The route made by you, for you!

[Mitchey]

Hi All.

I am currently trying to create the greatest Australian themed route Trainz has ever seen... but I keep suffering with the problem of not being inspired.

So I was wondering if I could have some suggestions from other trainzers of what YOU would like to see in an Australian route. The route will be set in the south, so New South Wales, Victoria or South Australia.

I would love for you to tell me everything you would like to see in a route, from bridge types and ground textures to railway yards and towns.

So, tell me what you would like to see, and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks!
Mitch
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List of chrysler platforms

 

[whistlehead]

A freight-and-passenger hauling three track main line, with many bridges and highway crossovers narrowing to single track after a large station has been passed with two tracks veering off to a portal. At the other end the track narrows first to double track, then after a rural station to single track due to a mountain pass, followed by long, almost perfectly straight single track all the way through desert-like scenery to terminate in, after a four-track stretch following yet another rural station with branchline (leading into distance/portal), a large town/city, complete with tramway.
Somewhere in the mountain pass there is an NG/SG station with the NG line(probably 30in) following the tracks for a bit and then peeling off into the mountains, where it disappears into a portal.
There's also a rural branchline somewhere, probably a mile or two away from the mountain pass. This is DMU operated and only carries passengers.

Textures should be desert+lush green I think.

I hope this gives you inspiration!

Chris

 

[Mitchey]

Thank you very much for your suggestion
I will see what I can do.

Everyone else, I am still open to more suggestions. This will be one heck of a route.
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HONDA ASCOT

 

[Johnk]

Why don't you just do a real-life route around the Gosford, Hawkesbury River area? It certainly inspired me when i travelled through there on the way to Brisbane a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Mitchey]

I appreciate your suggestion greatly, but I am no good with creating routes from real life. It is a lovelly area though, perhaps I could include similar scenery within my route.

Thanks!
Mitch
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Suzuki dr650 specifications

 

[Johnk]

Nobody's asking you to be a rivet counter. You said you needed inspiration, then surely something staring you in the face is far better than someone else's description. I didn't suggest that you recreate the route perfectly, I was merely suggesting that you use that area as the theme. The entire route is clearly visible on Google Earth, so even if you just pick a baseboard size chunk of some part, and just drop stuff everywhere it should still look impressive. Leave it to the experts to do an exact copy, but I'm sure it's already been done many times over.

 

[westrain]

Here is a couple of websites that might of help to you

http://www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com/
http://www.signaldiagramsandphotos.com/
http://bradmac.freeshell.org/Rail/index.html

 

[Johnk]

Westrain, well done. I'll list them and give you credit for the links. Even my home town of Sandringham is listed.

 

[colhad]

I appreciate your suggestion greatly, but I am no good with creating routes from real life. It is a lovelly area though, perhaps I could include similar scenery within my route.

Thanks!
Mitch

That's ok if you can't do prototypcal routes, just means you have more freedom to do what you like. Fictional Aussie routes are fun to do.

When I do Aussie routes, I like to give a sense of distance as Aussie major towns are by and large fair distances apart. If I was doing say a 30 board route, I'd have towns say 10-12 boards apart.

Scenery can vary from lots of open paddocks or scrub/bushland. Cattle sidings, passing loops as well.

You can also look at other people's routes for ideas, have a look at what they did. Lots of good routes to look at, Weddin by Footplate Phil I think it was, Gladstone to Peterborough by Pware is awesome. PGibbons has done heaps of NSW routes, although his are protoypical, you can take some of his ideas and use them in a fictional route.

 

[Mitchey]

Thanks for the tips, Colhad

And thanks everyone else for your inspirational ideas.
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Chevrolet monza

 

[FootplatePhil]

Building a bigish route can be quite trying on patience/motivation. My tip is to pick a route that means something to you. Somewhere close, where you can go and 'walk the line' is the easiest option, if you live close enough to a railway line. A route with which you feel some sort of connection will help "drag" you back during the inevitable periods of burn-out ! I chose the prototype for my main Trainz modelling interest (Weddin) because I wanted to document my memories of a line which, in large part, is no longer operational.

I would also say - even if you don't feel your a railways expert, don't be afraid to try and model something protypically - in some ways it can make things easier for you. And don't be afraid of making mistakes - its a great learning experience!


Good luck with what ever you take on.

Phil