MarioExpress
New member
Hello guys! I'm thinking about making a new route but I'm not sure which region to make it in. I'm debating between US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
Unsure of Route Region
- Thread starter MarioExpress
- Start date
cascaderailroad
New member
You could model the Australia "Great Long Straight" :hehe: Or the "Inter Continental Trans Atlantc/Pacfic Chunnel"
Building a route is not difficult. For your first route, I highly recommend picking the region you know best and then use your imagination and go for it. If you need inspiration, read books on your favorite railroad and look at the photographs and maps. You may or may not be able to match the route exactly as it is in real life so work on a fictional version. To cut back on the long distances, if it's a very long route, pick the high interest sections and put small transition sections in.
With this in mind, you need to start small. Build a small one or two baseboard route and expand from there. Starting out on a really, really huge route is one way to lose enthusiasm. It's not just with Trainz either, I know from experience as a Classical pianist who occasionally has high hopes on conquering a lengthy complex piano sonata. Years later I'm still slogging through the various movements.
Download and look at what other people have done and learn from those, and use them as inspiration, even experiment and merge their routes into one of your creations and use it as a basis for your route. This can be a challenge all unto its self and a lot of fun too.
Stick to a theme. If it's a mountainous coastal route with small inlets and ports, then work these in as the line runs to its terminus. In a region such as this, there will be fishing and lumber, but I doubt a coal mine. There could be power plants and a coal dock, however. You see where I'm going with this. Having a theme also makes the progress go faster because you're then limiting yourself to a specific area and your content selection will be much, much smaller.
Talking about themes here. Is this a small branch line that only gets to run a monthly two-car freight and looks as though the track will fall apart as the train runs? Is this a pristine mainline which runs those 70 mph/110kph freights and 150 mph passenger expresses? There's no reason why you can't have both with maybe the branch line being a short line that connects to the high speed mainline and interchanges a boxcar or two with the larger company. Maybe this short line was once an important branch off the mainline, however, it was cut back to feed some industry.
If you have a nearby active railroad, go for a walk or bike ride down next to the line to watch the trains, and perhaps take photos. While you're on your way, look at the landscape around you, take notes, and pictures especially on the kinds of industries and buildings that exist in the region. Sometimes a mill complex once existed where there is none today. In this example, you can always put the mills back in so do some research online, talk to locals, and contact historical societies if any to get information on the mills. You may even find that these people will become extremely enthusiastic with your project and will be more than willing to supply information. The more information you have, the bigger and better the picture is for you, and thus, the better the route is.
Anyway, these are some ideas and hopefully they'll get you started.
With this in mind, you need to start small. Build a small one or two baseboard route and expand from there. Starting out on a really, really huge route is one way to lose enthusiasm. It's not just with Trainz either, I know from experience as a Classical pianist who occasionally has high hopes on conquering a lengthy complex piano sonata. Years later I'm still slogging through the various movements.
Download and look at what other people have done and learn from those, and use them as inspiration, even experiment and merge their routes into one of your creations and use it as a basis for your route. This can be a challenge all unto its self and a lot of fun too.
Stick to a theme. If it's a mountainous coastal route with small inlets and ports, then work these in as the line runs to its terminus. In a region such as this, there will be fishing and lumber, but I doubt a coal mine. There could be power plants and a coal dock, however. You see where I'm going with this. Having a theme also makes the progress go faster because you're then limiting yourself to a specific area and your content selection will be much, much smaller.
Talking about themes here. Is this a small branch line that only gets to run a monthly two-car freight and looks as though the track will fall apart as the train runs? Is this a pristine mainline which runs those 70 mph/110kph freights and 150 mph passenger expresses? There's no reason why you can't have both with maybe the branch line being a short line that connects to the high speed mainline and interchanges a boxcar or two with the larger company. Maybe this short line was once an important branch off the mainline, however, it was cut back to feed some industry.
If you have a nearby active railroad, go for a walk or bike ride down next to the line to watch the trains, and perhaps take photos. While you're on your way, look at the landscape around you, take notes, and pictures especially on the kinds of industries and buildings that exist in the region. Sometimes a mill complex once existed where there is none today. In this example, you can always put the mills back in so do some research online, talk to locals, and contact historical societies if any to get information on the mills. You may even find that these people will become extremely enthusiastic with your project and will be more than willing to supply information. The more information you have, the bigger and better the picture is for you, and thus, the better the route is.
Anyway, these are some ideas and hopefully they'll get you started.