What do you do when making a route?

[amtrak2041864]

I want to see what other trainz lovers do while completing the long but rewarding process of route building. So what do you do to pass keep your self from getting bored. I listen to some music and ponder on the thought of finishing so I can release my route. So others can see what I did. How about you?

 

[cascaderailroad]

I have 3 routes ... when 1 gets boring, or overwhelming ... I switch over to building the other route.

My one route is so immense, that it has 7 branch lines that I can switch over to.

I get on Skype IM and talk to others, about the route, and gather trackcharts and photos from other people.

Sometimes when things get really overwhelming I take a break, for a couple days, and ponder the big scheme of things ... sometimes a month long vacation, without any Trainz is needed.

 

[mjolnir]

I, too, have more than one wip, including routes, locomotives, freight cars, and scenery.

ns

 

[jeffsmiller]

I toss and turn in bed trying to get to sleep but thinking about route building. My wife thinks its the new meds...

 

[Dermmy]

When in Surveyor I play U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in an endless loop at max volume till I just can't stand it any more and my eyes glaze over dreaming about the good old days of HO Scale and two locos, half a dozen box cars and an oval of track all at my finger tips......

 

[AJ_Fox]

I built a route once back in 2006. I think the hardest part of route building is knowing you're done.

Cheers

AJ

 

[817TAYLOR]

When I route build I usually talk to people I know on Skype. Before I even get into Trainz I study and find some good reference pictures for what ever I want to build. I listen to music in the background as well. And I do often swap project. BUT, when inspiration hits, I try to stick with it.

 

[Tanvaras]

Listen to music usually whilst working on my route. Headphones on = Kids noise ZERO! can concentrate

 

[Davie_UCF]

I don't stress about a route having to be finished, then it becomes a chure. This is why I have about 3 main routes i've been working on for years :| I just end up getting bored, without really noticing, I just stop using Trainz one day and then come back to it months later.. Go with the flow. This is why I never finish things but I try not to worry about this because it's just the way I am and accepting that was the right thing. I used to get really stressed about not finishing anything until I accepted it and decided to do whatever makes me happy.. Thats all that matters!

I do spend weeks working intensively on one layout, music or TV on.. then I just stop without noticing.

 

[leksie]

First thing is that i don't know how i would manage without Trainz .Building routes is for me the main thing.It's the ultimate thing to relax.

Ánd in the morning the surprise what's new on the DLS.

Further i have a bit the same problem as Davie_UCF

 

[nugget2225]

i get frustrated real easy with route building, i started a route a few weeks ago with transdem and don't even have the track all layed yet, i get bored real fast, and it just never looks right as i am building it, i don't have alot of self confidence when it comes to route building and i have been playing trainz since 2001, some days i think i am loosing interest in trainz but when i leave it for a bit i always go back to it, but when i am building i have the tv close to my desk and either listen to the tv or music.I live in a mobile home\ rv park so i get distracted easy as well lol, i know i said alot more then you asked but why not haha

 

[JCitron]

Route building for me goes through fits and phases. I'll build like crazy for a few weeks or maybe a month or two then do some driving or don't do any Trainz-related stuff. My big route is big enough to let me go off and setup an operating session or two on it while the unfinished part is left undone for months.

I also use the non-building time to research subjects, support Trainz users on and offline and do other things. In general I have found that if I'm getting frustrated or bored with something, I will take a break from it and everything is refreshed again with the new outlook.

John

 

[jrfolco]

When constructing a route, I make it a point to completely finish a ten to twenty mile segment before moving on to the next part. If you start jumping around, leaving areas unfinished, you'll find it very easy to get bored.

I set up a type written checklist, which I use for each segment of the route, and when it's finished, I print out a new checklist, and move on to the next segment.

There are some days when I have to force myself to resume work on my routes, but once I get started, the interest rapidly returns.

It also helps to fire up five or ten MP3s, and listen to your favorite music while laying track.

Joe

 

[Dermmy]

There are some days when I have to force myself to resume work on my routes, but once I get started, the interest rapidly returns...

On a more serious note than my previous post, that quote is the secret to getting it done!

There are parts of route-building that are quite frankly mind-numbingly tedious. No matter how bad it gets though I have an absolute rule that I fire Surveyor up every single day and place at least one scenery object. Doesn't matter what it is - even just a single tree or a clump of grass. The thing is though that by the time Trainz has loaded I've sat and thought about exactly what I will place and where I will place it for a couple of minutes and by the time the screen comes to life and the object is placed, rotated, lowered a bit, viewed from a couple of angles, enthusiasm has invariably returned and it's gone midnight before I know it......

 

[schweitzerdude]

I think the suggestions of working on more than one route simultaneously are good ones.

Also, when working on a new part of route A, think about how someday this part could also be the part of some future route B. If the routes are similar in time and place (I trend toward current-day North America) it's workable. I have reused chunks of old routes often although deleting baseboards one-by-one is tedious.

 

[ray_whiley]

I'm afraid my very short answer is - 'concentrate on what I'm doing to the exclusion of everything else!'

Ray

 

[flusi737]

I have only ~12h every week, not very long.
If i (re) start work on a route i worked the last 8 months on at the next weekend, i normally get bored of it instantly and my brain screams 'i want to drive' lol. But i ignore that and build it up, after an hour i'm full concentrated and feel nothing outside trainz, even if someone enters my room, i never stop looking at my monitor. Its a real strange feeling, but i'm able to build ~ 30 miles every day at a 'good' weekend Ah, and kids are annoying, thats why i hear Disturbed, Slipknot, Galneryus, Metallica etc very loud :hehe:

Felix

 

[bl4882]

Boredom may come from trapping yourself into creating the whole thing at once. Rather than going one baseboard at a time, with scenery and cars and people running around, you might want to try this, which is what model railroaders do. Get all of the track in. Laying track may be the most challenging aspect of route building, but after that challenge is met you have a solid foundation for your layout. As you go, and put in your industries and stations, use "stand in" structures, that is, low poly structures from the DLS that indicate the existence of something, but don't replicate it, and are functional once named. It will speed the building immeasurably. Model railroaders use shoe boxes or blocks of 2X4 with the industry name written on it for this. Forget the scenery for now.

If you do this, you will be able to operate your layout while you go back and put in the actual structures and scenery you have in mind. That way, if you have a well designed layout, it will never become boring. You can always create a scenario for operation and enjoy it until you get an inspiration for the creation of that silk purse manufacturer that requires a carload of pigs ears once a week. :wave: That way it will be fresh.

Bernie

 

[flusi737]

I normally use this plan:
(used it for the NEC, so i rebuilt a real RR and nothing fictional)

Step by step :

0. Check distances and trackwork with g'earth and track charts. Place the distance meter lines in trainz and make sure that the distance is correct +/-20ft at max!!
1. Lay down the trackage for max. 7 baseboards.
2. Replace all switch levers (if there are junctions) with DB 700 Electric Sw
3. Place the catenary
4. Do the terrain works for bridges and tunnels etc and lift the track into the correct height. Same with the catenary
5. Click replace textures, replace the 'grid' with grass seasonal4.
6. Choose a JR Ballast texture and use it for the ground below the tracks
7. Place all grass splines around the tracks
8. Add houses, trees and shrubs.
9. Add Streets. Simply delete the trees which are DIRECTLY on the Street.
10. Place platforms and other Splines like streetlights and fences.
11. Now do all the other texture work: parking lots in front of stations and shopping malls etc.
12. Add details: Station Signs, rename buildings, add people (neoklai)
13. Return to number 0 and add the next boards!

Remember to check google earth before doing points 8 and 10 to make sure that the objects have the correct location!!
Use detailed plans for Stations!
This plan does not apply for Yards, Stations and special landmarks!!!

Thats the list that is hanging on the wall above my PC, together with a List with all 129 NEC stations and the exact distances between them.
I only used the list for the NEC part 1&2, all other routes were made with another plan because they were fictional. But every time i first drew the track layout on a paper before building anything in trainz!

Greetings to you all

Felix