Location

The location option determines whether track location is shown as a scaled value or as a reference location plus a measured distance from that reference. Track reference locations are usually mileposts, but any marked location may be used as a reference. If, as is often the case in the railroad environment, the distance between adjacent mileposts is longer or shorter than one mile, then the difference between scaled location and reference plus distance is more than merely notational. For example, suppose that the distance between mileposts 367 and 368 is actually 1.1 miles. If the scaled option is selected, a pair of profiles that is equidistant between the mileposts will appear at mile 367.5. If reference plus distance is selected, the location of the same pair of profiles is represented as 2904 feet past milepost 367. Although that is 264 feet longer than half a mile, it is the true distance of that pair of profiles from milepost 367. The reference plus distance view of profile location is useful when locating specific profiles on the track. (It is used by the RANGECAM Field System to determine start and end locations of curves, grinding checkpoints, and other points of interest.)

The location display option affects several displays and dialogs besides the Profile View windows. In most cases, when you are prompted to enter a track location, the prompt will reflect the setting of this variable. One exception is when entering the start and end boundaries of wear charts. Because charts must have simple linear axes, they only show scaled miles. If the reference plus distance view of a chart location is desired, it may be obtained by double-clicking on the chart to bring up the corresponding profiles.