Best process for creating routes

[TheFlyingElf]

I am guessing here that there's a million views on this!...

My son & I are starting on another route...it'll be quite large, not truly realistic...just for fun, and will contain a mixture of track, roads, buildings etc etc etc...and Ben wants a container port as I work on ships, so I'll feel at home!

BUT we're not sure which order is the 'best' way to put stuff down...do you start with landscaping, or track layout, do you put down base covering first, or after the track is laid?

Maybe there are some articles or websites with some guidance you could point us to?

Thanks,

Nige

 

[spiffy101]

Well, I remeber an old article, but I don't know where it is. This is how I would do it.

1. Terrain
2. Trackwork
3. Roads
4. Buildings
5. Landscaping
6. Textures

This is how I would do it. I look forward to pics.

 

[brickbuilder711]

Well, I remeber an old article, but I don't know where it is. This is how I would do it.

1. Terrain
2. Trackwork
3. Roads
4. Buildings
5. Landscaping
6. Textures

This is how I would do it. I look forward to pics.

Same here. I would follow the same method, except I usually add a base texture, usually grass, to a given route, then follow with detailed textures after placing the buildings and road + track.

 

[leeferr]

There's an infinite number of ways to do it, but I generally do it the same way as previously mentioned. I try to work on no more than 3 or 4 boards at a time although I have worked on 10 or 12 at a time. If you get too many boards out there, the task can seem overwhelming and you can easily become discouraged.
I usually work in this order:
1. track (fixing spline point elevations as I go)
2. terrain (bringing terrain to track)
3. adjust remaining terrain to my liking
4. add buildings and roads. sometimes bldgs first and sometimes roads first
5. a base texture, usually copied and pasted
6. signals
7. foilage
8. details

I find it important not to work in your signalling and test the route out as you work. If you get the route too big before testing, then it can become a daunting task to find problems with your layout.
An all important is to take your time.
Hope this helps and have fun. That's what this is all about.
Mike

 

[Dermmy]

There are definitely at least a million views on this subject, none of them better or worse than any other view. Play around and find what works best for you. That said, my .02c worth can be found by clicking my sig banner, going to the East Kentucky page and scrolling to the bottom...

Andy

 

[jytte]

A tip I found somewhere else on this forum, and now follow:
Cover a whole board or a great area in one color (green is always good) first, then do your tracks/landscape/painting etc. That eliminates "forgotten" areas with those ugly grey patches with yellow stripes.

I'm working on a big layout at the moment. I work on small areas at a time, for instance a small village or a little island, then finish that area before moving on. That way: I can pay more attention to detail; I'm less likely to forget something; if there's a problem with an asset, it's a lot easier to find; and I can "finish" at least an area and move on with fresh initiative, and not get bored with having to do a particular thing over and over again for a large area. I do however lay some "loose" tracking first, just to have the general plan of what goes where.

Happy building!

 

[jrfolco]

I posted a small tutorial on terrain construction a while back. You can find it here: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=28201&highlight=jrfolco

I'ts not much, but it is a start.

There are several other good terrain building methods in this post.

Good luck, Joe

 

[jrfolco]

There are definitely at least a million views on this subject, none of them better or worse than any other view. Play around and find what works best for you. That said, my .02c worth can be found by clicking my sig banner, going to the East Kentucky page and scrolling to the bottom...

Andy

Andy,Great tutorial

Joe

 

[applegathc]

Idea

Have a general Idea of what you want. This is how I do it.

1. Baseboard Layout
2. Track
3. Texture
4. Topolgy
5. Detailing (roads, cities, etc)


But that's me.

 

[Dap]

My 2.1 cents worth - I like to use existing terain and put on my civil engineering and surveyors hat to find the best locations for tracks and roads. I leave the grey with yellow grid during this process as it helps me to visualize the nuances of the terain.

Once track and roads are down, I texture the roadbeds. (And don't forget all the foreign roads that cross your railroad and provide interchange traffic.)

Next I place depots, terminal faciilities and industries.

Next comes signalling

At this point I have an operational railroad. I can choose to run trains or work in adding details.

 

[TheFlyingElf]

Thanks for the helpful responses. Our method was slighting 'off', but not too drastic!

I think a rough sketch might help though!!!

Have a good day.

Nige

 

[jytte]

When I was creating a layout, that had to look exactly like the real map (of a country), I printed that map out with grids, corresponding to grids on a board, then "painted" the map on my boards, grid by grid, ending up with a layout that is a copy of the map. It's scaled down obviously, but still pretty correct.
If that's of any help.