Help me find the right bridge
- Thread starter frogpipe
- Start date
All it takes is pics and info.
Photos of the over all span prefferably from as close to the side as possible, end, etc..
Overall length, length of the individual spans, distance betwen the arch spans, width (how many lanes), height of the road above the ground, etc.
Ben
Photos of the over all span prefferably from as close to the side as possible, end, etc..
Overall length, length of the individual spans, distance betwen the arch spans, width (how many lanes), height of the road above the ground, etc.
Ben
You have!!!
That is "Hill To Hill Part 3->Hill To Hill Part 1->Hill To Hill Part 3->Hill To Hill Part 1->Hill To Hill Part 3" Strung together, with a "YARNish L4 DL2 -Si +Sh,09sp4" road stretched over top.
Couple of issues tho...
Hill To Hill Part 3->Hill To Hill Part 1->
Two problems tho
It's too short (deck is +20 over the ground, bridge is only +15 or so high)
And there's no way to "snap" the sections together...
If the arch, now an object, were a spline like part 3 is, and the supports were +10 higher (to make sure there is enough) it would be perfect!!
That is "Hill To Hill Part 3->Hill To Hill Part 1->Hill To Hill Part 3->Hill To Hill Part 1->Hill To Hill Part 3" Strung together, with a "YARNish L4 DL2 -Si +Sh,09sp4" road stretched over top.
Couple of issues tho...
Hill To Hill Part 3->Hill To Hill Part 1->
Two problems tho
It's too short (deck is +20 over the ground, bridge is only +15 or so high)
And there's no way to "snap" the sections together...
If the arch, now an object, were a spline like part 3 is, and the supports were +10 higher (to make sure there is enough) it would be perfect!!
Just to be sure you noticed, keep in mind that the bridge support columns are straight vertical; there are no criss-cross trusses anywhere. There is another nearby bridge - Guildford Avenue - which uses the same design, albeit only a single span section that actually crosses over the NEC (the rest of the bridge, which crosses a highway onramp, is flat). Something to keep in mind if you plan on modelling that far out.
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Here's what I've done now
So I don't really need a new bridge after all....
You can see a yarnish bridge at the right, flat as it should be. I'll do the other's too and that will be that.
It's not perfect but it's close enough for me!
Thanks for the help fellas!
So I don't really need a new bridge after all....
You can see a yarnish bridge at the right, flat as it should be. I'll do the other's too and that will be that.
It's not perfect but it's close enough for me!
Thanks for the help fellas!
It's not perfect but it's close enough for me!
Thanks for the help fellas!
I wish there was more of this attitude around here!
I think this is the trap that i too-easily fallen into: People want to do a prototypical route and get trapped in the micro-details. Like RRSignal's comment about the beams, sure the beams aren't exactly like the ones on the picture, but so what? What you have in your screenshot certainly captures the "feel" of the original. It is the whole bogging down that kills projects. I run trains to have fun and relax, not to run a route that I know and say "Funny the cars are waiting at the gas station like that. The real gas station has six pumps out front, this one only has four! This route SUCKS!!! IT IS TOTALLY RUINED FOR ME NOW!! NOW I CAN NEVER PLAY THIS ROUTE AGAIN BECAUSE YOU SUCK AS A ROUTEBUILDER!!!"
So what that the chemical plant that Dave Snow built only has two chilled water return pipes and the one in your town has three. Dave's plant will work just fine! We're here to have fun, people!!! Sometimes, I am reminded of William Shatner's "Get a Life" sketch from Saturday Night Live.....
Sorry. I hope this doesn't turn your thread into a flame war.
Scott,
I too wish there was more of this attitude as even I admit I've gotten caught in the trap as well! I've been working on a section of the Boston & Maine that runs through my hometown. I gave up trying to match every thing perfectly. To start the DEM was too high due to reflectivity issues. The old mill rooftops, caused the height to change. The railroad grade too is only 15 meters above see level and only 3 meters above the street below. This was impossible to repair due to the lower resolution of the Trainz baseboards. So when imported into the program, this caused the railroad grade to blend into the road, making everything flat. So right out of the gate, I had to compromise the heights and figure out what the correct height should be. The other issue too is the number of mills is only a shadow of what used to be there. Today there are only a few empty warehouses where once there were dozens. The old shoe mills that are left have become condos and fancy loft apartments while others are nothing more then parking lots. What type of builds went where is impossible for me to find, especially with no time to look at archives or access to them. So after doing the research I could, I found out that all of the area that was once covered with mills and railroad tracks is gone, and what we have left today is nothing compared to the extensive freight yard, shoe mills, and warehouses. In many cases there isn't even a sign that there were once tracks there in the first pace. The area was wiped out decades ago when the industry shutdown like someone deleted the track and road spline in Surveyor along with the other assets that go along with a route.
My frustration-level was becoming too high and I stopped working on that part of my route. Wait a minute here. This IS only a game! (Others might go into seizures upon hearing this). So who cares what goes there now as long as I can capture the feel of the area. I have found similar buildings that could have been there, added a few extra sidings and even put in some more modern structures all within the scope of what the area could have today.
What reaffirmed my new approach happened a few months ago. I showed my dad what I had worked on. He pointed out landmarks and streets as he saw my route and enjoyed a trip from Ward Hill to Rosemont on a commuter train.
John
And there ya have it! I have a few photos, and a map that I sliced into 720m squares to apply to the "basemap" asset in the DLS. I set the map just under the surface and start laying out stuff. I look at the photos, just to get an idea of what was there, but this game is called "TRAINZ" not "CITIEZ" or "CARZ" so I don't fret much over the steets.
Right now I have the Howard Street Bridge (the one I was hunting) and the North Ave Bridge at about 5m difference in height. In real life they are leve at the end where they come together, because the bridges have an arc to them that's hard to see. Meh. There's enought distance to put a small hill at the end of each, and make them "cross" (intersection) in the middle, about 3m below one bridge, 3m above the other. So be it.
I tried DEM once, but once I saw how inaccurate it is, I dropped that idea for the M&Pa - it's great stuff for routes out in the mountains, where you get a long distance view of rolling hills and mountains, but in Baltimore? Nah.... I'll stick to hand carving, the rez of the terrain in TS12 is still so low that you really have to compromise anyway.
I'm just waiting for my M&Pa book to get here - fella at the Ma&Pa hysterical society said it had an almost accurate map in it, and photos... so I'm futzing with the PRR, NCR, and B&ORR tracks until it gets here....
Right now I have the Howard Street Bridge (the one I was hunting) and the North Ave Bridge at about 5m difference in height. In real life they are leve at the end where they come together, because the bridges have an arc to them that's hard to see. Meh. There's enought distance to put a small hill at the end of each, and make them "cross" (intersection) in the middle, about 3m below one bridge, 3m above the other. So be it.
I tried DEM once, but once I saw how inaccurate it is, I dropped that idea for the M&Pa - it's great stuff for routes out in the mountains, where you get a long distance view of rolling hills and mountains, but in Baltimore? Nah.... I'll stick to hand carving, the rez of the terrain in TS12 is still so low that you really have to compromise anyway.
I'm just waiting for my M&Pa book to get here - fella at the Ma&Pa hysterical society said it had an almost accurate map in it, and photos... so I'm futzing with the PRR, NCR, and B&ORR tracks until it gets here....