Rail support

Rail support is a building used to create elevated railways. A rail support is placed beneath elevated rail segments and determines how many consecutive elevated rails can be supported from that point. Elevated rails allow trains to pass over terrain, water, cliffs and most buildings without placing landfill or other terrain modification.

Each rail support can hold up to five straight rail segments in either direction. It can also accommodate two curved rail segments, or a mixed configuration of one curved segment and three straight segments. Because each support covers multiple adjacent rail tiles, planning supports at regular intervals permits long spans of elevated track with minimal structure.

Elevated rails placed on rail supports can bridge a variety of surfaces without additional preparation. Rail supports can be placed directly on top of water on Nauvis, oil oceans on Fulgora, marshes on Gleba and ammoniacal oceans on Aquilo without needing landfill or foundation. After researching rail support foundations, rail supports can additionally be placed on Fulgora’s deep oil oceans. Some tall buildings (for example, large electric poles) are too tall to allow elevated rails above them; elevated rails cannot be placed where an obstruction extends above the rail clearance.

Using elevated rails with rail supports is generally more material-efficient than using landfill for building over water. To place five rail segments over water requires a single rail support plus the rails and ramps, which has a much lower raw stone cost than the equivalent amount of landfill (placing five rails with landfill requires many more stone items). This makes elevated rails favorable for long water crossings or sections where preserving terrain is desirable.

• Plan support spacing to match the 5-segment capacity to minimize support count while maintaining required curvature.
• Curved segments consume support capacity more quickly; account for curves when counting supported segments.
• Check for tall structures before laying elevated rails; relocate or replace obstructing buildings (e.g., very large poles) if an elevated route is required.
• Research rail support foundations before attempting to place supports on special deep-ocean surfaces like Fulgora deep oil.