• the route that will be the base route. This route will form the backbone of the merged routes. It will usually be the larger route or the route that contains Session data that you want to keep in the merge.
• the route that will be the to-be-merged route. This route will be joined to the base route.
• the orientation (North-South or East-West) of both routes. Are they both the same or are they different?
• the baseboards in both routes where they will be joined. The join must be along edges.
• the height of the baseboards in both routes at the merge point. Are they the same height or different heights?
• the layers in both routes. Are there any layers in the two routes that have the same names?
• which layers in both routes contain the tracks and the track objects (signals, switches, speed signs, etc).

• The easiest and most common problems will be fixed during the merging process itself.

• The most common problem in the "hard to fix but do-able" category is merging two routes that have been built at different heights or altitudes. This will create a vertical cliff along the merge line, as shown on the left. The solutions to this will vary depending on the height difference. Common solutions are:-
  • add extra baseboards between the two routes to create an easy gradient between them. See the "Tips" box below. If the height difference is large then many additional baseboards will be needed. If the difference is too big then other options may have to be considered.
  • use a spiral tunnel or switchback/zigzag to build track between the two levels. This will reduce number of extra baseboards.
  • add portals to both routes so that a consist entering the portal on one route will emerge from the portal on the other route. Portals can have their own issues and this solution may not suit everyone and every layout.

• Another fixable problem can occur if a layer containing track from the to-be-merged route ends up below the layer that also contains track in the base route. This can be fixed by merging the lower track layer into the higher track layer either during the merging process or afterwards using the Layer Tools in Surveyor.

• the new bridging route is merged with the Base route.
• the selected to-be-merged route is merged with the Base + bridging route.

The answer depends on whether or not the Session contains assets (scenery, consists) and settings (rules, driver commands, industry and wagon loads, weather, time of day, etc) that you want to continue to use in the new merged Route and its Session. If the Session contains nothing that you need then load the Route only into Surveyor. Note that when you add the to-be-merged route its Route assets and data will be loaded but not any Session assets or data.

• Next select and load the Route to-be-merged with the Base Route.

Steps: Select the Merge Route option in the Surveyor Main Menu This will open a Route Selection window. Select the route to-be-merged

This will be the to-be-merged route and only its Route data will be loaded

• The two tabs shown on the left are the:-
  • Terrain Tab which is automatically selected when the MiniMap is first displayed. This shows the baseboards of the to-be-merged route superimposed on the baseboards of the base route. A red background colour on this tab, as shown in the figure on the left, indicates that the two routes have baseboards that are in conflict - they are overlapping. The overlapping baseboards are shown in red on the MiniMap.
  • Layers Tab. This shows the layers that have been copied from both routes. A red background colour on this tab indicates that the two routes have layers that are in conflict.

Notes: You can zoom the MiniMap in and out using the mouse control wheel. There appears to be no keyboard zoom control. You can move the centre of focus (the centre of the MiniMap view) by moving the mouse pointer to a new position and clicking with the right button. The four arrows shown at the top, bottom and both sides of the map display can be clicked to move the to-be-merged route in the direction shown by each arrow.

In the example shown on the left, clicking the Left arrow 5 times moved the to-be-merged route 5 baseboards to the left to a position where there were no overlapping baseboards and all terrain conflicts were resolved.

A route merge will not proceed until ALL the terrain and layer conflicts have been eliminated.

There are three simple options for solving this problem:-

Rename one of the conflicting layers. Double click on the layer name to enter a new name.

The conflict has now been resolved.

CAUTION: Deleting a layer will delete all its contents.

After clicking the Delete Icon ...

After merging ...

... the conflict has now been resolved.