Atlantic Express

* See also Atlantic_Express_(game_level)
* See also TechnicalDrawings
* See also Transportation_Systems
* see also Expanded_Atlantic_Express_System
* See also Prentice Mill
* See also Transportation_Stuff In Rapture
* See also AE Technical Details
== AE TRAINS -- Atlantic Express ==
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AE Shown in the Game (BS2) :
Unlike a common railroad/trolley system, the Atlantic Express route is seen with one track and single direction cars, which is odd as it was supposedly a mass Transit network. The game's AE traincar design is NOT 'double ended'. It would be advantageous if it were. 
If it was a loop route you Could run one direction. Some short distances involved may make that possible, as Rapture is only a few miles across. Heavier use or longer lines would need a second line running parallel in the opposing direction to be practical. 
You could have a 'Turntable' mechanism ( similar to the one seen while riding the elevator up to Brigid Tenenbaum ) at each end of a single track line to turn the 'train' car around for some short(er) routes going back and forth. Monorail turntables though add complexity.
There also could be monorail-type 'Switches' OUTSIDE in the water, so that only a single (complex/expensive) airlock would handle both directions ( two directional tracks outside, 'switched' into one track going through the station ). One station in Ryan Amusements actually does have Two Tracks, but the level artist had one of them 'dead end' for some reason ( illogical for single-ended cars ).
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The AE Train system we see in the game also runs thru the 'older' part of the City through 'entertainment' venues, and may not warrant a system with as much capacity as busier parts of Rapture would require. I would propose a more extensive and logical system across all of Rapture
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The Game's Atlantic Express Traincar Design Is Too Ornate :
Assets For the AE Transit System :
This AE Train is a bit too ornate ( the Transit Trams likewise ) with those fancy Too Busy side panels. The shape is somewhat copied from some period streamlined trains. Art Deco vehicle Streamlined style is usually simplified - with clean smooth surfaces to go with the 'Speed Lines'. The MMORPG would have some different models ( larger, with greater capacity, looking more like a Trolley_System#PCC style car ). The existing AE cars design (seen) are a bit (far) too narrow in width, severely limiting passenger seating/capacity).
The Same kind of (or worse) overdone Weirdness was seen on those in-game Trolley Trams. Those older Trolley Trams we see are strangely shaped, small, with weird handrailings. The Trams we see have no seats. Either they were ripped out and burned, or they were converted to Freight Service ( It is necessary to use the Trolley system to transport bulk freight around the city, which is competing with what is left of the AE system, which runs to fewer larger stations ). Perhaps these were used before the METRO consolidation, were retired and then forced back into use when the newer (bigger) cars were destroyed in 'civil war' terrorist attacks. 
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AE TRAIN CAR FIX :
Problem (AE train design) : IF the hanging/drive wheel placement is too close together and near the body length center, it all acts like a hinge point -- making the car swing about like a pendulum, particularly with acceleration/deceleration.
Fix : Spreading the wheels further apart (wheel base) changes the leverage that can be exerted to prevent the pitch (torquing swing) caused by water flow that would pull the front or rear wheels off the track and affect the drive force of those wheels.
Further Fix : Doubling the wheel drives - has better structure to the wheel positioning actuators and greater traction potential.
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AE Train Cars - Underwater They Have To Be Heavy :
What is the weight of the AE large cars ??? Near neutral buoyancy -- actually should be somewhat heavier so the cars will stay 'hanging' on the track even when EMPTY ( add to also resist the forces of water currents ). This weight is also needed for the drive wheel adhesion, but not too much heavier so as to require excessive power while accelerating ( including on ramps/track-grades ) or excessive braking force to be required.
Batteries or chunks of Lead ?? Thick pressure-resisting hull and door mechanisms wouldn't be a bad thing to expend weight on ( the weight that has to counter the lack of weight of empty air space inside - Buoyancy ). Big Batteries may be needed to avoid frequent stops 'out-of-service' to recharge/replace ( big cables somewhere at end-of-line to recharge ).
Fuel ??? - If when it is used up, the loss of content(weight) may have to be compensated for ( if replaced by air ... progressive tanks filled with water might work ). If a combustible Fuel is used, then you need an Oxidizer also ( yet more weight/volume ) Mono-chemical propellants like Hydrogen Peroxide are a bit too dangerous.
Exhaust is a problem - non-hydrocarbon fuels might have combustion results of Water which can be condensed, or You simply have to bite-the-bullet and compress the waste gases to expel them outside into the ocean ( which lowers overall efficiency significantly ... )
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In-Game : A Mere Glimpse of a Much Larger Transit System :
We only saw a fraction the full AE system's extent. The facilities at the AE Depot seem excessive to the few track routes seen on that one AE_Map ( which looks to be just a local section map ). In-Game we saw lots more AE tracks outside windows in the water.
The Trolley component of Metro Transit likewise cannot really be composed of the few-hundred-yard-long lines we got to see around Olympus Heights/Apollo Square -- To work as a real USABLE transport system, they would need to go thru to multiple destinations, AND form a criss-cross pattern across the whole city. The Bathysphere system we saw was likewise insufficient for any normal daily transit of a 'City' of thousands, back when we saw neither Trams nor AE stations ( or signs indicating their presence ) in the first games' areas of the City.
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Fancy AE Station Style, But Wrong :
The truss pillars you see in the Atlantic Express stations (BS2) are similar to those seen in the old Pennsylvania Station in New York City. That Beaux-Arts styling dates back before 1910 when that building was completed. Unfortunately, STRUCTURALLY this design is rather insufficient to hold up against the massive forces pressing down upon the deep underwater ceiling ( with 180 tons/sq yard at a 600 foot water depth ). Solid pillars would be far stronger, and could largely be reinforced concrete, which can withstand such massive compression forces being transmitted through them.
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Seen out the Window at Paupers Drop - the AE system was bigger than that partial map diagram we saw. Mk1 Segments like this look partially dismantled. Abandoning traincars out there does seem wasteful. You see the usual clutter of industrial support infrastructure typical of 'trainyards' and 'the wrong side of the tracks'. 
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Our 5-cent Tour of Rapture Was Only Worth 3 Cents :
Player in BS2 went thru the old sections of the Atlantic Express Depot - The facilities used for 'The Short Line' (Mk1 system) when the other 3/4 of the complex was the larger Mk2 Repair facilities and Station - Which had managed the majority of Raptures train equipment.
The facilities shown in Paupers_Drop ( "Maintenance Junction 17" ) were for the Mk1 system which had been more extensive before the conversions to the higher-capacity Mk2 system. Reasons for the changeover of most of the AE was : Structural weaknesses in the initial design, the heavier freight loads the city required, and the long distances out to Rapture's outside communities/industrial sites, which the Mk1 equipment did not handle well.
Most of the Mk1 track was rebuilt into Mk2, leaving only a few small sections of Mk1 operational. Some stretches of abandoned track that had continued to run while a parallel Mk2 track was being built. ( Reality sometimes has cases of operation disruptions being too much to do replacement simply ). The 'Metro' passenger service buyout also caused other tracks and branch lines to be abandoned. Some of the old track infrastructure and equipment was re-used by industrial sites outside of Rapture ( Out in the 'Boonies' ).
New Rapture may make use of some of the abandoned tracks if they are in sufficiently good shape, and run them in the interim while a number of the Mk2 track routes are repaired. Some tracks may be salvaged to repair other sections. The Quarry Line up as far as Welcome Center was another operational section used in several building projects underway upto the time of the Kashmir Incident in 1958/59.
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What is the Reason the AE Mk2 track/facilities was NOT seen in BS2 (?) : Those tracks extend into territory Sofia Lamb did not control, and had been either blocked or damaged. So, the Mk2 segments within Lamb's area didn't really go anywhere, and the later lack of maintenance left them useless anyway. Meanwhile, the Mk1 segments connected some of Sofia Lamb's territory map were still useful ( especially with the Bathysphere either locked down, disabled or damaged ). The Metro trolley system down in the old southern industrial area was fairly sparse -- And again often extended out of Sofia Lamb's controlled area towards the residential districts ( and thus could only be used a little ). Add lack of proper maintenance, which doomed more of it.
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Posters For Atlantic Express Still Commonly Seen Up On Walls :
If the system had been 'shut down' around 1952, when the Bankruptcy of the AE took place and formation of the Metro Transit, then why are these posters still up 7 years later in BS1 'civil war' times ? This reinforces the idea that the AE system was still working, maybe only for 'Long Distance' trains for passengers, and the Freight system which would have stayed profitable. Besides, it is obvious that parts of the AE still operated 7 years later than that (in BS2).
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Adapt or Die : 
Some of the original Atlantic Express passenger stations ( ones not converted to Freight operation stations ) were modified as small submarine access stations ( used by the Cab/Limo services and private subs ). They made use of the original monorail track modified as an overhead crane to pass the subs thru the airlocks, and also to lift them out of the water.
The MMORPG would allow expanding on these many mechanisms and facilities for Rapture.
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Black dotted lines are the Mk2 AE system and Blue dotted lines are what remains of the old Mk1 AE tracks.
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Those AE Airlock doors don't look like a proper pressure Seal could be achieved -- that rectangular gap there to accommodate the 'Rail' ( The Track Rail could mechanically shift aside from the position where it blocks the door closure. )
== Technology ==
Mk1 The Design of the First Built AE System
Mk2 The Rebuilt AE System ( improvements started ~1950 )
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See Prentice Mill - The man who built the Atlantic Express system for Rapture
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Blue Print : What looks like a Freight Locomotive (Mk1)
An AE scrapyard ( BioShock 2 in-game view from Paupers Drop ). This looks like a scrapping area for old equipment. Mk1 style Atlantic Express equipment and track components.
Some track sections/routes of this (Mk1) style continued to run passenger traffic Post-AE-bankruptcy ( We rode some in BS2 ). Possibly Prentice Mill ran it as his (fullsize) hobby RR trainset ( It ran thru a lesser part of the City which hadn't warranted the Mk2 replacement, and it made use of remaining Mk1 equipment which hadn't yet worn out ).
The Rest, even after being superseded by Mk2 ( which had greater capacity and speed and new routes/destinations ), that AE system was still insufficient for the City's passenger traffic needs ( Passenger business being replaced by an integrated Metro Transit Trolley network, and Bathyspheres. ) AE Freight traffic continued to most City destinations, and Long-Distance Passenger service outside of Rapture City continued. Ryan made use of the AE Freight trackage system during the 'civil war' to move his forces around, as well to continue supplying the majority of the City's many surviving Citizens.
Note - the building at lower left in the picture is simply a copy of a Surface 1900-era industrial building ( corrugated metal roof and ventilation projection ) - rather inappropriate for the deep water, while the one on the lower right at least has a better suited concrete bunker shape.
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The AE's Problem :
Those Atlantic Express trains, because they went out into the water, were required to enter/exit airlocks TWICE at every station ( and those each would be a rather expensive mechanism to build and maintain ). That need delayed movement significantly, when the lines/routes were at most only a few miles long ( a matter of stopped time & station delays versus traveling time ).
Whereas the Trolleys, which stayed WITHIN Rapture's internal pressurized environment, require no such extra delays, and had far less expensive trackway mechanisms and rolling stock. Tunnels DID need to be bored between building clusters, and trolley sized viaducts used to span gaps, but those are far simpler in the long run to operate. By the time of the Metro Consolidation (~1952), Construction Labor was more available and cheaper, and construction techniques ( like Tunnel Cutting ) were more advanced.
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Reasons Much Of The (Mk1) Atlantic Express was Rebuilt to the New Mechanism (Mk2) : 
The track structure of the earlier design, after hard use (City Construction) was wearing out - not able to take the expanded loads/use by the growing City ( Expediencies of an early construction 1946 period - Rebuilding whole sections of railroads is nothing new in the real world ). Problems and limitations were discovered which were not apparent in the time of the original design implementation.
The newer design allowed for larger Traincars ( with improved capacity per car - and a less cramped interior ). The original design's clamshell symmetrical drivewheels had structural limitations that did not allow application for larger units. Better streamlining for efficiency was used in the new Mk2 Traincar designs - Much better that the original Mk1 style ones (seen in BS2) which had it more for show.
The Mk2 design allowed for higher speeds and accelerations without undue wear on the improved track structure and car mechanisms. Passenger comfort was able to be maintained for this higher performance.
The new Mk2 track was more modular, bringing down building and maintenance costs, as well as improving reliability. The new double tracking (often at little extra cost) increased traffic capacities greatly.
Many sections (stations/customer locations) were no longer relevant and were not profitable to connect to - the lines would have to be relocated/rebuilt. Significant shifts of passenger traffic patterns. Realignments and more direct routes shortened some sections ( including additional use of newly inexpensive tunnels ).
Many stations were too small to handle double-end car sets ( and turning at end-of-lines had efficiency(cost) problems ). New (much larger) Mk2 stations not only all allowed the larger cars, but double-sets as well.
Additional/expanding freight traffic required extending of the original system ( which was actually cheaper with the Mk2 ). Expanding the existing system in many places was too difficult because of local congestion/preexisting structures that would need removal at much greater cost.
Some of the old Mk1 system could be retained ( like the low traffic Short Line WE traverse ), and other parts salvaged for industrial/secondary reuse ( the 'used' railroad salvage business ), where the Mk1 limitations were not so important.
Newer and Shinier. ( Less expenditures on decorations still would not have saved the AE Passenger Business from bankruptcy a few years later ).
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Original AE TrainCar Issue : 
The odd shaping/excessive decorations on the AE train carsides isn't in tune with Art Deco (modern) 'Streamlining', nor something used in an ocean water environment. Those decorations just add more cleaning work to be required. You can apply PAINT to get a similar (or better) decorative effect. (( Turbulence, caused by odd profile shapes of moving bodies GREATLY INCREASES Inefficiency - PARTICULARLY in water with its far higher flow resistances. ))
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AE - It Is More Like A Subway : 
It has to be stressed that the Atlantic Express was fundamentally a Transit system rather than a long distance railroad type system. It also moved a city's volume of local freight ( and was fundamental in the City's Construction ). 
It was also rather 'heavyweight' and did not have as much utility that the Trolley (bus-like) system had.
After its decline, the AE still would have been used to reach outlying areas outside of Rapture City ( including likely industrial/resource sites ), but few people other than commuting workers travel where FREIGHT transport is the primary cargo.
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AE Station Ticket Booths :
Why require a human to do this mundane job ? THIS is Rapture, where technical advancement is worshiped like a god ...
Atlantic Express automated Ticket Machines ( Asset to Add to the MMORPG ) -- with a Map of all of Rapture ( styled using those AE bronze In-Game MAP graphical widgets ). The Start location is where you are currently. The endpoint Destination you Press on the map and your ticket itinerary with train numbers (and alternates) and any Station transfers is printed out ( or just told to you ).
Being largely like a subway system ( all Stations were within ~3 miles of each other ), the Atlantic Express had a standard fee (tokens) for all destinations inside the City. Separate special trains went out to areas outside of Rapture (upto ~15 miles) and had separate ticket prices. Express and Luxury service was extra.
This automatic system was put in place once Comp-u-ters were advanced enough to run a reservation system -- which could compensate for loads, late/disrupted service, and detours - and even order additional trains for increased passenger traffic loads.
Historical Note - the old tokens used for the AE were found to be particularly good for shaping into arrowheads, at the later periods when gun ammunition became much more scarce.
Similar machines would exist for the Metro Trolley System (or Bathysphere) to instantly tell the traveler which way to go ( which train/track/time ) to get to their desired destination.
"THIS IS RAPTURE !! " just begs a choreographed "300" like situation for a Flashback
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Monorail Switches :
Monorails have to shift the one rail to operate. The principle is the same whether the rail is over or under.
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Much of the Atlantic Express in Rapture operated like a typical Subway in a big city, and the distances made trips generally not more than a few minutes. ( The main part of Rapture was only like 3 miles wide at the most. ) There were other long-distance cars used to go outside the city to the outlying sites, and would look inside more like a conventional passenger traincar interior (with rows of seats) for trips taking more like an hour or two.
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The AE Train System Might Seem Overkill for a City Only a Few Miles Across :
The AE train system was immediately needed for city construction ( and would be heavily used for that ), and had to be quickly operational. The city construction process required a versatile 'open' (in-water) transport system. Later, that already existing Mk1 system would likely continue intact to be utilized for transporting the population. There would have been a 'learning curve' as the City grew over years, with subsequent/further building Construction being done mostly upon reasonably stable Seabed ( something more conducive to the AE residing in Tunnels ). We were not offered the opportunity see what the Atlantic Express was like in the majority of the city. ( NOTE - The AE system had to be built to handle the most difficult parts of its environment as well as the easiest ). 
Rebuilding Offered AE Adjustments :
The AE rebuilding might have later used more Tunnels, like a subway - except for the parts of Rapture ( being in a volcanic crater ) where the seabed was unsuitably unstable. Building non-tunnel covered (pressurized) track system for that situation would be more expensive. For some spread out segments of the city, it likely would not warrant that greater expense. Segments of the AE Mk2 upgrade would be rebuilt in new pressurized tunnels -- done where it was cost effective, while some other Mk1 routes were retained ( like the AE route seen in BS2 ).
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The competing Metro Trolley System, once integrated, consolidated and patched together, effectively took over most of Rapture's passenger business ( Note - I've elsewhere explained WHY the 'Bathyspheres could not really serve the city properly ). 
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"Inside" Atlantic Express Track Lines :
Some 'Streets', the AE type trains/routes went through INSIDE (not out in Ocean), similar to Trolley type routes, with 'buildings' on one or both sides of the 'Track'. The AE tracks would be elevated above, with the street below ( unlike the Trolleys that share the 'street' surface with Pedestrians and Bicycles, etc ... ). The Airlock systems going in and out of the Ocean water add overhead/complexity ( time delays, maintenance ). Some terrain obstacles are easier to burrow through-- SO if there is a long tunnel passage between two AE Stations, why have the train go into water ?
The AE 'Inside' Tunnels still would have emergency seals ( normally open 'airlock'/bulkhead doors at strategic points ) to handle possible catastrophic flooding - at both ends and sometimes in the middle if the tunnel is long enough..
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We see some control panels in AE Stations in the game. Here's a REAL control panel which appears to be for switch controls on a yard of 8 Tracks ( not much in the AE System having that many ), and it showing the switches at both ends of the "double-ended" yard.
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Mount Ryan Express :
Atlantic Express train that traverses the tracks to other areas outside the main city. One goes East, another goes West and South branches ( Distances from City Limits are 5 and 12 miles ). Nice murky scenic trip (and signs), and you get to see (and do) various activities outside of Rapture. More mundane freight traffic also traverses that track.
In the Chaos times, the people living out there kept their part of the system working, so you might see some rather unconventional repairs and conveyances ( ie- some people lived out of the AE traincars ). New Rapture is making repairs to the system slowly and with the assistance of the Players.
There is the Usual Flashback potential, which can make use of the various 'Train' cliches.
 "Murder on the Atlantic Express - A Booker DeWitt Mystery" ... 
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Efficient Station Airlock Use For AE trains (Low Effort, Rapid Cycle) :
This process requires minimum pumping against the quite high external pressure (energy use), and minimal loss of interior atmospheric gases.
Cycle time is minimized for practicality ( to keep the trains moving on along their route with minimal delay ).
System mechanics should be simple and robust with minimal maintenance(cost) and maximum safety.
* Departure starts with airlock doors open on inside (at normal pressure) and closed on outside ( all doors are double sets for safety ) and drained.
* Outbound train cars descend into airlock (inclined track) which is already more than half filled with water ( minimizing/speeding water pumping operations ).
* Inner Door closes/sealed and water from a Holding tank is pumped in ( at low pressure differential - little effort ) to completely fill interior ( air is collected thru vents in top of airlock ).
* Valve is opened to outside to equalize pressure - very little air in airlock to be compressed/lost.
* Outer door opens, vehicle exits ( and/or another enters ).
* Entry starts with airlock doors open on outside and ocean water filling airlock completely at outside pressure
* Vehicle enters. Outer door closes/sealed ( airlock is still completely filled with water )
* Pressure is released ( but water does not expand, though there is some frothing/bubbling as dissolved gases comes out of liquid )
* Once pressure equalized with inside the airlock, sufficient water is pumped out back to a holding tank (and Rapture air in) sufficient to lower water level to clear the station deck.
* Inner Door is opened and vehicle leaves water ( rises along inclined track ) and comes into station
* Repeat
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Luxury Passenger Line :
Sinclair calls the Atlantic Express a 'Luxury Passenger line' which implies more mundane Hoi polloi traffic would use some other method (like Trolleys). Perhaps the 'Short Line' thru and Amusement Parks and an Art Museum 'Park' and the Fontaine Futuristics attractions ( and the Abyss Overlook end-or-the-line ) made that one line 'luxury'. The low level of traffic just did not warrant the expense of retrofitting 4 Bathysphere stations. Perhaps the AE did offer deluxe accommodations as an option, much as the Bathyspheres later did.
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Those Fancy AE Traincars :
I would have liked to see the interior of the Atlantic Express Traincar passenger section ( We saw the control cabin - That seemed to me to waste alot of space - maybe its where they also stored the stewardess cart when the AE was actually operating - at least in the Deluxe 'First Class' trains ). ( We sort of saw the interior of a traincar in the AE Depot construction and car storage areas, but they were skeletal frameworks. )
To move multitudes of passengers around the City, most of the Traincar interior probably would have looked similar to your typical subway car or commuter RR/LightRail car.
I wonder if 'Rich People' (Ryan/Sinclair/Fontaine/etc..) had their own private AE cars ( would be interesting finds in the MMORPG - maybe was where Ryan hung out soon after his 'death' before he moved to 'The Bunker' ). More fodder for the imaginative Asset Creators of the MMORPG game -- Fancy private car ( and many of them subsequently wrecked ).
I know why they didn't show the Traincar interior in BS2 ( and managed to avoid it ), but in the MMORPG there would be more realistic detail ( without that caricaturizing ). In the MMORPG we would actually be making use of them.
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Missed the Boat (Train) :
It would have been interesting in BS2 with its 'train' passage theme to have a Trainload of Splicer 'reinforcements' sent by Sofia Lamb show up in one of the Train Stations ( possibly with some pre-warning for Delta so that he could set up a defensive position ). Having your Traincar suddenly 'take off' on you to make space in the Station for the incoming Train and a horde of heavily armed Splicers emerging to 'terminate' you. Was there some limitation in the game engine or just a lack of imagination for such an obvious scene for the game ?? The only moving vehicles were in pre-scripted cutscenes. The MMORPG Game Engine would be far more versatile to allow such things.
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Train Buffs/Spotters :
Plot about 'Train Spotters' ( known as 'Railroad Buffs' in the US ) in Rapture being pissed off because the AE was being 'shut down' -- Or more like 'downsized' to be Freight-only - Eliminated the Train Schedules that they spent so much time and effort memorizing ( and Bathyspheres just aren't the same ... )
That's pretty meager fare for the Train Hobbyists, with the city only existing for a decade, and fairly limited selection of equipment to preserve/reminisce-about. In my expanded Rapture map, there are the train routes outside the city retained ( to various industrial and raw material sites ) to photograph and ride.
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Bathysphere forms shown, but that was only for the Premium Service Bathyspheres ( Trolleys actually handled the majority of Rapture's transit ).
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Concept Art BS2 Atlantic Express Train in Station :
Pictured, would be an early 'Test Version' of the Mk1 system ( later versions would be much more Streamlined ). Establishing the first train lines sped up Rapture's Construction significantly, allowing bulk materials and workers to be moved efficiently to fixed points with much less overhead than Submarines.
The basic train mechanisms would be developed and tested 'On the Surface' years before Rapture was started. You do not just 'wave your hand' to get such things doneAll the Submarine Tech for Rapture was hard enough to justify, and what IS portrayed in Infinite BS is within the category of ludicrous - true Wave of The Hand naivety/laziness. , and the AE trains were fairly complex mechanisms. The lastest Submarine-type technologies were Military Secrets, and obtaining such might be an important BackStory to have in the MMORPG. (( Making military-level technologies into routine consumer-used conveyances is actually a huge achievement. ))
Further Bugs in the AE train system were (would be) worked out, and the Atlantic Express grew as each new section of the City was built. ( This may be another reason for the Mk2 system rebuild as further improvements were made and would be 'built-in' instead of less-than-optimal retrofits being in the AE system. )
Audio Diary - Prentice Mill : "There would be no Rapture without me. No city without the Atlantic Express. Ryan took his first grand tour on my flagship coach ! But these days, personal bathyspheres are all the rage. My rails only connect the oldest parts of Rapture now, and the city's just ... just left me behind. Plenty of cash in the bank, though. This private vehicle craze will blow over soon."
"My rails only connect the oldest parts of Rapture now" - Prentice Mill --- Is evidence that the Train Map we see in BS2 is only a small part of the City.
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Details Seen - AE Depot :
Interesting - looking at the AE Traincars under repair/building (dismantling ??) in the AE Depot. Seeing the shell walls of at least 2 inch thick metal plate ( perhaps being Aluminum ), and with a large heavy girder framework inside. Something like that ( the vehicle's construction ) is needed for Rapture's sea depths ( the water pressure at ~ 600 feet ). It does not have to "float" ( actually, you DON'T want it to float ), so it can be alot heavier than the water it displaces ( versus what the Bathyspheres require ). No doubt, there would have to be lotsa very heavy batteries under the floor to drive it along its several mile long routes for a good part of the day ( We need the recharging systems somewhere -- and water and electricity don't play nice ... ).
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Look Familiar ? -- Like the AE underwater trains ( moreso the ones in the Blueprints seen In-Game ). Real styleChesapeake & Ohio's M-1 Steam Turbine Locomotive - https://www.american-rails.com/m-1.html takes talent, copying it DOES NOT.
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Utility Is Money :
After the AE Bankruptcy ( the passenger business ) the Stations still could have been used as freight stations. The operation would have to pay the expense for the Facilities to stay operating. Stations doubling up as a Submarine Port might pay additionally. The AE would have to operate as a whole system to be useful. Fortunately, the AE was useful for the already INPLACE larger scale transport in the city, and without Passengers it all could be streamlined significantly.
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Advertisement from USA RR in late 1930s trying to sell luxury ( Airplanes were not so good yet ).
The Atlantic Express unfortunately was largely like a Subway System for Rapture, so there was no point in selling THIS kind of thing for it ( and any longer distance trains used to get to outlying areas were mostly for workers ).
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With competition by Upscale Bathyspheres and The Consolidating Trolley system, the AE would need to advertise their systems strengths.
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