I have mentioned that the digitized data for many curves, taken from Google Earth, lacks in accuracy a lot in the Anchorage-Fairbanks line that I am doing track for. This poses a dilemna then, due you follow the digitized curve, or force in what the track chart says it should be. Since doing that might cause issues and conflicts in other ways, I have elected to follow the digitized path. Also it is not consistent. Some curves are spot-on, others are way off. So to illustrate the problem, I am including two images of the same location. In the one, you can see the smooth curve that starts just south of downtown Nenana, AK and turns a full 180 degrees, gaining elevation all the way, in order to cross the Tanana R. high enough I guess to not conflict with navigation. At the start of the curve to the left, the elevation is 357 ft. above sea level, and at the bridge it is 413 feet with a nearly constant 1% grade around the "loop". But notice how different the shape is when the digitized data (Blue Line) is moved to the marker file of the route.
The issue is worse on long curves like this one shown. Eric agreed a while back that there is a discrepancy between the coordinate system of MSTS/ORTS and others such as Google Earth. On routes I have done inside the lower 48, it may be present but it is not so pronounced. Anyway, I am going to complete the track for this route and when I release it for those who were interested in working with it, I will include the .kml files that were used to create the digitized data. Those can be opened in Google Earth and will display the digitized data. I will also include track charts for the route.
Jerry
image widget
The issue is worse on long curves like this one shown. Eric agreed a while back that there is a discrepancy between the coordinate system of MSTS/ORTS and others such as Google Earth. On routes I have done inside the lower 48, it may be present but it is not so pronounced. Anyway, I am going to complete the track for this route and when I release it for those who were interested in working with it, I will include the .kml files that were used to create the digitized data. Those can be opened in Google Earth and will display the digitized data. I will also include track charts for the route.
Jerry
image widget