Single or Double

[Burnout2552 21]

Well,this actually comes to my mind when I'm just about to lay some tracks in my city.Before I started playing SC4,i used to play Microsoft Train Simulator(commonly abbreviated among fans as MSTS).In the game,most of the routes available in-game(as well as a few I downloaded from fan-sites which most based on real railway lines)features single track with dual track only at stations,freight depot or as passing loop.It is true in Malaysia,where train tracks bound for East Coast are single tracked.While the Rail Addon Mod gives me the ability to have single track in game,I'm here to ask your opinion:Was it realistic for railway lines in rural areas to be in single or double track?

  Edited February 28, 2012 by Burnout2552  

[T Wrecks 10,209]

I think there is no definite answer. It depends on where these rural areas are (developed country vs. developing country, small and densely populated country vs. big and thinly populated country, country with strong railway tradition vs. country with traditional focus on other means of transport, rural area between two metropolitan areas vs. rural area far out in the most remote corner of the country) and what kind of railway line we're talking about (think about a narrow-gauge logging line vs. a highspeed passenger line).

Where I live, it is not uncommon to have wide fields and occasional patches of wood to the left, wide fields and occasional patches of wood to the right, and six electrified tracks in the middle - two for high-speed trains, two for commuter traffic, and two for freight trains. Other people living elsewhere will probably report something entirely different.

IMO, what's realistic in SC4 ultimately depends on what you intend to recreate and cannot be viewed separately - at least to a considerable degree.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

^ very true. I live in rural Ontario, and all the tracks here are single except for the main lines which do not pass through this area. Rail yards tend to be mixed, and spurs into industrial and resource yards tend to be either single spurs or single sidings. An occasional dual track stand over or passing set up also exists.

Now in Toronto where I used to live, dual track is common but not always.

I guess you have to lay your tracks for effect.

[mrbisonm 1,620]

I live in the countryside of the Eastern Townships near (3 km's) two mainlines between New England (New Hampshire and Maine) and Quebec/Canada and both are double. There are quite a few double lines nearby, mostly closer to a bigger town, but more common in the country are the single lines.

I prefer playing the double lines ingame though, for one thing single lines sometimes make the game crash with my contents of the Plugins and secondly there's too many files to handle and find the right one. Too complicated and too timetaking for me for what it's worth.

mrb

[dazza262 133]

Where I live in the UK most lines are double track.

This is largely due to someone known as Doctor Beeching, who was chairman of British Railways in the early 1960's. He was responsible for the cutting of over 4,000 route miles of rail track, much of which was rural lines (single track) to smaller towns and villages, leaving mostly main lines.

So personally I prefer double track

Here's a pic of my local station which is on the London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria line.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[cityobserver 3]

Here in the US, it (was) common practice to build mainlines using single track with the occasional passing siding (short segments of double track). Over the decades these passing sidings were lengthened and combined to eventually create a true double-track mainline. So, really, it depends. If your rail line is interconnecting two major freight hubs, then double-track in the rural area would make sense... but in low-traffic situations, go with single-track.

  Edited March 4, 2012 by cityobserver  

[grstudios 188]

Here in Israel, most railways were upgraded on the last 20 years to dual-track from single-track. The busiest track is in Tel Aviv's CBD: 3-6 tracks.

(Between lanes on Freeway 20)

[2farnorth 26]

In most of Scotland, lines are double track, but the line up to where I am (far north line, naturally) is single track. My answer? It depends whether you have a line to a small town, or between two large cities.