Southeastern Trains

[THOMAS2000]

Hi there! I am completely new to this whole forum thing, so sorry if this is the wrong place to ask.

I am currently building the whole of the Southeastern Trains network, in Kent and around London and i was wondering if people had any of their own projects of this area that they would like to share?

So far i have constructed the Medway Valley Line from Paddock Wood to Strood with the excellent Southeastern Class 375 by Scratchlight

Here is a link to a video on the route

I have now started on South Eastern Main Line and have placed track (but not buildings) as far as Sevenoaks.

If anyone wants to chat about this feel free

 

[Vern]

The only comment I would make is that planning to build the whole South East area of the UK is biting off more than you can chew and Trainz can probably handle.

Are you using Transdem to properly create the terrain and plot the route(s) accurately or are you eyeballing it? How far out from the track are you doing terrain and scenery, as you will be lucky to get more than one or two linear km either side of the track per day spending 2 - 3 hours in Surveyor. What you are proposing would take most route builders years.

If you're building in TS2010 that version is pretty much obsolete going forward and you should be thinking about creating the project in TANE.

Not wanting to discourage or sound negative but over the years we've lost count of those who posted regarding grand projects (myself included) only to see them wither and die in face of the reality of the work involved.

Edit: Note you have bumped an old thread to post you are also building the Great Western Main Line, so only fair to ask exactly how much of the UK network you are planning to do. You really need to be realistic in assessing how much you can do to a standard that will make the end result worthwhile other users taking a look at. Grand claims which then end up as vapourware may also put off others who might genuinely have created a route or part of it.

My advice , if you're really serious about route building - start short and simple, maybe a branch line and certainly no more than 15 - 20 miles. Consider investing in Transdem which will enable the route to be reasonably accurate geographically. And finally, sometimes it's best not to post about a project until it is reasonably complete.

 

[THOMAS2000]

Hi, Yeah i totally know what you mean.
I have been a Trainz builder for a *long* time, but it is only now that i decided that i should make use of the Trainz Discussion Forum.
I have never quite worked out how to use TransDEM (Is it a Payware Download or a Free Add on?) so that cutsdown on a lot of extra effort. If you were to watch the included video, that is how far i have got, i have since updated bits and pieces. I was just interested if anyone else had built anything, or had any experience to share.

As for the last question (chuckles) My dream would be to create the whole of this

http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Reviews/Resources/National rail map.gif

Of course it is only a dream so its obviously not going to happen. However i have created small pieces of it using other peoples routes as well as my own. I have a tendency to never stick to one project and have several small projects going at once and linking them all up at the end. Thanks for replying, Simon, Thomas 2000

 

[Vern]

Transdem is payware but reasonably priced and an invaluable aid. There is a learning curve, but the author provides a good selection of tutorials and once up to speed you can churn out template routes like billy-ho. The only danger is, you end up with so many fledgling projects the distraction factor comes into play.

BTW your video link isn't working here, just a black box embedded on the forum.

 

[geophil]

Not wanting to discourage or sound negative but over the years we've lost count of those who posted regarding grand projects (myself included) only to see them wither and die in face of the reality of the work involved.

I particularly remember one such over-ambitious project a couple of years ago and the comments I made:
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=772676&postcount=17
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?p=775005&postcount=6

 

[THOMAS2000]

Type into YouTube search Bar 'Train Maniac'. My channel has a whole section devoted to Trainz with all of my previous projects, There is also a link to my website where soem of the routes (the ones i created at leas) can be downloaded. How much is TranDEM by the way?

 

[THOMAS2000]

Hi there- Really, i do understand what you're saying. Im not being serious when i said the whole of the UK, i am solely focusing on the bits that i know well. Southeastern and Southern routes are my priority and maybe a chunk of South London. Im not too fussed about accuracy, as long as it looks right if you know what i mean. Track plans and detailed stations are what i enjoy creating the most, the green stuff, as it were, comes later

In case you were wondering, i have tried out Google Sketchup but im not entirely sure how to get GMAX (?) to work?

 

[THOMAS2000]

Posting Attatchmemnts

I want to post some pictures of the progress but i dont think its allowing me. Ive looked at the bottom of the screen and it says 'you do not have permission to post attachments' Why? And how do i enable it?

 

[oknotsen]

'you do not have permission to post attachments' Why? And how do i enable it?

You can't enable it.
You should host your images elsewhere in order to post them here.

I would suggest you start a screenshot topic (in the screenshots area, with at least one of your own screenshots in the opening post).

 

[THOMAS2000]

OK. Thanks