Route building...how do you guys do it?

J

JackClare1995

Member
So I got Trainz 2010 working properly yesterday and I've had a look at a few of the included routes. They're all excellent! I was wondering though, how do you do it? I understand they're (all?) real routes that have been recreated in Trainz, but for fictional routes, where do you get the inspiration from? And what is the driving force behind you guys building routes? I tend to get bored of a route that I'm building, or do a bit wrong and just go "meh, to hell with it" and delete the whole thing :hehe:

So yeah, basically, creating fictional routes, where do you guys get your inspiration from? :)

Jack
 
I've never even thought to do that actually. I'll give it a go tonight :) I think immersing myself in conversation about Trainz whilst driving/route-building is what I need. Cheers Zelda :)
 
I could give you advice and tutorials in tracklaying techniques (using Free Skype IM)

Some guys go with a freelance route on flat baseboards, some model a "New England Fishing Village" (by GFisher) ... while others model a prototype mainline, such as "The Loops" (by GFisher).

Some of my favorites are on USLW
 
Zeldaboy: That's a good technique! I'll give it a go :D cheers!

Cascade: I think that would be very useful, thank you :) I'll message you my Skype name :)
 
For fictional route I look in the pages of a model train magazine. That's where My Naugatuck Valley Rebooted route came from, as well as segments of my SAXT Jacksonville division
 
Ooh model railway layouts! There's something I never thought to look at! I guess there's a lot of inspiration out there somewhere, I just never know where to look. Think I'll do me a model railway google search and see if I can get any inspiration :) thanks for all the advice, guys! Also, I've never used TrainzChat. I understand to turn it on you have to click the little icon in the top-right of the game that looks like a person, but what then? Are people friendly on there? :eek::hehe:
 
Yes they are! I started using TrainzChat the other day, and everyone is friendly! You might see me talking on TrainzChat a few times.
 
Jack,

I find developing a back history and a purpose for the railroad helps to make the route realistic and helps build it. Having the history almost builds its self and keeps the route on track (pun intended). When things start to go off track and get out of synch, think about the railroad's purpose and this will keep the route back on track and consistent.

John
 
I draw my inspiration to build my form listening to a live audio stream for part of my route. As well as feild trip to parts of that railroad. I also think of all the possible ways I could operate the railroad. All of that and then some are the driving force behind my route builds.
 
I have yet to see a route maker do a route from -3000m all the way up to +3000m of a backwoods NG branchline that goes on forever ( I wonder how many miles of track that would take at 2.5% gradient) ?

Or an undersea route for submarines, using Whecsilors fish's.

Or a hugely extensive underground coal mining tunnel.

Or an airport route that surpasses MSFS.

Or a prototypical rollercoaster that is not ludicrous in size.

Just some ideas
 
How do you do it (and this applies to all the sims, not just Trainz),,?

First of all you have to pick a project or prototype that will be of interest to you personally and hold your attention while working on it. Don't build to please the crowd or on a whim as it will end up as vapourware.

Never announce in advance what you're working on as it will just cause frustration and a lack of credibility when it fails to appear.

Research, research, research. Find out as much as you can before starting work - track plans, cab ride DVD's (if available), maps, gradient profiles etc. To really get a feel for it maybe even visit personally.

For the purposes of a prototype route in Trainz, Transdem is essential to properly lay down the terrain with some mapping on top of it.

Workflow generally then = 1. Lay rail/road/river. 2 Terrain painting and 3D placement. 3. Interactives i.e. signalling. 4. Initial snagging and testing. 5. Fine detail and apply the polish, so to speak. 6. Even more testing, if you're putting work in the public domain even as freeware, then you need to get it right. 7. Documentation. 8. Release.

For a 20 mile route you can reckon on a minimum of a month spending 2 - 3 hours a day on the project. It is not a quick process and that's why I personally no longer build long routes as I just find it too easy to get deterred and distracted, ending up abandoning a perfectly good project for no other reason than boredom.
 
Everyone has their own way of designing and creating a route. I use google earth to re-model the Marias Pass. I find it easy to build for awhile and just take a break then work aome more. Having a history and forming a summary for a route helps to dig deep into the creativity and enhancea your ability to create a realistic railroad. It also takes a great deal of time, and patience but the end result is always worth it. Some other things that help me is a visualization. If im in a car and I go through an area that is dense with trees and a view off the side of a mountain then I try and visualize that either into trainz directly or I sketch out a view of how I want the track to look. Techniques for making routes vary with the creator themselves.
 
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Thank you so much for all the help, everyone!

ray_whiley: Had a look at that page, some great stuff! I think I'll have a flick through model railway plans, both 3D and 2D track layouts and try to incorporate them into my routes in areas where I'm struggling.

leksie: You really can't beat a bit of Thomas the Tank Engine ;) I think I may look at some stills of older episodes where you can see a large portion of the track and get a feel of how to incorporate plans into my layouts. This would work very well with branchlines, as a lot of the track in Thomas is single track :)

JCitroen: I've never thought to create a history for the route. I have an idea at present for a mainline connecting two major towns, with two branchlines coming off it at various points and a line coming off one of the branchlines to a coal mine, using British DMU's and loco's, so I bet I could engineer a history for it!

JIb228: Field trips are a great way of getting everything right. Where I live in Manchester, we have a rather extensive Light-Rail system and I'm determined on one-day recreating it so field trips would be easy for that :) it's getting the inspiration to create made-up routes that's my problem at the moment, but track plans may help with that :)

cascaderailroad: Well, a 2.5% grade is about 1:40, so taking your lowest and highest point of -3000m and +3000m, that would take 6000:240000 so roughly 240 kilometres or about 150 miles :) Never thought of doing submarines! I guess the underground coal mine route would be easy with some tunnel splines and digholes :)

Vern: I always tend to build things in the wrong order. I make a stretch of track and then signal it almost immediately...probably not the best idea, eh? I think if I talk on TrainzChat with people, I'll keep the wheels rolling (aha) ;)

trainman7616: The Marias Pass takes me back! I remember that on Microsoft Train Simulator! I often find myself picking up a piece of paper and just doing a quick 2D sketch of a route. More often than not, though, it goes in the bin after 5 minutes ;)

Thanks for all the help, everyone! You've given me some great tips! :D

Regards, Jack
 
Pictures, videos, inspiration, track diagrams, imagination, old pictures. The Trainz chat is really full of rubbish nowadays, much better to get skype, where you can select who you talk to

Jamie
 
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