Float Straight with Transition

Bernard, this is an excellent question and one that has troubled me for a long time - having used MXRail for a couple of years.

Another example is the command Geometry>Horizontal Element>Edit Element. When selecting a curve there seems to be no way to changes the ajoining transition or to add a transition.

I hope someone can give a helpful reply.

Hello MX Team (I have been also using MX for many years),

Inroads, so Rail Track, has a totally different way of managing alignment than MX. Then we can feel sometime a bit lost even disappointed. But on the other hand we have more freedom than MX gives.

If there is a transition already attached to the arc then you can add a float line by a point asking to connect the ARC not the transition. Then you are able to move the point and see the dynamic link including the transition.

Rail Track allows to create arcs with transitions even there is no element after the transition. MX does not allow this.

So in Rail Track the best is to create the transition first. When you place the arc you may know you will continue the alignment and that a transition is required.

But there is a way to add the transition if it is not already there. Sorry, It is not smart but it gives the result.

The workflow is using the Add Fixed element" command:

• set only point 1 (radius, pick a point close but it is not required to be on the alignment) and the length: it creates a transition in space.
• then connect the transition to the arc
•  then use the floating line command

Here is again it is a difference between MX and Rail Track. In MX you edit links whereas in Rail Track you strictly edit elements.

And MX has elements and links, Rail Track only knows about elements: connected, colinear or not.

In this case the way is not to edit elements but replace the connection. Very similar than MX replace link command, except that using Rail Track you can keep both. An alignment in Rail Track is just a list of elements, only the user maintains the logical in this list. A lot of freedom but with some additional management.

Thanks jpln, very useful!

It's a shame that Bentley have discontinued MX Rail without building in the same functionailty into BRT!

I found another workaround to *free* a straight with transitions - I use multiple element regression.

I really miss the MX dynamic regression tool, so much better than the BRT workflow :(

Thanks jpln.
After using RailTrack for many years I did not know that one could edit a curve set as you showed in example 2. This is very helpful!