What next?

[rickf77]

Good evening gentleman and at least one fine lady I've noticed. I've saved all my gear, just in case I flub things up. Should I continue with the track work? you know, sidings, yards, etc. I'm even going to need a small turntable, I'm sure that will have me pulling out a few more hairs! I have a couple of old drawings of the 2 yards I need to build. I think they will be the hardest to deal with. I was playing around with a yard a couple of weeks ago, just trying things out, it wasn't pretty. I've got about 100 pages of some tutorials some fella wrote up about working with track, sorry, his name slips my mind. I spent a couple of hours fine tuning the mainline, and I'm happy with that. Soooo...continue with the track work?

Thanks guys and cheers......Rick

 

[JCitron]

Rick,

Now the fun begins.

You can continue with all the track work if you want. There's no one stopping you. However as a suggestion, I would recommend working on a small section at a time, continuing a long the tracks, placing tracks and buildings as though the world was developing along the route. The reason for doing things this way is so you won't get bored out of your mind placing tracks all the time. This is what usually happens as you build a route like this. So, take your time, building up your little world and enjoy the project.

John

 

[rickf77]

Hi John; Thanks for that. Sounds like a plan. Boy, there is a lot to learn! Well, back at it for a little while.

Thanks, again.....cheers Rick

 

[jlp1551]

Rick,

I agree with John. I go in spurts. Lay track, do some textures, put some buildings, etc, etc. Sometimes I just take a day break, start with Trainz again, and just go like the devil, those creative juices just needed a break. I have a lot of track laid, so have been doing a lot of scenery and getting the signaling fine tuned. I'll prob start doing more track work in a few days, then switch back.
It is just like doing a model layout, lay some track, get it to work just so, start on some scenery, etc, etc, etc.
I have one area I consider done, but when I run a train through it, sometimes I'll get an idea and add some more scenery, or a little funny thing, like the guy in the tent with his boots sticking out. There is always something to do or add. At least I don't have to worry anymore about doing maintenance on the tracks and wheelsets. Constantly cleaning. Just need to dust of the ole computer occasionally!!
Have fun and do it your way.

 

[BD1]

placemarker

 

[JCitron]

Then, after you've got a few baseboards scenicked, you can go back and go for a ride to see what everything looks like from a driver's view. This is when the tweaking starts, as Jeff pointed out. You'll also find quality issues to fix like bumpy track, floating buildings, and other weird things that need fixing and finishing touches.

I actually recommend doing this even after your first baseboard is finished. It'll give you a perspective of what you've done, and something to show off to the non-Trainz world.

John

 

[rickf77]

Good morning lads; Thanks for all the pointers! In real life, in the 1950's this part of the CNR may have already been down to 1 or 2 trains a day going from Dartmouth to Upper Musquodotoit (boy that's a mouthful!). I'm afraid my old home town, now a city, seems like it's had a complete makeover, but it looks much worse to me. There used to be sidings all over the place, almost everyone of them is just a memory now. I can remember what the area looked like. This is good, because I've been able to find very little info, photos, etc.

As a kid, there was nothing better than hanging out around the "rail yard". I don't believe they worked on the weekends, and no one ever chased us off. As an adult, I was a mailman, and chose this area as my mail route. A couple of times a week I would have to crawl under a car to get to a small business on the other side of the tracks. Ah, the good old days! I guess I'm trying to recapture my youth!

Thanks again, cheers....Rick

 

[happyj]

Welcome to the world of Trainz. It is a good way to recapture earlier times in our journey through and perhaps make a record of those times for others to see in the future. Cheers.

 

[rickf77]

Well hello there J! You know I can find tons of info about your railway history, as well as Cape Breton's. I even went to the "Dartmouth Museum", gave the lady a donation, and had a good look around at nothing. It was never really anything to write home about, but they have 99% of the exhibits packed away in storage! I almost asked for my money back! The lady said they are waiting for enough money to afford a new building. Talk about "hard times in the Maritimes". I also went out to Musquodoboit Harbour (I spelled it wrong up above there, who could blame me), to have a look at the railway museum. It closed for the season, the week end before. That seems to be the story of my life, always late getting to the party and nothing left to drink!

Cheers........Rick

 

[BD1]

placemarker

 

[rickf77]

Thanks BD1! Say, your not going to give me all 1000 tips in this thread, are ya!

Much appreciated, cheers....Rick

 

[rickf77]

Good morning boys: I wonder which one of BD1's track tips this falls under? Here goes. I replaced all my mainline track with JR MS Pink (terrain) by Norfolksouthern37. Much nicer than what I had. The roadbed is pretty darn close to what was used around my area. A lot of red granite, mixed with the typical granite, and other types of stone. I think they now use a type of very hard gray sandstone, cheap, common gravel type material.

I've been trying to add a switch for an hour or so, and finally found a way to do it. With my old track, all I had to do was slap a new piece of track on the main line, and I would have a working switch and the default switch lever. This does not happen with the new track. When I add the new section of track to the mainline there is no switch lever. when I added the lever, I got 2 red arrows. I played around with it for awhile and found that if I deleted a section of the main line, built the switch, and then joined it with the mainline, everything is great. I could then replace the switch lever with a CNR switch stand. Thanks to one of Sniper's tips, I will be able to have the CNR switch stands as the default.

I really have no problem doing it this way. I'm just curious about it. Am I doing this the correct way? It all looks fine. I haven't driven a train for a couple of weeks, but by the looks of the switch, I'm sure it will work fine.

Cheers y'all....Rick

 

[kin3]

As an adult, I was a mailman, and chose this area as my mail route. A couple of times a week I would have to crawl under a car to get to a small business on the other side of the tracks. Ah, the good old days! I guess I'm trying to recapture my youth!

Thanks again, cheers....Rick

A little off topic but, never crawl under a rail car always climb over the knuckles. If a train bumps the car you have less chance of being killed or maned.

 

[rickf77]

Hee, hee, It was pretty safe, we'd wave at each other, on my way in and out of the business stop. "Neither rain nor sleet, .............nor a train,......the mail MUST go through." If I tried that now that I'm old, when I was in the prone position, I'd probable take a nap! (perhaps a dirt nap)

Cheers......Rick

 

[BD1]

placemarker

 

[rickf77]

Well, hello BD1; What I said up top seems to be working well. At this time I'm still using "replace asset" under the main menu in surveyor. It seems to put the CNR switch stand right where it should go. My gosh, there are so many great items to choose from! I'm going to have a gander at your suggestions. I'm happy that the switches are working, that was my big achievement of the day. I wasted most of the rest of the day doing chores! The wife is burning wood like it's going out of style!

Thanks BD1, cheers.......Rick