Rail ramp

The rail ramp is an item used to create raised sections of railway that span changes in terrain elevation and bodies of liquid without requiring landfill or foundation under the raised portion. The raised part of rail ramps can be placed directly on top of water on Nauvis, on oil oceans on Fulgora, on marshes on Gleba and on ammoniacal oceans on Aquilo without needing landfill or a foundation. After researching rail support foundations, both rail supports and rail ramps can also be placed on Fulgora's deep oil oceans. The first four tiles of a rail ramp must be placed on solid ground.

Rail ramps are therefore the primary method for building railways across small islands, shorelines and shallow liquid tiles where a continuous solid base is unavailable or undesirable. Being able to build the ramp with its base on the edge of solid ground allows trains to transition to and from raised track while keeping most of the structure above liquid or marshland. This capability is especially useful in constrained locations and on maps with extensive liquid terrain.

• The raised portion does not require landfill or foundation on the listed liquids and marsh tiles; the ramp’s base still requires the first four tiles to be on solid ground.
• Researching rail support foundations expands placement options, allowing both rail supports and rail ramps to be placed on Fulgora’s deep oil oceans.
• Placing the first four tiles of the ramp on solid ground is mandatory; attempts to place the ramp with fewer than four supported tiles will fail.
• Edge placement of the ramp is practical when space is limited, for example on small vault islands on Fulgora, where the ramp can start at the shoreline and extend over liquid without filling in terrain.

Use rail ramps when you need raised track across water, oil, marshes or ammonia oceans and when you want to avoid the time and materials of landfill or foundations for every tile under the raised section. Ensure the approach has at least four contiguous solid tiles for the ramp to attach to, and research rail support foundations if you plan to build over deep oil oceans on Fulgora.