Tips on making a route
G'day! :wave:
Well, making a detailed route takes time and effort!
But when I make a route, I usually mould the terrain first. (I suppose you know how to do this

)
When I'm happy with the terrain, I paint it with the textures. To get a realistic looking texture, press [ and hold while holding down with the left mouse button to 'rotate' the texture. The same goes for ] aswell. Swap between textures to get that 'lifelike' feel.
After I've done painting the terrain. I lay the track. Now, if you're a detail-addict like me, I'd go for a nice track. For example: UK Bullhead 09. Then, I slowly lay the track around the terrain. Then, I flatten the terrain along the track to top the track tipping. TIP: Don't use undo if you make a mistake when using splines. Trainz will sometimes crash.
When the track laying is done, I go back to the textures, select a nice ballast colour that matches the track, and paint along the track.
Now comes the placing of objects.
When all the above is finished, I find a road type. For example: NSW Highway 01. I lay the road the same way as I layed the track. When the road is done, I place some objects, a few trees here and some houses there. If you want to create a country scene, trying laying some barbed wire fences along the roads you've made!

And then making some paddocks. If you want to join the splines WITHOUT them connecting, hold SHIFT and place the spline point near the object.
When you're happy with your route, save it and take it for a test run with a train.
If you can't get any ideas when making the route, try putting a song on to help you. That usually helps when I have no ideas!
Happy route building!
Cheers!
Jake.