Expanded Atlantic Express System

* See also Mk1 and Mk2 and Atlantic Express
* See also Transportation_Systems
* See also Transportation_Stuff
* See also Derp_Transportation_in_Columbia
* See also Crash - Reason for most of the AE Systems Passenger Termination
== Explanation On Why I Have Expanded The Atlantic Express System To Cover More Of Rapture ==
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* AE was built along with the earliest parts of the City - "Links the Oldest Parts of Rapture", and originally was the 'main' transit system.
* Was supposedly 'replaced' by the Metro system ( Bathyspheres and the Trolley system seen in BS1 ) - perhaps it had improved/more-direct lines for more convenient point-to-point travel.
* A mass transit system needs to go where there is alot of need for passenger traffic - connecting at minimum to the busiest locations in the City. The in-game map representation hardly shows anything like this ( particularly with the overblown monstrous city size which the window view artists created ).
* That original (BS2) AE Map shows a bottom edge of the city, and it is NOT the shape of the Metro map - a majority of the city isn't shown at all. It looks like only part of the bottom edge of Rapture (with a drop off to the South, with the 'highest point' to the North).
* Such a system would need to actually go somewhere significant -- throughout the City to serve its purpose:
** If the AE was not larger ( than shown on the in-game map ), and the Metro was not in place early on ( when the city was first built ), then how did any large number of people get around Rapture ( conveniently, including to people's work every day ) ?
** The old BS2 AE Map shows 3 main track lines, with no names on the 2 you never go on. The map 'endpoint' lights indicated do not necessarily have to be the ends of those lines. Those lines could extend off the map to connect to the rest of the system. The 'AE Depot' likewise could/should have one or more track lines extending beyond it ( such is not shown on the old map that represents the line you are currently on ).
** Even Paupers Drop was originally "Maintenance Junction 17" ( '17' likely implies at least 16 more such nodes ), and it wasn't exactly a 'heart of the city' location.
** The AE Depot facilities showed a significant amount of equipment that would be required for a MUCH LARGER SYSTEM than what is shown on the Map we see. The Paupers Drop Facility "Maintenance Junction 17" ( look up at the ceilings there ) is also fairly large even to serve as a secondary maintenance facility.
** Generally, mainlines meet at junction stations so that passengers can transfer to get to their final destination on other mainlines going different directions ( you don't see much of this on that Map )
** A City has "Rush Hours" when the passenger traffic increases one or two magnitudes in usage. The Bathysphere system stations do not have the look of 'mass transit' and would become a chokepoint for a real 'city' rush hour crowd. It is likely that the AE system was still largely in use to move the multitudes of 'the proles', and the more 'affluent' were the ones who commonly used the Bathyspheres ( used like Cabs in a City ).
** The Trolley 'Streets' part of Rapture Transit can carry alot of passengers ( and potentially/likely freight ), but we saw little sign of it in most parts of Rapture ( we might ignore that because of the GAME discontinuity WE WERE shown ). If the Trolley system was extensive, then IT IS more likely the system which stole most of the AEs passengers.
** The Metro Bathyspheres only have limited capacity for passengers (and much less capacity for freight), so you would REALLY need ALOT of them to meet the needs of a city of 20000+ citizens 20000 - the Novel author's population figure - possibly expanded in the 15 year span to ~40000 ?).
* The 'replaced' AE system would be still useful for freight operations ( much like what happened to Railroads in the US )
* The AE System is shown reactivated in the BS2 time frame after allegedly being shut down long before when the Metro took over. It was also supposed to be back in use after Ryan locked down the Bathysphere system.
* Even the Metro system only goes to some places on the BS1 map.
** So IT is also only a partial representation of the full Metro system ( Austen Bathysphere Company may only have bee one of several competing companies ... )
** Thus, there are more Trolleys on a more extensive 'Street' system, and more Bathysphere lines to additional locations.
** No doubt there would also be private Bathysphere lines to industrial/manufacturing sites, and to some private residences, and other 'special' destinations.
** Private Submarines ( more analogous to early Autos, or even planes ) and their facilities (stations) likewise wouldn't be shown (It is questionable how many people could afford them).
* I did not see any ticket booths at the Bathysphere facilities (which we did in the BS2 AE Stations). I can hardly expect that part of the system to have been run 'For Free'. Ticket takers might have been used in the station. (We saw pay 'gates' on the way out of Welcome Center).
* The Trolley System was likely being developed before the Bathysphere Metro, as their massive structural requirements have to be much more rigidly integrated into the buildings/plazas they connect to ( as well as the tracks set into the building cluster connecting viaduct streets ).
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Expanded Rapture Map Explanation :
* The BS2 map AE routes was overlaid on the BS1 map ( AE Map seen in-game being assumed to be just a Southern section ).
* Dotted lines are the Atlantic Express extended system ( now going to many of the major locations around Rapture )
* The Black Solid lines are mostly the 'Austen Bathysphere' Routes ( a few additional lines were added ). There probably are many more to connect the city more adequately ( and to locations not shown on the map ).
* The extended 'Street' Trolley system is not shown - There would be an extensive system of these to connect clusters of buildings in Rapture's main town areas.
* Additional AE lines extend outside the city to a few industrial sites ( likely more than what's shown on the map below to make the city 'Self-Sufficient ).
* A scale was defined based on a mention somewhere that Rapture was 3 x 3 miles in size - versus another saying it was the size of Manhattan ( which would make if far larger and much too big for the ~20000 population quoted in the Novel Manhattan had more population (1.9 Million) in 1940-1950 than now. ). Rapture's buildings only cover part of that area ( we see the open spaces in many of the window views ).
* A few additional sites were added or named, and the general location/contours of Mount Ryan has been indicated.
* Some of the original BS1 sites still are unnamed (the numbered ones). They would represent addition 'plaza' clusters of buildings.
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Map - The Larger Area Around Rapture
Another picture showing a proposed configuration of Rapture on an underwater volcano (Sea_Mount) that has had its magma chamber collapsed to produce "The Abyss" ...
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