Northern Arizona Route

[GNdome55]

@AJ_Fox, thanks for the comment and link about Flagstaff.

@kamran, thanks.

I’m finally into the Flagstaff city limits. I’ve got about ten miles of scenery to detail on the eastern approach to Flagstaff. I’ve got Mount Elden in and the beginning of the San Francisco Peaks. It’s a bit frustrating that so many great views with Mount Elden and the Peaks in the distance get lost because of the draw distance. I’ll still have plenty of good views closer to Flagstaff. These shots are of Route 66 (US 180) just east of Flagstaff. The road crosses that bridge over the BNSF tracks and on to I-40 where this stretch of Historic Route 66 ends.
Gordon

 

[dricketts]

Love that last shot Gordon!

 

[scratchy]

amazing shots Gordon, i love how everything perfectly compliments eachother. Have you tried maybe a slightly gravelly texture beneath the road? Just a thought to make the transition less sharp, i cant decide if it needs it or not lol.

Keep it up!

 

[montanawestren]

The route is looking amazing! good work! Keep it up!

 

[GNdome55]

Thanks for the comments.
I thought I’d post both of these shots of the same view. Despite the elevation, Flagstaff is still in the high desert. In this area the stands of Ponderosas are still sparse. Unlike eastern forest and northwest forest, there is almost no undergrowth.
Gordon

 

[GNdome55]

 

[BobCass]

Nice Pics Gordan..real nice..

 

[kamran]

the last shot is really nice

 

[GNdome55]

Thanks Bob and kamran.

This is my first shot of the eastern part of Flagstaff. I still have a lot of work to do here before I move around Mt. Elden (upper left) and on to the rest of the city. On the left is the Purina plant. I assume they make dog chow there. It’s a good size plant with it’s own yard. I need to get a red & white checker logo for the tower sides. I’ll be working on Flagstaff for quite some time. If I ever finish this I’ll move on to the eastern half of this route.
Gordon

 

[socalwb909]

-Nice track work. Good job on everything.

-Joe

 

[GNdome55]

@socalwb909, thanks Joe, I’ll have some interesting track and yard shots throughout the city of Flagstaff when I get more of the scenery in.

This is a first look at the downtown area of Flagstaff. I’m still shuffling building around and looking for new ones. The buildings I’m using for the Amtrak station and old freight house hopefully will be replaced eventfully. It’s starting to pull together, but I’ve still got a long way to go on this city.
The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] shot needs no explanation other than it’s at the Flagstaff Purina plant.
Gordon

 

[GNdome55]

 

[socalwb909]

-This looks so good. I'm just gonna let Cajon collect dust, wait for this to release someday and take notes on how to route build.

-I wonder, as good as all your shots are, how much time is wasted looking for assets?

-Joe

 

[ekankal]

Your route looks amazing, I am really impressed :Y:.

// Erik from Sweden

 

[Euphod]

I need to get a red & white checker logo for the tower sides.

What is the KUID of the tower you're using there Sir?

 

[GNdome55]

-This looks so good. I'm just gonna let Cajon collect dust, wait for this to release someday and take notes on how to route build.

-I wonder, as good as all your shots are, how much time is wasted looking for assets?

-Joe

Thanks Joe, I guess spending hours and hours searching for specific content and not finding it is part of the process. Some days it’s hours of studying satellite and street views wondering how I could possibly find and place all the buildings, industries and landmarks that make up the real city. It seems to me it’s a matter of finding anyway possible to create the illusion of more with less. Eventually I get to a point with any area and I have to say, this works, ‘ time to move on. (At least until I get back later to fix it or change it) keep working on your route!

Your route looks amazing, I am really impressed :Y:.

// Erik from Sweden

Thanks for the comment Erik. Your screenshots have been very impressive lately.

What is the KUID of the tower you're using there Sir?

Thanks Ed, that would be great. For the Purina tower I’m using: GrainElevatorTower kuid:67794:28001

Gordon


Purina tower in Flagstaff

 

[montanawestren]

This route is looking awesome gordon! Insanely awesome work man!

 

[socalwb909]

Thanks Joe, I guess spending hours and hours searching for specific content and not finding it is part of the process. Some days it’s hours of studying satellite and street views wondering how I could possibly find and place all the buildings, industries and landmarks that make up the real city. It seems to me it’s a matter of finding anyway possible to create the illusion of more with less. Eventually I get to a point with any area and I have to say, this works, ‘ time to move on. (At least until I get back later to fix it or change it) keep working on your route!

-Well I wish I had the patients you do. But your right, you have to know when to draw the line. If you don't your creation will never be finished. There's a lot of good assets out there, but there is also a lot of junk.
-There's so many things that can be put into a config that asset creators don't use. If assets were named correctly, configs properly filled out, it would make things easier on us route builders. My route moves at a snails pace cause I just don't have the patients to be looking at every asset in the game till I find what might work for a particular area. It's coming to a point where I'm starting to hate it. Might as well just make all the assets myself. Then maybe down the road, years later, I'll be able to release a decent route.

-Keep up the good work. Remember, slow is smooth and smooth is fast!:hehe:

-Joe

 

[slabay]

I was working on my route one day and happened across a set of three tanks together on Bing maps. I thought to myself, "Hey! I've seen EXACTLY those tanks before!" After scouring the DLS, searching for every possible thing I could think of involving "oil", "gas", "petrol", "tank", "bulk", and scrolling through pages of thumbnails, I finally surrendered.

 

[GNdome55]

Thanks MWT.

Joe, I completely agree with you. I have patients for most of what’s involved in route building, endless searches on the DSL is not one of them.

Scott, that’s a classic example of something we all go through searching for an asset that surely should fall into one of those simple categories.

I have a request to any Trainz member who lives in or near Flagstaff Arizona. I need to get some accurate photos (complete front, back and sides) of the Flagstaff Amtrak station for a costume building being created for me. The old Santa Fe freight station next to it would be great too. All of the shots I’ve found from web searches are views from angles or poor resolution. If anyone’s interested please PM me. It would be greatly appreciated.
Gordon