Laying Long Sections of Track

[kevman479]

I have long sections of track that I need to lay. I really need most of this to follow the terrain. I have "snap to terrain" checked, elevation is set to 0.000, and "snap to track" is not checked. "super elevation" is not checked, and "Unevenness" is set to 0.000.

My track goes underground, about five to ten meters above ground but never follows the terrain.I know at switches and cross overs I have to set the elevation and turn snap to track on and snap to terrain off but I don't even have those, and while the land does roll there is no sharp edges.

Also how do you use "smooth gradient" I push it but nothing happens. I don't get a square around the icon, I click on track to smooth and it selects the track and then if I move the track moves. (as in the whole section moves like moving other objects).

Help please

Thanks
Kevin

[dfcfu342]

Welcome the wonderful world of the route editor! Once you get it figured out it goes smoothly but can seem finicky at first. When using the snap to terrain function it's helpful to have snap to track disabled and the same goes for using the snap to track function, turn off snap to terrain. Always keep the within rail network radio button checked. If you're having trouble with track shooting way into the air or diving under ground try laying shorter sections with snap to terrain enabled. In undulating terrain you can aim to set the ends of your track pieces at the tops of hills and bottoms of valleys to achieve the best initial elevations.

Once you have your track laid make sure to manually adjust the track so that it matches the profile you want. If there is a small dip along the line, use the elevation button to add new nodes to each end of the dip and drag it down to the correct level. It's important to make these changes before using the gradient smooth button.

When the you're satisfied with the elevations you can use the gradient smooth feature. To use this you must use the select tool first (The one that looks like a square made of dotted lines). If you have parallel track like a double or triple main line make sure to select all of the tracks. Once you've selected the area you want to smooth out you can then hit the gradient smooth tool.

[kevman479]

Thank you
Tried what you suggested and it is working. Still need more practice but now have the basics

Thanks again