How does everyone create terrain

[ApproachMedium]

I've been with trains for a while so I am not a novice at this. What I am wondering is others technique. I feel like there has to be a better way then just using the raise and lower terrain randomly or using highways to smooth out hills and mountains. I also know about DEMs.

I'm working on a freelanced route and am building what I feel like so there's no real prototype. Anyhow, is it best to lay out the track and buildings first then do the terrain or vise versa? Especially when in comes to track climbing through hills and mountains. I've never been able to figure out the best method for that.

-Joe

 

[BobCass]

Hi Joe: You can do your terrain either way, track first or not..I think the best way to do it is to do the terrain first, and the reason I think that way is, thats the way railroads do it..And also, I like to think about terrain and study it, how they would do it..I like to take an empty baseboard and play with different techniques, you would be surprised what you can do..I'm running 2009 and enjoy it very much..


Bob Cass

PS..Think about the Geology of the Land, and how it was formed..

 

[Vern]

Transdem...

 

[JCitron]

My route too is freelanced, but the DEMs work out well. I've altered some of the terrain to what, and when it's all blended in, no one knows the difference. I use a combination of grayscale height maps, my own landscape fiddling (raising and lowering), and premade DEM maps byt Fishlipsatwork.

Recently I've added in a branch line to an area that never had rail service, or at least I couldn't see any signs of it in aerial maps and photos. So I went about surveying the area on the DEM myself, then sighted out the most logical route the rails would follow. What was in real life the Bucksport Branch of the old MEC (Guilford), is now the mainline from Bristol (Bangor) to Plymouth (Bucksport). In Bucksport, or Plymouth on my route, I've continued the mainline along th shore past the terminal. This is a someday expansion point, which I may put some portals on. The line also crosses over Bucksport Harbor on a drawbridge and continues along a river. (There are actually two draws that form a wye here). This is where the landscape connects to the rest of my original route.

In the Bangor (Bristol) area, there's a branch out to a peninsula. This is my Sandy Point branch, which I mentioned before. This was sighted down the landscape, and the tracks were laid using realistic height measurements, or at least they seem that way to me. I ran a test passenger train along the bare landscape (no trees or buildings except for the station), and it's pretty good. There are a couple of places that need some regrading, but that's it.

In the North Maine Jct. area, I've followed the route true to form. I added in a couple of freight-only branches and a stretch of shopping malls and industrial parks. From looking at the aerial photos, i wasn't too far off on this. I also modified part of this area on the remote end to connect the DEM to another part of my route.

When driven, other than the bare places still, there's very little way of knowing which is a DEM, my creations, or even an imported route from someone else. This I think is a fine art and makes or breaks a route.

John

 

[ApproachMedium]

My route too is freelanced, but the DEMs work out well. I've altered some of the terrain to what, and when it's all blended in, no one knows the difference. I use a combination of grayscale height maps, my own landscape fiddling (raising and lowering), and premade DEM maps byt Fishlipsatwork.

John

That's a great idea. I didn't think about using fishlips terrain maps. Sounds like fun planning a route through hills and mountains. Definitely trying this later. Especially since I have far from mastered the techniques used for realistically creating terrain with the raise and lower tools.

It's also good to see a fellow Maine Central modeler. I used fishlips terrain map for the Bangor to bucksport branch, still a WIP, but I finished the paper mill. I also model the MEC in N scale. But that's another topic entirely.

-Joe

 

[cascaderailroad]

The first track is set about 2-4 grids from the railroad track. The first track iss set using an elevation of @ 12 meters, the second 25 meters, the third 36 meters, the fourth 50 meters...etc...etc...

The smooth spline tool levels the terrain. Start at the bottom, and hit the smooth spline tool, progressively working from the bottom, working your way up to the top.

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_001-3.jpg

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_002-2.jpg

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_024.jpg

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_026.jpg

Using track, or a wider spline, such as "105' Wide Road" you can use either of these 2 methods. Hitting the smooth spline tool flattens the gradient, and creates the hill. Alternating the "Hold Shift", "Don't Hold Shift" key, you can place tracks anywhere, and not have them join like magnets.

Contact me if you need more information.

 

[JCitron]

That's a great idea. I didn't think about using fishlips terrain maps. Sounds like fun planning a route through hills and mountains. Definitely trying this later. Especially since I have far from mastered the techniques used for realistically creating terrain with the raise and lower tools.

It's also good to see a fellow Maine Central modeler. I used fishlips terrain map for the Bangor to bucksport branch, still a WIP, but I finished the paper mill. I also model the MEC in N scale. But that's another topic entirely.

-Joe

Joe,

The MEC isn't quite the MEC in on my route, but I give it justice. I've tried to keep the landscape along the line as true to form except for my editions. The papermill is quite cool, but at the time I couldn't find some good buildings for it. Instead I replaced the papermill with a sand/cement operations and put some houses out on the point. While looking at the aerial maps, I've noticed a couple of other branch lines up in the Brewer and Orrington areas. I've added the old branch in Brewer to a mill long the Penobscott and the old Washington Jct. Industrial Track - the line that goes out to the Maine coastline, and is now the Maine Coast RR. They are restoring track and service out there for a tourist line.

It's really horrible what has been done to the old MEC. GTI (PAR) has ruined the MEC and the B&M very horribly by ripping up and closing main lines. They've gone as far as discouraging business, even driving away new business from a line so they don't have to operate it.

You'll find that over time you'll go back and replace sections, redo sections, and rework trackage. My route is going on 4 years old now, and over the years, I've deleted the middle, added in, and then spliced the old parts on different ends. It's hard to really disguise the older sections because my modeling and texturing technique was really bad back then. Perhaps when I have some time I'll go back and delete these baseboards and bring them up to standard.

I too am an N-scaler, or was anyway. I have a lot of New England related equipment packed up in boxes.

John

 

[ApproachMedium]

The first track is set about 2-4 grids from the railroad track. The first track iss set using an elevation of @ 12 meters, the second 25 meters, the third 36 meters, the fourth 50 meters...etc...etc...

The smooth spline tool levels the terrain. Start at the bottom, and hit the smooth spline tool, progressively working from the bottom, working your way up to the top.

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_001-3.jpg

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_002-2.jpg

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_024.jpg

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc339/cascaderailroad/Screen_026.jpg

Using track, or a wider spline, such as "105' Wide Road" you can use either of these 2 methods. Hitting the smooth spline tool flattens the gradient, and creates the hill. Alternating the "Hold Shift", "Don't Hold Shift" key, you can place tracks anywhere, and not have them join like magnets.

Contact me if you need more information.

Wow. That's a lot of work for just one hill. That's got to take a while to do over an entire route.

-Joe