Railroad track pack for 1520 mm
EDIT 2.6.2024. Tunnel track has been redesigned to improve contrast and to also make tunnels for trains wider (previous version was focused on metro trains, and ground trains can be almost a whole meter wider and would not be able to fit into the narrow metro tunnels). Also, two new track types have been added – a different brown shade and a medium speed track on slab. One of the high speed tracks has been removed. Note some of the bridge and tunnel track types have been moved around. (Apologies if this is impacting your build, please let me know). I figured out there is very little real life high speed track currently on 1520 mm…
This pack includes 13 types of track geared towards heavy rail (railroads and metro/subway). It also includes several additional track elements as "buildings". This is measured for 1520 mm track and is similar to my packs for trams for 1524 and 1435 mm and railroads for 1067 and 1435 mm. The pack is also integrated with my Road Variety Pack. All mods have names starting with AVP to have them in one place.
The main concept for this pack was to show the rails as they exist in real life, i.e. made out of steel and thus gray/silvery, and not black. See screenshots for overview and instructions.
There are only two speed limits, 375 km/h for high speed and 160 km/h for medium speed including metro track. It is easy in NIMBY to set any speed limit you desire for any track type (as long as it’s less than the maximum for the track).
Included track:
High speed 375 km/h track – (i) on concrete slab, (ii) on mauve ballast (with concrete ties).
Medium speed 160 km/h track – (i) on mauve ballast (with concrete ties), (ii) on gray ballast (concrete ties), (iii) on mauve ballast (wood ties), (iv) on brown ballast (concrete ties), and (v) on slab. Bridge versions are all different to enable bridge variety. The tunnel versions include two lit versions (for track on slab with ties and ladder track) and three dark versions (slab with ties, ladder track, normal ballasted track on the ground).
Metro (3rd rail) 160 km/h track – (i) with 3rd rail on the left, (ii) with 3rd rail on the right. Where tracks join or cross, you would want to switch from one version to another, or even use track without 3rd rail, to ensure the 3rd rail does not cross the main rails.
Four special types – (i) all levels looking the same as ground level – 375 km/h, mauve ballast – this is because geo data sometimes incorrectly shows a road to be a bridge which may hide your ground level track where not desired; (ii) track only – no base, no ties, no border – 160 km/h – for level crossings and other special areas you want to build yourself; (iii) asphalted track – added for realism – many cities have industrial spurs running through streets – and it also be used to make level crossings look neat – 160 km/h; and (iv) ground level – slab with half-size ties – 160 km/h, bridge – modern major bridge with track buried in slab, 375 km/h (intended for adding a truss on top), tunnel – has 3rd rail on the left and lit track and ties – 160 km/h. This is convenient for metro stations.
Included "buildings": check rails (one sided and two sided), guard rails, guard rail ends, narrow metal plates outside the rails to reinforce level crossings, large metal and resin plates for level crossings, rusted rails. Select the desired building from the list, double click to place it into the model, pick the desired track, and it should snap into the right place on or around the track.
You can see examples of using this track pack in the screenshots above.
Key technical data:
Single track land tract width – 4.98 m (170 pixels) for ground, 5.33 m (182 pixels) for standard bridge including bridge railings. There are narrower and wider bridge versions too.
Single slab track width – 5.74 m (196 pixels) including bridge railings (6.15m – 210 pixels – when on a bridge)
Tunnel width including outer walls – for subway/metro – include 3rd rail – 4.45 m (152 pixels), internal width 4.10m (140 pixels). These tunnels are built with train width of up to 3 meters in mind, although of course any train can go.
Tunnel width for ground rail – 5.04 m (172 pixels), including outer walls. Internal width 4.68 m (160 pixels). These tunnels are good for trains up to 3.5 meters.
Any comments on improvements are welcome.
You can see the track used here in my models of Yaroslavl and surrounding lands here: https://share.nimbyrails.com/Wx4f2BxbYtJRuYjEloDXRw
and Minsk: https://share.nimbyrails.com/NMk_1MHivv97poDcHsgTmw
