Rail transport

Rail transport, such as trains, trams, monorails, railway tracks, and train stations, are recurring themes throughout the Half-Life series. At numerous points in every one of the games (excluding Portal), the player encounters one or more moving or stationary locomotives, lone carriages, or full-length coupled trains. There are also several instances where the player must cross or follow railway tracks, either on foot, non-rail vehicle, riding in or on the train itself, or by use of an electric monorail, the latter a prominent feature in the original Half-Life game.

Types of rail vehicles[]

Half-Life and its expansions[]

• Black Mesa uses two main types of monorail. One is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa personnel, and rides along the Black Mesa Transit System. The second is a freight monorail used in the Sector E Materials Transport.

• Regular trains are used to bring supplies to the Black Mesa Research Facility using the New Mexico Railroad Line. This is managed in Black Mesa's Freight Yard predominantly featuring freight trains.

Half-Life 2 and its episodes[]

• Three trainstations are featured in Half-Life 2 and its episodes: the City 17 Trainstation and the Depot in Half-Life 2 and the Technical Trainstation in Episode One, although the Citadel also features a train depot.
• The Combine heavily use the existing railway. They mostly use it for troop and Stalker transport in Combine-designed Razor Trains. Also, old existing human trains are recycled for Citizen transportation among the Combine-ruled cities, the Combine recycling human technology for their needs. Gordon Freeman awakes in such a train at the start of Half-Life 2.
• The train in which the player arrives in City 17 is pulled by a railcar based on the DR1A DMU railcar produced in Riga, Latvia. Coupled with units from a different train, it is used by the Combine like a locomotive. The DR1A and its modifications (DR1P, DR1B, etc.) are common DMU trains in post-Soviet countries (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, etc.). However, the DR1A in-game have sound files taken from the EMD 645 engine and is seen with ElectroMotive#Blomberg-B BogieTrucks.
• The freight train locomotive seen in Episode Two seems to be based on the Russian TEM2 diesel-electric freight locomotive.
• The train using the railway linking Combine outposts located in the Wasteland is called the "Wasteland Train".^[1]
• Train tracks can also be found in Ravenholm, and a track-mounted Zombie defense is present in a small mining section between the town and Shorepoint.
• In Episode One, Gordon and Alyx leave City 17 on a regular train as the Citadel Core explodes. In Episode Two, their train has crashed in the Outlands.
• The Victory Mine complex features an old mining network where rusty carts can be found.
• All trains have EMD 645 engine sounds, which is commonly heard these days on freight trains in North America.

Railways as a literary device[]

Railways, along with roads, rivers, and other paths, have long been used in literature and visual arts as a device representing a journey taking place, such as the railway in the film Stand By Me, or the River Congo in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness.

Valve might have not intended this consciously when developing the environments with which the characters interact, but the effect of the motif's appearance throughout the series is a constant symbol and reminder of the long and often difficult journey each character is making as the games progress. The implications of these journeys often include an "inner journey" that each character undertakes parallel to the physical one, emerging at the end having gained something metaphysical, like a greater sense of self, a broader understanding of the world, or inner and outer strength.

In the Half-Life series, Gordon Freeman, because of the circumstances he finds himself in, is forced to be brave and strong, and endure tasks he was not prepared to undertake. In this way, he follows a "path" throughout his experiences, and is a stronger person for it.

What is known is that the player's path through the train station was meant to play a role similar to that of the train ride in Half-Life, i.e. reveal the story setting to the player. In Half-Life 2, the story would unfold at the player's own speed, rather than on a fixed rail, and come about through interaction with the characters naturally found in that setting.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

• The railway theme was decided to be a major theme along the Coast very early in the development of Half-Life 2, although it was initially even more present.^[1]
• At some point, Gordon was to ride along the coast on a train; a story fragment has his train crashing near the Air Exchange, meeting Alyx and Skitch there and being attacked by the Combine. While Gordon rides the Coast with the Buggy and on foot, the idea was kept for Alyx who arrived at the Depot by train.^[1]
• An elevated railway for the Razor Train bringing Citizens into City 17 (a normal terrestrial train in the final version) was to cross the Combine Factories.^[2]
• City 17 was originally to feature trams; one tram can be found in the E3 map "e3_c17_02". Parts of that map were recycled in the Half-Life 2 map "d3_c17_13", the last map of the chapter "Follow Freeman!", where tracks and a shelter can still be seen. Furthermore, an early test map, "prefab_streets_blvd.vmf", features a boulevard with trams going in both directions.^[2]
• Before trams, school buses were to be used as the primary local transportation.^[2]

Gallery[]

Concept art[]

Concept art for the Black Mesa Transit System.

Tram in an early City 17 gloomy street.

Inside the City 17 Trainstation (actually a modified version of the stenographer's chasm building).

Ditto.

Train in City 17.

Railway along the dried seafloor.

A Razor Train locomotive, based on the map "hub_test.vmf".

Ditto.

Bridge along the coast (based on the WC mappack map "wasteland_railbridge.vmf").

The Depot.

Razor Train locomotive being lifted in the Depot, based on the WC mappack map "wasteland_depot_inside.vmf".

Razor Train locomotive handler in the Depot.

Screenshots[]

The passenger version of the Black Mesa Transit System monorail car as seen in the opening credits sequence of Half-Life, with G-Man on board.

Inside the passenger monorail in the Black Mesa Transit System.

Pedestrian bridge in the Black Mesa Transit System as seen in Blue Shift.

Freight cars in Black Mesa's Freight Yard.

Wrecked train cars at the end of the Canals in a Ravenholm prototype map.

Elevated railway and pipes in the Combine Factories area.

Rails passing under an early Trainstation Plaza, in the map "c17_plaza06.vmf", a predecessor of the map "e3_terminal.vmf".

A tram in the map "e3_c17_02.vmf".

Two trams in the map "prefab_streets_blvd.vmf".

Ditto, side view.

Early screenshot of the tracks behind the City 17 Trainstation, featuring the Citadel behind, removed from the final version.

Very basic brush train bringing Gordon to the trainstation in the playable Beta.

A ravaged City 17 street, close to the Citadel wall, recycled from the map above this image.

Railway near the City 17 Trainstation.

City 17 Trainstation main platforms from far.

DR1 DMU railcars in the City 17 Trainstation.

Combine Forcefield Generators along the Canals railway.

A Combine Razor Train passes by a canal and residential apartments.

Railroad bridge in the Canals.

The railway bridge at Bridge Point used by the Combine for moving supplies in and out of Nova Prospekt.

Under the Bridge Point bridge.

Ditto.

Ditto, in the fog.

Razor Train passing on the Bridge Point bridge.

Razor Train passing by in the Depot.

Razor Train in the Citadel.

DR1 DMU railcars in the Technical Trainstation.

Barney Calhoun leaving the Technical Trainstation to an unknown destination.

Combine Wall flanked with a Combine Watchtower above the railway near the Technical Trainstation.

Gordon and Alyx's train after the wreck.

Ditto.

Gordon and Alyx's train falling when the bridge is destroyed by the Portal Storm.

The first entrance to the Victory Mine.

Tracks in the Victory Mine area.

TEM2 diesel-electric freight locomotive in the Victory Mine area.

Antlion Worker trying to hit the player in the Victory Mine.

Inside the Victory Mine.

Railway and damaged railroad cars in the White Forest.

Models[]

The early brush Razor Train locomotive.

The Tram model.

A Razor Train locomotive.

A Razor Train Car.

A DR1 DMU railcar. (Note the Blomberg "B" trucks.)

A TEM2 diesel-electric freight locomotive.

An Unused freight train locomotive. (It resembles either an EMD GP40, or GP60.)

The passenger car seen at the end of Episode One. (Note the Blomberg "B" trucks.)

A green boxcar.

A blue boxcar.

A wrecked boxcar.

A crushed boxcar.

An Ore hopper.

A red Tank car.

A black Tank car.

A Low resolution freight train that is only used in the skybox near Gate 5 during the Half-Life 2 chapter Water Hazard.

A Mining cart from the Victory Mine.

List of appearances[]

• Half-Life: Day One (First appearance)
• Half-Life
• Half-Life: Opposing Force
• Half-Life: Blue Shift
• Half-Life: Decay
• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
• Half-Life 2: Deathmatch (Non-canonical appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Episode One
• Source Particle Benchmark (Game files only) (Non-canonical appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two
• Portal 2 (Mentioned only)

References[]

See also[]

• Black Mesa Transit System
• City 17 Trainstation
• Technical Trainstation
• Razor Train

External links[]

• "Trains In Games - Half Life 2" on TrainInGames.com

Vehicles, vessels and transportation
Black Mesa transportation	Black Mesa SUV • Black Mesa Transit System • Black Mesa truck
Black Ops vehicles	AH-64 Apache • M35 cargo truck • V-22 Osprey (cut)
HECU vehicles	AH-64 Apache • F-16 Fighting Falcon • M1A1 Abrams • M2A3 Bradley • M35 cargo truck • V-22 Osprey
Combine vehicles	Advisor Platform • AirEx Truck (cut) • Armored Personnel Carrier • C-130 (cut) • Combine SWAT Truck (cut) • Hunter-Chopper • M2A3 Bradley (cut) • Merkava (cut) • Razor Train • School Bus (cut) • V-22 Osprey (cut)
Resistance vehicles	Airboat • Borealis (cut) • C-130 (cut) • Jalopy (cut) • Jet Ski (cut) • Mil Mi-8 • Muscle Car • Scout Car • Submarine (cut) • V-22 Osprey (cut)
Trainstations	City 17 Trainstation • Depot • Technical Trainstation
Other	Borealis • Chevrolet Caprice (cut) • Digger (cut) • F-117 Nighthawk (cut) • Ford F-250 (cut) • GMC Vandura (cut) • Rail transport • Road transport