Integrate Two Route into one

[micsinucsi]

Hi!
How can I integrate two routes into one?
Thanks!

[ckawahara]

Do a forum search using "merge routes". Lots of prior topics on the same question.

[landnrailroader]

It can be done and if you have RouteRiter there is a tool to help. I would recommend doing the search on the subject
and there has been a lot written about it in this forum, but here is the issue. In order to merge routes, it is critical
that both were done from digitized data created from the same source. I have never merged two routes, but I have
tried to add to existing routes. For example when I completed the Mega Colorado route done by Don Karch to finish
the part he had yet to do at the time of his death, there were two issues. MSTS will not handle the range of elevation
that occurs in the Rocky Mtns. so to accomplish that, Don lowered the terrain by some amount. If forget what the
value was, but it was 5K feet or so, so when I added terrain, I had to know that value and lower the new terrain
accordingly. Also, he had used something besides Google Earth to digitize the route, so when I wanted to add track
and roads starting just east of Parlin, CO I found an offset of about 300 meters north on the new data. DEMEX has
a tool to compute offsets for new markers so I had to do that until I had carefully put the new markers on the path
of the railroad.
Conversely, when Lukas Lussar wanted to create the RMD-WEST by adding the RMD-3 to my RMD-4, I volunteered
to do the track, bridges, & tunnels on the not yet created RMD-3. But I used UsaPhotomaps to digitize both and I
used the same elevation offsets (zero) etc. so this meant that the tracks at the boundary were no more than a
fraction of a meter off and Lukas corrected that.

J. H. Sullivan
(landnrailroader)

[landnrailroader]

This is not a total integration of two routes, but it is the most I have personally done along those lines and so let me explain what I just finished a few hours ago:
1. I have completed the track for a combination of the NS Clinch District and their lines around Appalachia.
2. I want to rehash my original Kingsport Sub. (CSX) almost from scratch.

Okay, these two lines cross at St. Paul, VA and share trackage for about a mile in that area. Further, NS trains coming
from Norton headed to points in the south can go east to St. Paul and get on CSX, former Clinchfield. Thus there is a
common point. Now I would like for this common area on both routes to be as nearly identical as possible, so what I
did is this. I copied the affected world files from the Clinch-Appalachia route into a scratch directory and then used
RouteRiter to decompress the world files, or I could have selected in the route and routed the decompressed file to a
scratch directory. Then I checked each world file, using ConText editor to see if there were any dynamic track entries.
If so, I deleted them. Now, I copied the edited files into the Kingsport world file folder. Going into Kingsport with
MSTS/RE, it being more sensitive to errors than TSRE, I then jumped to the area of St. Paul and found the tracks
were all present except the dynamic pieces. At this point I could just select each track piece & deselect which would
add them to the track database, or I could run a rebuild. I prefer the manual method as there are not that many
pieces. Now I can go back to the original Clinch-Appalachia route and determine the parameters of the dynamic
track and reinsert them, or I could try to eliminate them. Either way, if just copy the world files with the dynamic
pieces intact, the editor will probably crash to desktop on entering the affected area. This method also works well
because both routes were digitized from the same years images on Google EArth - note that from one pass of the
old satellite to another there can be several meters difference in the path SO USE THE SAME ONE ON BOTH.

It may seem complex and it is a little tedious, but it works and I have used this method on several routes. I will eventually
have a very complex Erwin, TN yard area in this Kingsport rehash and I will use it, in a BR Sub. rehash.

J. H. Sullivan

[micsinucsi]

Thanks for your help, but could you write it down again very in detail step by step?

Thank you!

[frliss]

Jerry,

It may be easy for you to merge routes. I am totally lost with your last two posts.

Fred

[landnrailroader]

micsinucsi
Fred,

This was not an attempt to merge two routes. Rather it was an attempt to use part, or parts, of one route to
start, or add to, another. Michael Stefan has a very good GN route in the library that includes Great Falls, MT.
I wanted to include Great Falls in my future Milwaukee Road, North Montana line. Unfortunately he used
another digitizing source than I had and his GF was 150 meters north of where mine needed to be but even so,
I used it. When that route is eventually released there will be a comment about a zig-zag east of GF. This is
a typical situation where different digitizing sources were used.

It is possible to merge two routes, but I have never done it. If I were doing it, I would probably delete the
track database file from the route I was merging with. Then after I made the track and road connections
at the boundary, I would delete the resulting track & road databases & do a complete rebuild.

So in detail. I am merging PART of my Clinch-Appalachia route into my Kingsport Sub. route.
1. Copy the required world files from the C-A route to a temporary location & decompress them.
2. Use a Unicode editor to see if there are any dynamic pieces of track. If so, delete them. If
there are any interactives, mileposts, etc. also remove them. I like Context Editor.
3. Copy the edited world files into the new route, (Kingsport Sub.)
4. Open the new route in your preferred editor, I still use MSTS/RE. Go to the new area and
select the new pieces & deselect. Save periodically. This adds the new track pieces to the
track database file. Alternatively you could do a database rebuild instead which might be
better if the amount being copied in is large.
5. Go into the original route being copied and note the location & parameters of dynamic track.
Manually add the dynamic track to the new route, or alternatively replace it with appropriate
pieces of track.
6. If there were any structures copied in, bridges, buildings etc., shape the terrain of the new
route and then select those structures & hit the "H" key (in MSTS/RE) to pop them onto the
new surface. Adjust as required.

J. H. Sullivan

[frliss]

Jerry,

Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed description. It looks like I've got my homework cut out for me.

Fred