Starting point on original quadrille paper sketch.


Finally we have lift off … er, ground breaking. My starting point is the area I referred to in Day 3 as the Junction. This is the largest population center and is where the line splits. To the left is a workshed/portal and down to the left is a bridge to cross the river.

The first thing I did was rotate the default baseboard that appears when a new route is created in Trainz 90 degrees to position the main axis of the line in an east-west orientation. I then marked the center with a short piece of track.


Starting point on first baseboard.


I then placed a temporary visual marker in the form of a tall office building and I bookmarked the location. You can do this by placing the cursor along the top center of the screen and right-mouse clicking one of the little bulbs. Hold the right-mouse button down for a few seconds. Release when the bulb changes color. (If it's already green, there will be no visual change, but the bookmark will be placed.)


Temporary visual marker.



Bookmarking the starting point.


Next I marked the west edge of the baseboard with a short section of track, which is also temporary.


Temporary visual marker - west edge of first baseboard.


I added a few more baseboards and aimed a piece of track in the direction of the river. I decided to keep things simple, which means I will have the divergent tracks cross each other where needed at grade rather than building an up-and-over crossing that one might find on heavily trafficked lines. This raised the question of how to cross the river at grade while still allowing for commercial river traffic. Vulcan’s newly updated bascule bridge provides the answer. (BTW – John D’Angelo has written about this bridge on several occasions, the most recent being A New Idea For Ferry Operations, 7 Jan 2010.)


I chose the double-track bascule bridge by Vulcan as a means of crossing the river at a relatively low elevation.


The next important consideration was deciding how to handle the stations. In the past, I’ve built them up from components: platforms, shelters, light posts, signs, etc. It’s not only easier to use a complete station, but it should also have less impact on performance. The Station Metro station looked like it would work. I temporarily placed the single track and double track versions. Then I placed a train to see if the platform was long enough. It’s a bit short for my liking, but it will do. Also, a terminal at this location probably should have more than two tracks, but again I’m opting for simplicity and the resultant higher performance.


I chose the double-track Station Metro for its all-in-one simplicity. It can handle a 5-car train of NYCTA 143 Subway cars.


Finally, I placed walkover to join the two platforms. Upon subsequent reflection, I plan to have the walkover at the opposite end of the platforms, that is, the ends that do not have the ramps. I plan to have a road crossing near the ramped ends, giving pedestrians a chance to change sides via the road at the ramped ends and via the walkover at the fenced ends.


Walkover.


Next I’ll be blocking out the entire line. In the past I would have built the station scene and placed workshed/portal and placed double track as I went. This time I’m going to place the entire route in simple form, then come back and build the scenes.

Cheers,

Al

Article and screen shots �2010 Alfred Barten. All rights reserved.

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