steamboateng
New member
Building the NE Mass Route – page 8
Real Earth, Google Earth and Trainz Earth
As I noted several times in previous blogs, I am building this route from TransDEM generated baseboards. TransDEM is a very fine program and its contribution to Trainz route building should not be underestimated. However the program is only as good as the data input to it. Therein lies the rub with a few frustrated Trainzers. The NED data (National Elevation Database) fed to it has a 3 arc-sec resolution. This transposes to about 10 meters or 30 feet in real life. That's ok, if your modeling mountains, but not so much if your modeling the New England coastal plain. Smaller terrain undulations as well as cuts and fills don't show up well. I have to refer to USGS contour maps to define these areas. But contour maps alone can be confusing. Enter the digital age and the star of today's show, GoogleEarth.
Public satellite imagery has come a long way since Google Earth was first introduced. Fuzzy images have given way a sharpness and clarity which only the CIA boasted of, 15 years ago.
GoogleEarth images, viewed from the proper angle, give up the lay of the land in a way no visualization of contour maps can; a Godsend to usTrainz inspired lay geographers and cartographers!
I use Google Earth extensively to define terrain features. It has allowed me to define the differences between coastal, man made breakwaters and rock formations. I was able to model, with some accuracy the long abandoned Rockport quarries, north of the town, as well as locate and place the quarry built road bridge, beneath which its 2 foot narrow gauge track ran to the piers which shipped the quarried stone world wide. Track roadbed cuts and fills can be easily determined along with automobile roadway details. Marshland is well defined as well as stony crests and outcrops. Viewing the satellite imagery from various angles can help determine the slopes of hills, beaches, and cuts.
Much can be garnered from the imagery. Any serious (?) route builder, whether building to prototype or from imagination can gain a more realistic appreciation of the geography in the area being modeled. Applying geographic details from the imagery will go far to enhance a route.
GoogleEarth even allows one to drive along roadways, at street level. From here, more detail can be observed regarding local vegetation, architecture, and infrastructure ( electrical lines, street lighting,etc).
There is a small drawback however, and that is the imagery color. Modern photography, even with expensive equipment, still relies on an approximated algorithm to mirror human vision. Photos taken from several miles into the sky are subject to more error due to atmospheric distortions. I don't use Google Earth imagery for groundcover. Some Trainzers do, I know. Its an easy way to landscape a route quickly, especially distant terrain. But I believe a more realistic and detailed ground cover is provided in the Trainz painting tools; especially closer to the route right-of-way.
From my point of view, the combination of contour maps and Google Earth imagery are invaluable tools for route creation. Of course, actually walking the ground helps a lot too.
Thanks again for spending a few minutes with my silly-ass ramblings, self conscious expositions and mystic allusions. Until next time.........
mbk;3-30-12
Sorry,no screenies today; work in progress!
Real Earth, Google Earth and Trainz Earth
As I noted several times in previous blogs, I am building this route from TransDEM generated baseboards. TransDEM is a very fine program and its contribution to Trainz route building should not be underestimated. However the program is only as good as the data input to it. Therein lies the rub with a few frustrated Trainzers. The NED data (National Elevation Database) fed to it has a 3 arc-sec resolution. This transposes to about 10 meters or 30 feet in real life. That's ok, if your modeling mountains, but not so much if your modeling the New England coastal plain. Smaller terrain undulations as well as cuts and fills don't show up well. I have to refer to USGS contour maps to define these areas. But contour maps alone can be confusing. Enter the digital age and the star of today's show, GoogleEarth.
Public satellite imagery has come a long way since Google Earth was first introduced. Fuzzy images have given way a sharpness and clarity which only the CIA boasted of, 15 years ago.
GoogleEarth images, viewed from the proper angle, give up the lay of the land in a way no visualization of contour maps can; a Godsend to usTrainz inspired lay geographers and cartographers!
I use Google Earth extensively to define terrain features. It has allowed me to define the differences between coastal, man made breakwaters and rock formations. I was able to model, with some accuracy the long abandoned Rockport quarries, north of the town, as well as locate and place the quarry built road bridge, beneath which its 2 foot narrow gauge track ran to the piers which shipped the quarried stone world wide. Track roadbed cuts and fills can be easily determined along with automobile roadway details. Marshland is well defined as well as stony crests and outcrops. Viewing the satellite imagery from various angles can help determine the slopes of hills, beaches, and cuts.
Much can be garnered from the imagery. Any serious (?) route builder, whether building to prototype or from imagination can gain a more realistic appreciation of the geography in the area being modeled. Applying geographic details from the imagery will go far to enhance a route.
GoogleEarth even allows one to drive along roadways, at street level. From here, more detail can be observed regarding local vegetation, architecture, and infrastructure ( electrical lines, street lighting,etc).
There is a small drawback however, and that is the imagery color. Modern photography, even with expensive equipment, still relies on an approximated algorithm to mirror human vision. Photos taken from several miles into the sky are subject to more error due to atmospheric distortions. I don't use Google Earth imagery for groundcover. Some Trainzers do, I know. Its an easy way to landscape a route quickly, especially distant terrain. But I believe a more realistic and detailed ground cover is provided in the Trainz painting tools; especially closer to the route right-of-way.
From my point of view, the combination of contour maps and Google Earth imagery are invaluable tools for route creation. Of course, actually walking the ground helps a lot too.
Thanks again for spending a few minutes with my silly-ass ramblings, self conscious expositions and mystic allusions. Until next time.........
mbk;3-30-12
Sorry,no screenies today; work in progress!