Baseboards

[mjolnir]

Merrill

If you decide to go this route

I would need to locate a ts2006 build. Probably one out there someplace.

I've most recently seen a copy of the CD edition of TRS 2006 in a big box store within the past few months, priced about $10.00 US. There're new ones on Amazon for about twice that price.

ns

 

[cascaderailroad]

If you buy TRS2006 build 3337 requires no SP
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/TrainzRailwayz.jpg
Trainz Railwayz Full Version
Make sure it is New/Sealed/Never Opened

 

[Maddox61]

Since you rarely roam several hundered feet from the mainline ... a DEM in most cases is un-needed ... Be careful what you wish for ... a DEM controls you, and gradients are a nightmare.

Is there a better way to go other than DEMs?
The layout is 54 miles long and would take about 1 year to manualy create the elevations alone.

Also, a large amount of the Royal Gorge is only around 300m wide, Not to mention the grade. The elevation in Canon City is 5400 feet and the elevation in Salida is 7500 feet. And there is no up and down, only one steady climb.

If the layout was straight, it would be no problem. But this thing has more curves than Pamala Anderson and would be a nightmare to try to create by hand.

As for roaming only 200 feet away from the track. if everyone looked at it this way, most layouts would consist of a track and a bunch of backdrop images. :hehe:

I am open for suggestions.


Thanks,

Merrill

 

[geophil]

Since you rarely roam several hundered feet from the mainline ... a DEM in most cases is un-needed ... Be careful what you wish for ... a DEM controls you, and gradients are a nightmare.

I know you are the Last Man Standing and I hope you don't mind.

Are you aware of the extended viewing distance in more recent editions of Trainz? Even with unspectacular terrain a bit of terra-shaping always adds to the visual impression, for fore-and background.

ASTER GDEM V2 with 1:25k topo map ground textures on 5m terrain grid in TS12.

(3D track spline control points created externally.)

 

[Maddox61]

Real Look

Ok, I guess I need to explain a bit on why I am so much into the elevations and serounding area, other than simply what can be seen from the main line.

At the center of the Royal Gorge, this is just outside Canon City Colorado, the track elevation is around 5,400ft. or 1645.92m. Just above this is a very well known suspention bridge that was made using wooden deck boards. Cars travel across this bridge. Its elevation is 6,600ft or 2011.68m and the Bridge is around 300m long.

I know you will not be able to see an elevation that high from the train, but let me further explain.


First this will give you an idea on how wide the gorge is and how steep the cliffs are.

Also, there is an incline railroad that goes from the visitors area, that sets beside the bridge, that can be rode to the bottom of the gorge. Not to mention, they have a sort of depot at the bottom of the incline railway for the D&RG. And I do intend on creating hte incline railway.

Just beside this is the cable suspended train bridge that suspends out over the Arkansas River.

Keep in mind that the train bridge does not cross the river. The canyon was so narrow at this point that they had to hang the train bridge from cables, suspend it out away from the cliffs and over the rapids of the Arkansas River in order to get the train through the canyon.

This was the main problem for both the Santa fe and D&RG to get the route from Pueblo, Colorado, over the Greate Devide to Salt Lake City Utah without
having to go all the way around the mountain.

This is a major tourist attraction in Colorado and one of the main reasons I chose to try and build this layout. I will have to model the Incline Railway, Wooden Suspention Bridge, Depot, and the Cable Suspended Train Bridge my self. I am also going to have to model most of the cliffs in that area, since they are so steep and can not be textured very well.

So, there is a reason for my madness after all.:udrool:


Merrill

 

[Maddox61]

I know you are the Last Man Standing and I hope you don't mind.

Are you aware of the extended viewing distance in more recent editions of Trainz? Even with unspectacular terrain a bit of terra-shaping always adds to the visual impression, for fore-and background.

ASTER GDEM V2 with 1:25k topo map ground textures on 5m terrain grid in TS12.

(3D track spline control points created externally.)

Well put! Thank you.

 

[Dermmy]

Is there a better way to go other than DEMs?

....No....

 

[Maddox61]

....No....

I din't thinks so.:hehe:

 

[Maddox61]

DEMs

Here is a DEM I created using Google Earth using 10m intervals.

I there a way to get this to work in MicroDem or Hog?

If so, this only took about 15 minutes to make and can be made in 720m sections to create the boards. Then all I would need to do is merge each board in Trainz.

 

[Maddox61]

Here is a pic of the Dem in Google while I was creating it.

SO, would this work, or can I get it to work?


Thanks again,

Merrill

 

[geophil]

This is a major tourist attraction in Colorado...

It is indeed. I have been there twice myself, years ago, when the line was still in service (SP days).

Concerning DEMs, the NED 1/3 arc sec is the best you get. It leaves something to desire, you can't make out the track bed, but there is no 1/9 arc sec yet.

 

[geophil]

Here is a DEM I created using Google Earth using 10m intervals.

You simply download the DEMs from USGS Seamless Server, no need to create them yourself.

Overlay: USGS DRG 1:24k

 

[Maddox61]

OK,

So I did a test using Hog and created a layout using this image.
It worked a little.

The grey scale does work I believe, but the opacity levels need to be increased.
The level I had it set at was only 1.3 and should have been close to 2.5 to get more depth.

I will have to keep on tweeking it untill I get the correct opacity level to give me an exact elovation on 10m.

 

[Maddox61]

You simply download the DEMs from USGS Seamless Server, no need to create them yourself.

Overlay: USGS DRG 1:24k

So let me see if I am getting this right,

Using the USGS Seamless Server, I can get an overlay of any area I want and download it as a DEM, right?


I tried to open the Seamless Server and it would not open the map overlay. I seen the little globe spinning but then it stopped an dsaid it could not load.

Must all the tools to access data be downloaded to get this to work.
If so, then this will be creating another very large training curve, since I would need to learn to opperate each tool.
The Toolbar alone has a 17 page set of instructions.

Thanks,


Merrill

 

[geophil]

You have to distinguish between DEM and map.

The DEM is just height data, a matrix of points, usually binary encoded, but not necessarily image files. USGS Seamless Server is the primary source for US DEMs, called "NED".

Maps in our case are ordinary raster images, enhanced with geo coordinates. The map overlay here is from another source, a Web Mapping Service (WMS), in this case the one operated by Microsoft Research. There is also a new USGS WMS, theoretically offering the same data, but I have had difficulties using it.

Such raster maps cannot be used with MicroDEM/HOG. The only reasonable type of map which MicroDEM understands, is TIGER, a US census vector map at a rather low scale of 1:160,000.

 

[Maddox61]

Deleted by me.

 

[Maddox61]

Deleted by me.

 

[Maddox61]

I realy need to step back for a moment and feel this whole thing out.

Too much input all at once.

 

[JCitron]

I realy need to step back for a moment and feel this whole thing out.

Too much input all at once.

A bit overwhelmed, aye?

I gave in and purchased TranzDem nearly a year a go. It's worth it's purchase of about $35.00. I used to do things like you were before, but gave up with MicroDEM because there were too many steps to create a route terrain. With TranzDem and the tutorials, you'll be up and running quickly.

John

 

[Euphod]

There's always MMMG...