4 track river crossing/tunnels?

[Wenatchee Willie]

I've recently started playing again. I thought I read that you could now make 4 tracks bridge a river together rather than just 2. Am I mistaken, or did I miss something as to how to do it?

Thanks

[mbutton15]

Still can't do it. But if you leave a couple track widths gap then you can put the other pair there.

[rff1]

What I don't understand is why one cannot expand a bridge to more than two tracks. After all, you can expand a single-track bridge on either side, given room for the abutments ( the second-track bridge has to be exactly the same length as the first, which can be a problem if crossing a river at an acute angle), so why not on both? Indeed, expand to as many tracks as you like. As a real-life example, Brunel's brick arch over the Thames at Maidenhead was originally double-track and, much later, expanded also in brick to four-track; it takes the much heavier modern trains happily.

Tunnels are different. In real life, to put a second track through a tunnel would mean making a much bigger hole costing more than the original one: in the game, the bigger hole comes at a discount, which is convenient for the player. But a four-track tunnel would have to be huge and I think it very reasonable to have a two-track limit.

[mbutton15]

In this game sometimes, for reasons I can never work out, I can't build the second tunnel. A bit shows as red so I have to move it away from the first tunnel. :(

[rff1]

That usually means "removal of too much material" - at least, it does when trying to double-track across mountains. For tunnels, I think it more likely that the second track would need a slightly longer tunnel due to the terrain elevation, whereas like bridges both constructions must be of the same length.

Personally, I avoid tunnels like the plague, because they are so horrendously expensive. Try following the advice of the trolls on seeing Granny Weatherwax (in Terry Pratchett's Discworld) and "go around the other side of the mountain".

[mbutton15]

Mm, think it mainly has been on long tunnels. I have tended to follow the contours of late and only tunnel when it's a short tunnel.

[chaney]

Good evolution in play mbutton15. Unless you have a high express delivery goal or are late game and swimming in money, tunnels are pretty expensive!

Tunnels have a maximum length limit if that is relevant.

Structure to support crumbly mountain material above a tunnel scales badly for larger bores. I'm with rff1 that 2 tracks is a reasonable practical limit for tunnels.

I suspect the limit for bridges must be from a subtle coding issue but would like to see the limit expanded. For now, coping with the existing behavior is good enough for me.

[Thineboot]

For a player there is no limit, I want it, not matter what. Give me six :)

For a tunnel it's much harder. You have to deal with gravity which means the material above you just wants to come down while you are hollow. The wider you are the more pressure you have to compensate. Even modern tunnels are often 2 single-track tubes. For the 1830-1930 period 2 tracks seems enough.

For a bridge it's also harder. You have to deal with your own weight plus the weight of crossing trains. Considering the usual gamer it's just easier to limit bridges to 2 tracks than explaining reasonable people why there are ridiculous are 10+ track bridges in Railway Empire possible.

We have to deal with only 4 track stations so we have to deal with only 2 track bridges. Gamer, deal with it :)

[Nox Oculis]

Not very aesthetic!
if you connect New York Baltimore Washington with the map East
8 tracks with extended double tracks it's 8 double tracks bridges/or tunnels possible !
and a pretty difficult route , cause Washington and Baltimore as to near

[Thineboot]

My eyes, my eyes, just imaging this makes me shiver. I wonder how someone reflecting such beauty[pages.infinit.net] can come up with such nasty thoughts.

According to the authors homepage these poems are not from A Spillage of Mercury but from Spanish Fly[neilrollinson.com].

[Nox Oculis]

@Thineboot
Observer, you noticed the book
or poetry tells the story is written

So i want :
And in the lake, the sudden
star-burst of four kittens under the lid of ice,
heading to the four corners
In game we have only 2 bridges to cross the lake.

[chaney]

I'm worried about you Thineboot. The link "reflecting such beauty" does include such as described, as well as some true horror comprising something very nasty in deed. I'm not saying there isn't a great beauty in fatalism, but I have difficulty combining a violent decision with such calm tranquility. I guess I'm not old enough yet. I just didn't expect the "not safe for small children" content.

FWIW, a refrigerator in no way fights entropy. It rearranges the distribution a bit while significantly increasing the total.

I'm not lazy, I'm just doing my part to forestall the heat death of the universe. (C)

[Thineboot]

Reading Entropy just washed away the dark vision of troubled bridges over water. It just describes the beauty of physics in live most people aren't aware of with nearly every line being part of my life - except that I'm not a wine drinker.

Being a lifelong fan of science fiction Constellation reminded me about Tears in Rain of the late Rutger Hauer. There is no death without life. We are constantly reborn, the bodies we praise last only a handful of years before most of their atoms are exchanged. Depending on your religion atoms of the son of your god reside in you or those kittens are just on their way to their next life. Life your life as if nothing of this is true and you'll fulfill whatever good your religion tells you. Don't open your fridge to watch him trying to fight the inevitable, he won't succeed but will heat up your one and only planet which is facing her heat death. Now I've strolled away enough for tonight...

[chaney]

Thanks for the beautiful thoughts.

Tears in Rain is a great speech delivered superbly. It helped me realize that I should not judge those who look like him on that basis any more than I would have those beautiful people assess me fully by what they saw.

[Nox Oculis]

@Thineboot
Blade Runner is inspired by "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"
Phil K D ick predicted credit cards before it exists! and also that the credits will be exhausted the week end! : p
the mobile phone, is the population becomes robotic.

With Blade runner 2019: the megacities are unhealthy!
Real life it's time to act .. is not just saying it.

In the movie Blade Runner it's not an android!
but replicants!
On the colonies, a new breed of slaves is born: the replicants a human copy "almost" perfect? , the test of, voight kampff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nItDJslm3lE

Rutger Hauer aka Roy:
he wants to live longer! pierces his hand hoping that the pain prolongs his life a little.
Before he dies ... his life programmed! finished, then he has a conscience?
that life is ephemeral it must accept it so !
he's saving Deckard! ultimate gesture.
and says: I have seen time of things that you humans could not believe!
and this mythical phrase :
"all these moments will be forgotten like tears in the rain"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU7Ga7qTLDU
time to die ...
Is it then a consciousness? where is the question ?
to beer or not to beer ? shakesbeer

[Nox Oculis]

But to return to the subject 4 track river crossing ! why not ?

In 1837, a first railway bridge was built for the Paris line at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Émile Clapeyron directs the site.

It was replaced in 1851 by a deck bridge with FOUR lanes, designed by Eugène Flachat and built by the company Ernest Goüin and Cie2.

It was expanded to SIX lanes in 1911 and one last time to TEN lanes in 1926.
With its TEN lanes, this railway bridge is one of the widest in Europe.

The main cause is river "Seine" which bypasses the city
reducing the space of railroad tracks
and also the road bridges.
advice: never drive car to Asniéres when there is a train strike ! oO

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/231-G-558_pont_d_Asnieres.jpg/1280px-231-G-558_pont_d_Asnieres.jpg