I have started, well actually passed the route on to someone else, a southern portion down south to Lehighton and Jim Thorpe region and as far west at the outskirts of Tamaqua and Mahanoy City, and includes a bit of the Scranton area. This was done using TransDEM and topographic maps. For route such as this, this is really the only way to go about it. Combine the topographic maps with the proper elevation, as well as, historic landmarks, then you'll have a real route. The biggest advantage is not only having the proper topology, there are also the rail routes marked on the map including some long abandoned lines which makes rebuilding long gone routes fabulous. There were so many branches, mines, and yards which are long gone today, that it's hard to imagine what it was like in its peak glory days.
Maybe I've become a route building snob I'm sorry to say, but I no longer build routes manually as I've been bitten by the DEM bug and TransDEM. For the low cost and a bit of effort to learn the package, there's a big reward in the end. DEMs are great even for fictitious routes, which I use them for most of the time.
John
