TransDEM coopersville, MI to Marne, MI

[crohakon]

To whom ever it concerns...

I have been trying off and on over the past few days to get a layout map using TransDEM for the short line between Coopersville, MI and Marne, MI. I was able to get the DEM data, but and not having an luck getting to the street, rail, and water lines integrated and visible in Trainz with a 5m grid...

Can someone create this map for me for 2010 or offer me a step by step guide in plain English on where to go and what to do? I have followed the guide that the author gives but I keep getting lost... I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

I have gotten this to work before, as I have been working on a route between Muskegon, MI and Montague, MI for some time which was created using TransDEM. For some reason I just don't remember and cannot figure out how I did it! lol

 

[devandavis]

Did you place raster maps over your DEM in transdem? I've used standard topos, a PUCO map showing abandoned rails, and aerial photos as overlays so far. The one I imported into trainz was the topo, and it is working well.

 

[rsd15atsf]

Are you doing that tourist line that goes along side the free way out there?

 

[crohakon]

Are you doing that tourist line that goes along side the free way out there?

Yeah, I was thinking about it. I volunteer for it and thought it might be a neat project to rebuild it on Trainz. Have you ever been there? There is not much to it, but the price is cheap and it is kind of neat in its own way.

 

[crohakon]

Did you place raster maps over your DEM in transdem? I've used standard topos, a PUCO map showing abandoned rails, and aerial photos as overlays so far. The one I imported into trainz was the topo, and it is working well.

I have tried using the built in web mapping service and map tile service with no luck. What I end up with is poorly aligned, or a lack of detail (only shows the highway.) Among other things...

 

[devandavis]

Okay, so I just spent the last half hour trying to create this DEM. Provided I got the correct area (iffy there- I really dislike the interface on the seamless server)- I have had NO luck getting any kind of useable raster. Terraserver times out, 3 other sources I used returned nothing.

Does your map look fine in transdem but then doesn't make it to Trainz?

 

[geophil]

I have just checked Seamless Server for the NED DEM and the various online resources for raster maps. Couldn't detect any specific issues.



From left to right:

• Google Earth medium scale aerial image
• Microsoft Virtual Earth/Bing large scale aerial image
• Open Street Map (vector map)
• USGS 1:24k TerraServer (raster map)
• Google Earth small scale aerial image

Same with DEM:

 

[devandavis]

oh, I'm quite sure I was doing something wrong. It was almost like I had requested a dem that was too small- like I was only seeing parts of the lettering from the topo.

 

[crohakon]

oh, I'm quite sure I was doing something wrong. It was almost like I had requested a dem that was too small- like I was only seeing parts of the lettering from the topo.

That was exactly what was happening to me. I am glad, in a way, that I am not the only one having this issue. Could it just be the location?

 

[geophil]

Could it just be the location?

I would guess so.

The meta data of my downloaded DEM reveals the following lat/long coordinates (meta1.html):

ULLAT	ULLON	LRLAT	LRLON
coopersville_MI	43.12502289	-86.00004578	43.00002289	-85.87504578
marne_MI	43.12502289	-85.87503815	43.00002289	-85.75003815

Spatial_Domain:
    Bounding_Coordinates:
        West_Bounding_Coordinate:-86.2154629627883
        East_Bounding_Coordinate:-85.7648148146381
        North_Bounding_Coordinate:43.2051851851509
        South_Bounding_Coordinate:42.91305555552

 

[crohakon]

What exactly does that tell you?

 

[cascaderailroad]

Why is a DEM absolutely necessary on a straight as an arrow RR line, that never varries in height of more than 40' in either elevation ? Akin to the Strasburg RR, which has 3 curves and is utterly flatland, with low rolling fields.

Basemaps and topo maps can do the job with no technical programs, in a matter of hours.

 

[crohakon]

Why is a DEM absolutely necessary on a straight as an arrow RR line, that never varries in height of more than 40' in either elevation ? Akin to the Strasburg RR, which has 3 curves and is utterly flatland, with low rolling fields.

Basemaps and topo maps can do the job with no technical programs, in a matter of hours.

While you make a rather good point... there are streams, hills, roads, highways, etc. that I want to get in place with as much accuracy as I can. The only way I know how to do this is with a DEM/topo... but apparently that might not be possible with this location.

I guess I could just wing it all. I have access to all the track maps and such... and hell, I ride the track 4 times a week... A DEM based map would still be nice though...

 

[geophil]

Why is a DEM absolutely necessary on a straight as an arrow RR line, that never varries in height of more than 40' in either elevation ? Akin to the Strasburg RR, which has 3 curves and is utterly flatland, with low rolling fields.

Basemaps and topo maps can do the job with no technical programs, in a matter of hours.

... vs. a matter of minutes by using such a technical program.

After you have understood the fundamentals it's really easy and you won't even think about the manual approach ever again. The DEM is only part of it. It comes at no additional cost. And even on flat terrain - unless you are modelling the Australian Nullarbor - you have hints of hollows and hillocks, or the occasional creek bed you won't want to shape by hand.

It takes much longer writing about it than actually doing it.

...but apparently that might not be possible with this location.

Whatever went wrong, it does not seem to be the location itself. I guess something went wrong identifying it.

That's the way I did it (there are several other options as well):

I had not heard of Coopersville or Marne, Michigan - please forgive my ignorance but I have never been to the eastern shores of Lake Michigan - so I entered the place names in Google Earth. I set placemarks, took snapshots and transferred the images to TransDEM. (If you know where to look the TransDEM Map Tile client would be quicker.)

To select the DEM area I started with a larger region I could identify on Seamless Server:




Then I looked for the major roads, Interstate 96 is the most prominent.




The green mask marks the area to download. Don't forget to switch to GeoTIFF format.

You could also enter coordinates directly (I showed them in my previous posting) but usually you can do without any number crunching:

 

[rsd15atsf]

Yeah, I was thinking about it. I volunteer for it and thought it might be a neat project to rebuild it on Trainz. Have you ever been there? There is not much to it, but the price is cheap and it is kind of neat in its own way.

If im ever out there I will, I only occasionaly go to the West side of michigan and when I do your never open.