BNSF Clovis Sub

[Boss1]

Agreed, the green assets from Marias Pass look more natural for the desert of the southwest.

[stationmaster101]

Does anybody happen to know the scaling to use when I'm setting the heights of the tracks? I'm going to try and make as realistic grades as I can over this route (never been to any part other than the belen yard) Say i want to change the track from one town to the next, one town is at 4,000 feet while the next one is 4,300 feet. Would the track height measurements count towards feet? or is it some other kind of measurement.
(Height 0.73 Feet?)

[BoostedFridge]

I'm pretty sure that the heights and distances are metric, so that would be 0.73 meters.

[Bananarama]

You really should be entering the gradient when laying track, so you'll need to get a track chart for the route. Trying to do it any other way will prove frustrating.

[stationmaster101]

You really should be entering the gradient when laying track, so you'll need to get a track chart for the route. Trying to do it any other way will prove frustrating.

True was using this as an example though because there are some parts where the double mainline has different heights between the 2 tracks Also how would i go about finding a track chart for this particular route?

[Bananarama]

You can purchase a copy of the 1998 chart, which should be sufficient for your needs: http://www.railfandepot.com/product/bns ... chart-1998 ($24.99)

Or you can use an ATSF 1950s chart from the SFRH&MS: http://www.atsfrr.com/store/DigiTrkChrt.htm ($12)

Worth their weight in gold in the amount of time saved.

The only way to get a newer copy, especially one showing the new double track alignment through Abo Canyon, would be if you knew someone at BNSF. You might post a question over at Trainorders.com and see if anyone would be willing to scan a copy for you.

[stationmaster101]

You can purchase a copy of the 1998 chart, which should be sufficient for your needs: http://www.railfandepot.com/product/bns ... chart-1998 ($24.99)

Or you can use an ATSF 1950s chart from the SFRH&MS: http://www.atsfrr.com/store/DigiTrkChrt.htm ($12)

Worth their weight in gold in the amount of time saved.

The only way to get a newer copy, especially one showing the new double track alignment through Abo Canyon, would be if you knew someone at BNSF. You might post a question over at Trainorders.com and see if anyone would be willing to scan a copy for you.

I did find this while looking for an alternative to buying the charts myself (money is way to tight right now for that) so i did find this http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/rail ... 4-2007.pdf. This seams to have all the info i need not sure though.

[stationmaster101]

Oh yeah HACK also, how would i go about doing the grade and following the Google maps overlay? Because as i start climbing its going to get to hard to see what goes where eventually

[BoostedFridge]

If you have good quality 1/3 or 1/9 arc second terrain you can lay your track approximately along 'ground level', then make adjustments according to the grade profile/track chart. Looking at the chart you posted, the route isn't too much of a roller coaster, so this should be fairly straightforward.

[stationmaster101]

If you have good quality 1/3 or 1/9 arc second terrain you can lay your track approximately along 'ground level', then make adjustments according to the grade profile/track chart. Looking at the chart you posted, the route isn't too much of a roller coaster, so this should be fairly straightforward.

Alright thanks, I'll do all the track work first before i start scenery and what not

[Bananarama]

This seams to have all the info i need not sure though.

Just so you're aware that the grades in the timetable are ruling and not the actual grades for the line. (A ruling grade is the steepest gradient between two points.) An example would be the CSX Mountain Sub's Cranberry Grade. Ruling is 2.84%, but only a very short section (less than a 1/8 mile) is that steep over an 11-mile section. Most of the grade averages at around 1.75%. If you built the grade to timetable specs, you would be about a mile above the summit when you reached Terra Alta.

As for seeing where you're going, make a backup of your terrain folder and flatten areas while building. When you're done, restore from backup and then go over the track with the magnet tool.

[stationmaster101]

This seams to have all the info i need not sure though.

Just so you're aware that the grades in the timetable are ruling and not the actual grades for the line. (A ruling grade is the steepest gradient between two points.) An example would be the CSX Mountain Sub's Cranberry Grade. Ruling is 2.84%, but only a very short section (less than a 1/8 mile) is that steep over an 11-mile section. Most of the grade averages at around 1.75%. If you built the grade to timetable specs, you would be about a mile above the summit when you reached Terra Alta.

As for seeing where you're going, make a backup of your terrain folder and flatten areas while building. When you're done, restore from backup and then go over the track with the magnet tool.

I'll use the timetable grades as a base for now then smooth out some areas as i go since its the only kind of reference i have for the grades right now, looking into setting some money aside to get the actual route plans you suggested though just in case.

[stationmaster101]

Well here is a small update since i had the time to finally do some work, Added the mountains that can be seen from belen as best i could and added the small container area i had neglected to add when i was first laying track. Also started painting the ground a bit to try and test different desert coloring techniques.

[imnew]

Nice!

[stationmaster101]

Changing some of the scenery around Belen since its not all desert like i had thought at first so that's this small update.