bridge in place and adjust approach to the bridge
there are some fixed curved bridges and trestles available on the DLS
or some bridge decks then lay track over them
depending on the distance to cover and the radius of the bridge it's basically trial and error to see what fits and looks good

JonMyrlennBailey said:

Most of the bridge trestle track content I tried will not curve or connect directly to an existing track spline point (end vertex). You have to use the Move tool to try to get it to connect and this throws an existing track spline point out of place.

Click to expand...

You can't add bridge to track - your track direction will be wrong.

Place the bridge exactly where you want it. Delete the last segment of track spline. Re-add it, laying in the correct direction.

big_b said:

Bridges don't normally connect to track. track attaches to the bridge
You can't always bend a bridge to the exact place you have your end track spline
You usually end up with a weird looking piece of track at the join or a bridge of straight sections with bends all over the place
Set bridge in place and adjust approach to the bridge
there are some fixed curved bridges and trestles available on the DLS
or some bridge decks then lay track over them
depending on the distance to cover and the radius of the bridge it's basically trial and error to see what fits and looks good

Click to expand...

I basically can't easily make a curved trestle bridge with track already pre-built into it. So, the short answer is no. Nobody has yet authored all-in-one
bridge-trestle track content that behaves exactly the same way as plain old track itself.

No, I am too lazy to build a trestle section the hard way so my existing elevated embankment track will stay. Laying an elevated section of track on a sloping embankment:it's as easy as pressing "Smooth Track" once the track grade is established. The ground just magically comes up flush under the track. Sometimes the Smooth Track tool needs to be repeated to make it look neater.

There are some "bridge tracks".

It depends upon the type you want.

YR and JJS plate girder and Pratt Truss trestle are actually track and will snap and bend to the regular tracks. There are also various wooden trestles also available for download on the DLS by colorado71.

John, I like the idea of snap and bend.

The CM TS12 doesn't display the following as available though:

Pratt Truss trestle
colorado71

I would only be interested in snap-and-bend wooden trestle bridge track if available and compatible with TS12.

Try the "TUME-TB" and "TUME-601" sets. I've found them the best to work with.

I'm trying to remember how many times I've used trestle bridges in TS2012. I know it's a lot and I also know I've never had any problems with them.

bendorsey has an incredible collection of real bridges on the DLS. wooden bridges, short bridges or massive cantilevers; he has a lot. They are older models, but they would work just fine in any version above 2006 i believe.

Jon --

There is a T:ANE version of this layout. Are these the sort of trestles you need? In all respects they behave as normal tack.

https://forums.auran.com/trainz/sho...ilroad-layout-The-Mann-Phrom-Laramee-Railroad

Phil

The problem is I already have my track laid for my route. I don't want to go through the trouble of rearranging everything to accommodate the addition of trestle bridge work to a pre-existing route.

I spent a whole year on the one modelz layout so far.

KotangaGirl said:

I'm trying to remember how many times I've used trestle bridges in TS2012. I know it's a lot and I also know I've never had any problems with them.

Click to expand...

You may have FIRST laid your trestle bridges then built your track around it. None of the bridge-track-trestle content that I've discovered so far behaves with snap-and-bend simplicity as does most TRACK content.

All of my train bridges are girder plate type: A, B and C decks that are Spline Object content. My tracks were laid, graded and smoothed first starting with flat level ground then Spline abutment was used across the land gap or river. The abutment was then cut out in the middle between two spline points to joining the bridge span. The Move tool had to be used with care to get the bridges and abutments perfectly centered below the track. A lot of tedious tricky moving of spline points and use of the Ruler tool. Any time you have track separate from bridge content in Surveyor, it's hard work to get track and brides to line up to perfection. Rail-only (no ballast/ties) track is used over bridge decks. I use a simple but effective elevated embankment for graded track instead of wooden or steel trestles. The bridge track railheads extend up 8 cm (3.15") above the bridge deck. On a real railroad solid bridge deck, the rails might be grooved (flange ways) like streetcar or grade-crossing track. Spline height tool is used for this adjustment.

JonMyrlennBailey said:

All of my train bridges are girder plate type: A, B and C decks that are Spline Object content.

Click to expand...

Spline is not track. If you want a trestle that behaves like track then use track. I just tried the first one I could find (<kuid2:430547:101595:1> YR Bridge Trestle) and it works exactly as expected. Why would you use splines when tracks are available?

I use only what I know.

Track No Ballast For Bridge,<kuid2:61119:38803:1> by natvander
various Abutment A, B and C, 1 or 2 track, by weevil
various Bridge A, C, 1 or 2 track, by weevil, only the straight, rigid kind (I tried the Flexy kind a couple years back and did not like it for some reason,
I seem to be able to bend weevil Abutment to my satisfaction, however)


All the above is my go-to content for RR bridges. I will also use:

Bridge Pylons by natvander
YARN bridge supports by maddy25

if the spans of my 2-track girder plate train bridges are 100+ feet.

I can get away with no bridge supports between the abutments for my single-track girder plate bridge that crosses a 2-lane highway at a 30-degree angle and it only spans 159 feet
between the abutments and this is a slow track at only 15 MPH. There is no place for a bridge support here out of the way of the 2-lane highway below.

Being no civil engineer I don't know how far girder plate can extend without intermittent supports.

Yes, some of the content I use for RR bridges was intended for motor roadway bridges.

Weevil bridge content looks to be the girder plate kind with the sides above the deck or below it depending on which letter type.