I hope everybody is excited about a new revision!

Those of you who were here in Rev.14 may remember the humble rail network I built in that revision, known as noRTh.

I'm pleased to announce that, having had a ball with that project, I've decided to once again undertake a rail system in Rev.17!

I'm calling it TRAVEL, which stands for Timed Rail Advancement on Vertically Elevated Lines.

Here is a sneak preview of the preliminary viaduct design.

UPDATE: Click here for a diagram of the spawn area plan for TRAVEL. If you are building in the spawn area, I respectfully ask that you avoid the future pier coordinates until the footings are placed, and limit structures to no higher than Y/75 between Z/-155 and Z/-165. If CARBON lite locates south of spawn, the plan will be the same, but mirrored downward with inverted Z coordinates.

TRAVEL will be based on an RT-like design similar to noRTh, with each line composed of a two-way viaduct carrying rail in each direction and stations at regular intervals along the way. There will, however, be a few notable improvements over noRTh's lines:

• Track height increased to Y/85 to facilitate clearance for passing over CARBON lines where necessary, and to reduce the amount of landscaping required for grade separation in hilly biomes.
• Ladder access to track level at each pier (50-block spacing between piers). I reserve the right to remove, at my discretion and without notice, "derp pillars" left behind by players too lazy to walk 25 or fewer blocks to the nearest pier.
• Automatic timed forwarding of carts through stations with no player input required (similar to WHEAT system in Rev.16). This system will feature a two-stage launch intended to boot out any carts or players idling in the station when another player arrives.
• Viaducts now spider-proof due to overhanging ledges at all piers.

INITIAL PLANS AND RELEVANT TOPOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:

• The first phase of this project will be land acquisition in key points near spawn for the spawn station and to secure pier footings in the spawn region before significant construction occurs to obstruct them.
• This will be facilitated by building near CARBON lite in order to create a shared rail corridor at spawn and to allow for a transfer between the two using adjacent spawn stations.
• If CARBON lite locates at X/136, then the TRAVEL line through the spawn region will be centered on X/160. If CARBON lite locates at X/-136, then TRAVEL will be centered on X/-160. This will leave a 14-block clearance between the two systems.
• On the Z axis, placement of the TRAVEL spawn station will be located between X/25 and X/50. Within the first couple hours of the rev, I will frame in the bases of the piers as far as Z/-250, Z/250 in order to establish the right-of-way through the claiming-restricted territory around spawn.
• The first priority for the initial TRAVEL line will be direct travel between Spawn and Solace. The second priority will probably be to connect to a mesa and guardian grinder to support clay and sea lantern sourcing for the project, respectively.
• Further expansions will be dictated by proximity of settlements, lay of the land, and service available via other rail systems (I will try to bring rail connections to underserved areas wherever possible). It is also a well-known fact that I like to build extravagant bridges so I will probably be on the lookout for interesting straits to run lines across.

WANT TO HELP? THE FOLLOWING DONATIONS WILL BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED:

• Smoothstone
• Hardened Clay (Neutral-colour or Yellow-stained)
• Andesite
• Silk Touch books/picks
• Iron
• Gold
• Redstone dust, torches, repeaters, and note blocks
• Nether Quartz
• Rails (standard, powered, and detector)
• Sea lanterns when available; glowstone in the meantime
• Glass
• Yellow dye
• Wood and wood products (in the first weekend of the rev, particularly fences, gates and signs for making land claims at pier sites).

A donation chest will be set up at the spawn station location once that is established.

I think that's about all there is to say on this project for now. Good luck, and remember: Rev.17 get hype!