Which DEM is better

F

Forester1

Well-known member
Greetings. There is a series of three old DEMs that smooz uploaded back in 2004 of Central Idaho. It follows the INPR from Cascade, Idaho down to Horsehoe Bend, Emmett, and eventually the Boise Metro area. There are two types of the three DEMs (you may have to go to the white pages and include TRS2004 and UTC, they are not showing in CM):

<KUID:2300:211120> INPR UTC 1 (from Ultimate Trainz)
<KUID:2300:211121> INPR UTC 2 (from Ultimate Trainz)
<KUID:2300:211122> INPR UTC 3 (from Ultimate Trainz)
<KUID2:2300:1010189:1> INPR TRS 1 (from TRS2004)
<KUID2:2300:1010191:1> INPR TRS 2 (from TRS2004)
<KUID2:2300:1010193:1> INPR TRS 3 (from TRS2004)

In the past I have done some work with the UTC series in T:ANE and TRS19. With my system reset and install of TRS22 I am contemplating starting over from scratch, and am wondering if anyone thinks one version might be better than the other version to use in TRS22? I can't really tell any difference at a casual glance, and they are all dated 19th Feb 2004, so does anyone think there is a difference which series I use? Thanks for any advice!
 
I am not familiar with UTC. DEMs available for your area of interest include 1/3 arc sec (10 meter resolution) and and 1/9 arc sec (3 meter resolution) from USGS TNM Download at this site: https://apps.nationalmap.gov/downloader/
If your going to start over why not use a combination of these to create a DEM for your route using TransDEM?
 
mapsgame said:
I am not familiar with UTC. DEMs available for your area of interest include 1/3 arc sec (10 meter resolution) and and 1/9 arc sec (3 meter resolution) from USGS TNM Download at this site: https://apps.nationalmap.gov/downloader/
If your going to start over why not use a combination of these to create a DEM for your route using TransDEM?
Click to expand...
This would be the Trainz UTC DEM routes dating from before TRS2004. These are relatively low-resolution files that were really great in their day but by today's standards well, you know. The DEM itself comes from data generated by MicroDEM and combined with the TIGER maps from the USDOT. The files are combined together and exported as a Trainz program using a program called HOG, aka Hand of God developed by Trainzer Tolaris.

The TRS2004 files are generated the same way but are a more recent version, well relatively recent compared to the UTC with the TRS2004 files dating back 19 years ago instead of 22 years ago.

Even though they're not super-detailed as they are coming out of TransDEM, they suited the purpose well in their day and also have use today for having fun with. Part of my large Trainz route utilizes one of them found on the DLS to generate a good chunk of the northern section.
 
Thank you, John and David. The reason I don't make new DEMS is I haven't yet shelled out for the program to get them into Trainz, although that may happen someday. But this series of DEMS covers a lot of mountainous central Idaho down to the Boise metro area and the UP mainline, and even shows the tracks that used to go downtown way back when, making that an option on the timeline. In total, there are hundreds of base squares that would have to be redone, and it may be more of a project than I am ever going to finish. It is more of a lark that I try to do anything with this, I think, but I am grateful to smooz for creating them because I worked those mountains as a forester for years and have lived in the Boise area now for almost 30 years. I think if I bought the program, I would endeavor to do the Columbia Gorge, which is know for its beautiful scenery and has BNSF on the north bank and UP on the south bank. But I digress with another pipe dream.... :rolleyes:
 
I agree, smooz and Fishlipsatwork did us a great favor. When Fishlipsatwork did his Providence, RI route he had me take a look at it before releasing it. This is an area I'd love to model someday but there's so much to it in a different way than those beautiful mountains and the Columbian Gorge. Speaking of which, I was wondering when someone would model that area. I have an old book I got for Christmas one year discussing the history of railroading in the Pacific Northwest and this was a big topic in the book.
 
JCitron said:
I agree, smooz and Fishlipsatwork did us a great favor. When Fishlipsatwork did his Providence, RI route he had me take a look at it before releasing it. This is an area I'd love to model someday but there's so much to it in a different way than those beautiful mountains and the Columbian Gorge. Speaking of which, I was wondering when someone would model that area. I have an old book I got for Christmas one year discussing the history of railroading in the Pacific Northwest and this was a big topic in the book.
Click to expand...
Since I live in Portland, Oregon not far from the Columbia River, I have often thought about modeling this area, with BNSF/Amtrak on the north shore and UP on the south. But since both railways only meet up in Vancouver WA and Portland, you have to include those cities. Both cities have Amtrak stations worthy of including. You need to include the Steel Bridge (it is on the DLS and is the only 2-level lift bridge which can lift independently in the world) so UP can cross the Willamette River, as well as the BNSF Bridge 5.1 (lift) crossing the Willamette as well as BNSF Bridge 9.6 (swing) across the Columbia. Regarding the Steel Bridge, it has Amtrak tracks on the lower level and MAX light rail on the upper level, so how much of MAX do you model? Now you might as well model UP's Albina Yard as well as the grain export terminal (on the DLS) and Toyota car import terminal since they are in the immediate area. The other big decision is to define how far east the route should go.

Anyone interested in old railway bridges should spend time on Wikipedia because each bridge I mention has its own page.

In my opinion it would take a lifetime to create a route to include all of this.
 
schweitzerdude said:
In my opinion it would take a lifetime to create a route to include all of this
Click to expand...
I understand! It'll probably take a lot longer than that with 20 new versions of Trainz in between. There are similar areas here on the east coast.

The other issue is file sizes and content. A route this complex and size can literally collapse and become unusable. I've had that occur on my own very large route, and ended up junking some chunks and rebuilding them over time. This route may be fictional but the same issues abound.

The other issue I ran into with this route and another mega-merger route is the sessions become so cumbersome that they no longer operate due to the scripting causing the AI to act up worse than normal.
 
One little bump for this, is there any way to get those DEM assets using CM instead of having to figure out doing FTP? I can't see any way to get them to show up in CM even though I remove the obsolete false and some of the other filters. I suppose I can find them in my trs2019 build folder, but I think I was using the UTC versions, and I wanted to use the TRS2004 versions in case there was any difference.
 
@Forester1
- Use the DLS website to find the KUID of the asset
- In CM create a custom filter "Asset KUID", and enter the KUID
- The asset should now be listed as "unknown location", but having the correct name and an upload date
- Start downloading the asset

Peter
 
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