You can see a demo of this route here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLltQPlejvU&t=4s)
I made some updates to this route.
Update1: Added Emerald Isle
Update2: Added station 'Atlantic Beach'
Update3: Added town 'North Topsoil Beach'
Update4: Added town 'Topsoil Beach'
Update5: Added station 'Surf City'
Update6: Added station 'Carolina Beach'
Update7: Added Bald Head Lighthouse
Update8: Added Oak Island Lighthouse
Update9: Added town 'Caswell Beach'
Update10:Added station 'Bald Head Island'
Update11:Added station 'Caswell Beach'
Update12:Extended North Carolina Highway 12 to the town of Hatteras
Update13:Removed trains that are now faulty in Trainz 2019
Update14:Added custom trains 'American Bullet Train'
Update15:Removed Frecciarossa because the portal failed to produce it. (Kept producing incomplete trainsets) Still a great train, though.
Warning1: This is a work in progress and has incomplete scenery.
Warning2: Do not alter the trains' messages. It's all automated. Most operations have been tested and worked.
List of dependencies not on the DLS (to be updated):
footpath_concrete seasonal (kuid2:122860:102134:1) I don't remember where I got this one.
TBS Road Narrow: No Markings (https://web.archive.org/web/20200216003509/http://thebackshops.com/scenery/freeware/Misc.html)
Railroad Crossings (https://web.archive.org/web/20200216112234/https://www.thebackshops.com/trk_equ/freeware/signals.html) and ((payware)(https://www.reggiestrainz.com/crossing-signals) and (https://www.reggiestrainz.com/freeware-crossing-signals)
The lore:
(All events are fictional)
This is a fictional high-speed railroad that runs along the east coastof the United States serving large, small, famous and little-known towns. It is owned by East Bullet Train (EBT) and is used by various state-owned high-speed railroads competing to bring tourism into their own state. Some railroads were even built next to the right-ow-way to act as small commuter lines, serving towns not served by the mainline and bringing commuters to the larger railroads. This section of EBT runs from Washington, D.C. - Union Station to the Florida Keys. There's also a line that runs from New York City at Fulton Center to Miami Beach.
Building a four-track mainline through the Outer Banks in North Carolina was quite controversial. EBT wanted to service all the famous beaches, towns and lighthouses in North Carolina, but due to lawsuits, certain compromises had to be made.
A large lift bridge over the Cape Fear River was built, so EBT could reach Bald Head Island from Caswell Beach. Another two-track lift bridge was then constructed by a shuttle railroad hoping to offer service between Carolina Beach, Bald Head Island and Caswell Beach. EBT was then sued by the town of Caswell Beach stating that the completion of the bridge would block the view of the Bald Head Lighthouse and ruin the local scenery. The railroad settled out of court. As a result, only northbound service goes to Bald Head. For southbound service, another lift bridge was built several miles north over the Cape Fear River near Southport. That line then follows a long detour along the intercoastal waterway, then crosses it, going around Oak Island before descending towards ground level.
Afterwards, the National Park Service ordered EBT not to build the mainline more than 3 meters above ground level in certain areas, especially where historic buildings were located. The railroad reluctantly agreed.
With this new set-up, the railroad now had to shut down completely after hurricanes, as they waited for flood waters to subside.
EBT wanted to build a station at the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, but Lookout Bight was too sharply-curved to allow high-speed express trains to pass, so they were gonna detour through Harkers Island, but the town wasn't too keen on the idea of having their land ripped up for a high-speed train, especially after the National Park Service foarced some of them to relocate from Cape Lookout, so the land could be dedicated for the Cape Lookout National Seashore, so the railroad settled for the unpopulated Shackleford Banks. A road bridge linking Shackleford Banks Station and Harkers Island is planned. A shuttle railroad was later built from Ocracoke to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. EBT was later sued by local fishermen because the bridge over Lighthouse Bay blocked their path. The railroad reluctantly settled out of court and built a four-track lift bridge.
EBT wanted to build Ocracoke Station across the street from the Ocracoke Lighthouse, but the town of Ocracoke sued them. The railroad settled out of court and agreed to build new houses for anyone who's house was in the construction path.
EBT then built a very expensive 12-mile long bridge over the Hatteras Inlet Crab Spawning Sanctuary. This bridge links Ocracoke Island with Hatteras Island. They then built a station in the town of Hatteras, but were sued by NCDOT, who claimed a high-speed line linking Ocracoke and Hatteras would cause them to lose money. The railroad lost the lawsuit and was ordered to demolish Hatteras Station. They then had plans to build a station in downtown Buxton, but when it was found out that this area would be at-grade and trains would be blowing their horn through the town every 5-15 minutes, the town refused. The railroad tried to relocate to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, but the town refused, saying, 'no closer than Lighthouse Road,' so the railroad built the station near the intersection of Lighthouse Road and North Carolina Highway 12. The railroad ran out of money temporarily, so in lieu of a pedestrian overpass, they added a pedestrian crossing to the railroad crossing. They also only built an entrance on one side of the station. Buxton Station is on a curve because the relocation of the tracks caused the area through Buxton to be on a constant curve.
There wasn't any intrest in the rest of Hatteras Island for a high-speed train, so the railroad decided to bypass those towns, with possible future plans to add siding stations.
A four-track lift bridge was built to link Hatteras Island to Bodie Island. There were plans originally to add a station at the Bodie Island Lighthouse, but they decided to move the station to Nags Head due to the large population. A shuttle railroad was built from Nags Head to the Bodie Island Lighthouse, stopping at WHALEBONE. This line was extended to the mainland and now terminates at Raleigh. The line was later extended to Corolla, then to the Cape Henry Lighthouses. Nags Head station is located on North Carolina Highway 12 across the street from the Outer Banks Mall.
Corolla station is located on elevated tracks above North Carolina Highway 12 and behind the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. All the trees behing the lighthouse had tobe buldozed to make way for the station. In some areas, the railroad is allowed to be up to 12 meters above sea level. These areas are the only sections that operate full service during hurricane season. Atlantic Beach to Carolina Beach and Nags Head to Virginia Beach are the only sections.
Other railroads are planning lines through the Outer Banks in the future.