Deltas and Valley Railway
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The Deltas and Valley Railway (D&V) is a minimally‐automated rail network located in the Nether, originally crafted to link Roam’s portal in the basalt deltas with that of the village of Intersylva in a neighboring soul sand valley. Fully protected from mob spawning and intrusion, it allows fast travel between all portals, with selected points of interest local to the Nether due to be added.
Network map
General plan and scope
Main lines (shown in ■ red on the map) run in the four cardinal directions along the Spawn axes, with branches (in ■ orange) diverging to serve stations elsewhere. While diagonal runs of track would allow higher speed thanks to double‐chording, the D&V already enjoys vast savings in travel time compared to the Overworld, so they aren’t essential. (Do you know?: Carts in the Nether can reach an Overworld‐equivalent top speed of 64 m/s, or 230.4 km/h, per axis!) Instead, simple 90° turns are used, which keeps the tunnels and tubes relatively compact – minimizing the need for additional spawn‐proofing – and simplifies constructionnote 1, a valuable trade‐off given the risks of working in the Nether. In addition to the tight turns, the interior is built just large enough to walk through, except at stations and junctions where more space is required.
Roam is currently the D&V’s only hub, though other interchanges are expected to be added as required by future growth. Generally, new stations are connected directly to their nearest main line by a new branch, but minor stations may simply extend from a nearby station as a cost‐saving measure. The system is mostly built at Y=64, though since portals are linked to the Overworld at as close to the correct Y‐coordinate as possible, stations may be located well above or below the rest of the network.
This system is intended only for passenger use, with 32 m between powered rails on long straights – enough to keep an occupied cart at top speed, but not an empty or utility cart. More power is provided at stations and junctions for nearly‐instant acceleration. The network’s main purpose is as a “Nether hub,” providing fast travel from portal to portal – even the ones that have no real points of interest on the Overworld side and are more jumping‐off points than destinations in and of themselves. Non‐portal stations, e.g. at nether fortresses, are proposed for inclusion as well. Some consideration is to be taken in establishing new portals as the world is explored – for example, a village is a good location for a portal, but not every village may need one – as, long‐term, the D&V is to be the express counterpart to a future Overworld railway that will offer more thorough (and scenic) coverage at the expense of travel time.
While the D&V is an entirely closed system, it is planned to upgrade all stations to include safe exits into the nether cavern along with respawn anchors. The new, permanent hub at Roam was the first station to open with these amenities. On the Overworld side, shelters are already availablenote 2 to prevent ambush when returning at night.
Gallery
This project heavily uses nether bricks, iron bars, blackstone, warped “wood,” and glowstone. The vast majority consists of ten‐meter segments, linked by rings of polished blackstone where lighting and power are provided.
Usually I prefer my rail junctions more rider‐friendly, even automated, but at least for now, most redstone in the Nether is going to stay relatively compact and less breakable.
Roam Station
The current exception to the “keep it simple” rule is the new, permanent Roam Station, which while still spawn‐proof is built a little grander than the rest of the system.
Complicated and breakable or not, it features a user‐friendly CARTS unit for route selection.
The Bromtech‐designed Completely Automated Rail Transit System offers the discerning rider a convenient, one‐touch transportation experience. No more manually thrown levers here: Simply hop in, press the button for your chosen route, and CARTS does the rest, whisking you off onto the iron highway while setting the switches ahead of you.
Roam is also the first station to include a proper exit out into the Nether cavern!
Trivia
- The note blocks at the junction play the electric piano (instrument: pling), sounding an F4 (note: 11) and an A♯4 (note: 16) on arrival and the reverse on departure.
- All signs use glow ink, with navigational/informational signs in light gray and number plates in light blue.
- Key points throughout the system, such as boosters and junctions, are identified by number plates, usually on the adjacent wall. These plates carry quite a lot of information that you’ll probably never need! For example, Intersylva station is located at −A1672.
- The prefix is a line ID:
- Nether lines all carry a minus sign. Overworld lines will be identified by letters only, and if rails are ever needed in the End, those lines will use a plus sign.
- The letters N, S, E, and W are reserved for the cardinal main lines heading those directions from Roam. Other lines are lettered in order of construction – so line −A was the first branch added in the Nether.
- The number, 1672 in our example, is simply the rail distance down that line, always measured away from Roam and in Overworld‐equivalent meters. Branches count from their junction with the main line; main lines count from Spawn itself.
- Like torches in a cave, number plates are placed following the navigation principle of “left to the depths; right to the light” – that is, when traveling away from Roam, they’re found on the left side; returning inbound, they’re on the right.
- Indeed, everything follows this rule when possible, including other signs and banners. Even the hidden note blocks let you navigate by ear!
- Sometimes, there’s just no room on the correct side. When this happens, a trailing R is added to indicate the plate is on the reverse side: For example, the junction where line −A begins is located at −W1928R: On the Nether’s west main line, 1,928 Overworld‐meters from Spawn.
- The prefix is a line ID: