STA Standards Manual
Preface
Purpose of This Document
The Rail and Road Standards Manual establishes a standard for the design and structure of rail and road networks maintained or overseen by the Shire Transit Authority (STA). The standards described in this document are not a strict design limitation of new or existing parts of the networks but merely a guide to assist those unfamiliar with STA standards in creating a local transportation network that can interconnect to the existing intra-build railway network.
Process for Establishment of Standards
The initial standards described in this document are based on the common standards utilized within the STA Networks as of May 25, 2022. Modifications to this document are subject to the approval of STA members.
Members
The following is a list of active STA members:
- Nebbers
- CoffeeAndChill
- Antheus
Formatting
Throughout this document, formatting is used to describe how the text on signs should be written. Depending on your rank you may have access to sign color formatting. The following is a list of formatting codes and how they appear in this document and on the server. Please note that using the codes takes up two of the fifteen characters allowed per line on signs.
Colors
| Color | Sign Code |
|---|---|
| Black | &0 |
| Dark Blue | &1 |
| Dark Green | &2 |
| Dark Aqua | &3 |
| Dark Red | &4 |
| Dark Purple | &5 |
| Gold | &6 |
| Gray | &7 |
| Dark Gray | &8 |
| Blue | &9 |
| Green | &a |
| Aqua | &b |
| Red | &c |
| Light Purple | &d |
| Yellow | &e |
| White | &f |
Text
| Format | Sign Code |
|---|---|
| Bold | &b |
| &m | |
| Underline | &n |
| Italics | &o |
| Reset | &r |
Special Symbols
In some signs the guillemet symbols (» and «) are used. If your keyboard layout does not natively have these symbols you can copy them from another source or, if you are on Windows, use the alt codes Alt+174 for « and Alt+175 for ».
Other useful characters are ↑, ↓, →, ←, ↔, and ↕. These can be accessed with Alt + [23, 24, 25, 26, 27,28]
Rail Standards
Standards can be either required or recommended. The words "must", "must not", "should", "should not", and "may" are used as defined in https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2119.txt.
Rail Design
This section covers the placement, construction, and signage of rails.
Rail Placement
- Rails should follow the most direct route between stations.
- Rails should be above or at ground level when possible.
- This can be difficult in areas that are already established.
- Rails that are below ground must take caution to avoid underground builds.
Rail Construction
Rail construction is standardized. Because the design requirements can vary based on location only STA members are allowed to maintain the rail network. If you have any questions ask an STA Engineer.
- Rails must be 3 wide with the following format: [Rail][Air][Rail]
- Some existing rails are 4 wide ([Rail][Air][Air][Rail). These should be updated to meet this requirement where able.
- Rails should travel north, south, east, or west.
- Diagonal rails are possible but they should not be used.
- Corners in rails must be curved.
- Corners must not be 90-degree turns. Even a small curve is better than a sharp 90-degree corner.
- Regular rails must be used except for the following exceptions:
- Activator rails for the stop point within a station.
- Detector rails when utilizing redstone.
- Powered rails must not be used.
- There are legacy rails that still have powered rails from before plugins that modified minecart speeds and allowed them to maintain momentum. Replacement of these rails should take into consideration the historical value and aesthetic of powered rails.
- Intersections with other rail lines should be avoided
- Materials used for the rail bed, tunnels, and bridges should match the style of the area.
- Rails that cross highways, roads, or paths should include a method to warn pedestrians of the crossing.
- This could be simple redstone torches or a more complicated setup with bells and gates.
Speed Blocks
The shire utilizes a plugin to control the speed of minecarts.
- Normal Speed
- 10 Blocks/Second
- Gold Speed
- 20 Blocks/Second
- Diamond Speed
- 60 Blocks/Second
Speed is controlled by blocks placed below the rail. The blocks utilized are as follows:
- Gold block
- 1 to speed up to gold speed.
- 2 to slow down from diamond speed.
- Gold ore
- 2 to slow down from gold speed
- Diamond ore
- 1 to speed up to diamond speed from gold speed
The following standards are established for the use of these speed blocks:
- Gold blocks should be placed 15 blocks from the boundary of a normal-speed zone.
- Diamond-ore blocks should be placed 40 blocks from the boundary of a gold speed zone.
- Speed must be slowed down to normal speed before going up an incline or entering a curve.
Rail Signage
Rail signage has not been historically standardized within the STA network. However, using signs to label infrastructure can be helpful to engineers doing maintenance at a later time.
- Interchanges should have signs labeling lines and other important information about the interchange.
- Tunnels and Bridges should have a sign that lists who made it and when.
- You may also include a name for the tunnel or bridge.
- When a line ends a sign should indicate if future expansion is planned or any other important information.
- Decommissioned line segments should be labeled.
- What line it was part of?
- Why it was decommissioned?
- Who decommissioned it?
- When was it decommissioned?
Station Design
Station Placement
When determining the location of a new station the following should be considered:
- Where is the nearest existing rail line?
- Which direction will the rails be going when they leave the station?
- How far is this station from other nearby stations?
- Stations should be at least 100 blocks apart.
- Stations must be more than 50 blocks from each other.
- Is the location worthy of having a station?
- Where will the platforms be located?
- Will the rail line entering and leaving the station be under or above ground?
- The STA encourages above-ground rails to allow for the build to be seen.