This season’s Showcase! highlights a sweet CTR & CSO combo. Although not as well known as the monorail train the mag-lev train is far more exotic. To understand a few of the design choices behind Weber’s output it would be helpful to review the basic principles behind magnetic levitation.

Put as simply as possible, the magnetism built into the bottom of the train pushes the train up off the track against the magnetism built into the track which also pushes the train up off the track. Both the train’s magnetism and the track’s magnetism are required for this to work, in exactly the same way that it takes two toy magnets that are turned just the right way against each other in to repel each other.

A servo, a device to help control the train’s position and speed, is added to this arrangement to prevent the train from spontaneously flipping or sliding off the track as a result of any instability caused by a sudden misalignment of the train’s and the track’s opposite poles of magnetic attraction. This stability is augmented by a guideway of magnets built into the track in addition to the guideway magnets built into the train along with the bottom of the train being shaped so that one guideway wraps around the other.

A linear induction motor at the rear of the train pushes the magnetically levitated ‘weightless’ train straight ahead on the track at high speeds, speeds which are possible due to there being no friction between the train and the track. As a matter of interest, magnetic capsule tube travel takes this same idea a few steps further.

Mag-lev trains can accelerate and decelerate much faster than conventional trains, with the only practical limitation being the effect of G-forces incurred by changes in arrival/departure speeds on the safety and comfort of the passengers. With no moving parts mag-lev trains travel more smoothly and quietly than conventional trains.

This would certainly explain why any magnetic levitation train has such a specific appearance. Weber, one of our community’s paramount CS Artists, has brought CTR design to new heights by taking all the above into account when designing his very own version of this railed transport along with his ‘specially coordinated track covers.

Most CTR’s have two different car types, the conductor’s car (or a front-type car) to start, followed by any number of standard passenger cars. Occasionally a CTR will come with an end-type car or a rear car attachment. There are four different car types in Weber’s Mag-Lev as can be seen in the following image.

Weber has combined the control room along with passenger seating in what we will call the A car, with Weber’s B car being solely for passengers. He’s chosen to separate the induction motor arrangement into two rear cars, here identified as C car and D car.

With its ten seats, its spacious interior, and its open door layout we like to think that in addition to the induction motor conductor, the D car is intended for Mag-Lev Railroad Co. staff who need to travel during their shift, for urgently needed company supplies & equipment, and perhaps a limited number of overnight packages.

Mag-Lev is not colorable but comes in a sleek aqua, gray, and white color scheme which is further enhanced with aqua tinted glass.

Although Weber’s Mag-Lev comes with four different car types it is possible to build a Mag-Lev train in your park with only two cars.

As you see, when building with five cars or more, the B car or passenger car is the car that is duplicated. This CTR can be built with up to 30 cars in total and will always include one A car and one D car.

In contrast to this CTR’s polished contours and somewhat high poly exterior, the low poly car interiors adequately suggest plush upholstery, fitted carpets, and enclosed overhead compartments. It is plain to see that a great deal of care and consideration went into designing this CTR. Weber has modelled these cars so they’re substantial yet graceful in appearance. It doesn’t take the slightest stretch of the imagination to see & feel the tons of weight manufactured into these cars, or to believe that this train can silently & effortlessly achieve speeds of 300mph during intercity travel.

Although in real life mag-lev tracks are built mostly in straight lines with ultra-gentle inclines and in broad, gradual curves, because this CTR was designed for our game, although Weber’s track can be built in RCT3 only with gentle slopes it can be built in all three curve types, from tight to loose.

So that your Mag-Lev looks natural turning on your curves we recommend that one builds only with loose curves. We suggest incorporating long inclines instead of stepped inclines into your Mag-Lev track (e.g., if you’re building on hillsides), or avoiding inclines altogether.

Weber’s track covers come in straights, straight diagonals, straight & diagonal inclines, and in curves. There is also an 8m support along with a footer in a similar height, both of which come in four terrain tile placements. This high footer is great for building your track on sloped terrain.

While it’s not quite the fabulous CGI mag-lev train seen in Ewan McGregor’s film The Island, Weber’s Mag-Lev is still a stunning CTR.

Due to it’s unique appearance this CTR is probably not suitable for every park but will be an attractive addition to any metropolitan, sci-fi, futuristic, or industrial park.

This CTR CSO combo comes in two separate downloads at Weber’s RCT3 Land.