Rollins Pass and 2004 - 2006

I found out about a wonderful Tranz Payware Route, the 1915 2004 Trainz version Rolllins Pass route which looks great.
Rollins pass looks great We have decided to research the route and see if it is possible to enhance and correct some of the areas of it that were not as fully accurate as could be done. This is a private project not for sharing but to see if it can be done and it is my hope to share the results with the original creators of it which I understand are from Italy and have done a number of fine route. We will see how it goes.

I have edited this first post to make it clear what our and my intentions were from the first contact with this route. I hope it can be expanded and improved as it is but that will be up to the creators once we have done enough research and work to see it is possible. I was able to buy a copy of it myself from a friend, but as it is payware no changes can be shared. In time we hope to create new assets, buildings, from the towns and from the RR itself but doing the research to find out what they looked like and where they were will take a lot of time.

Original Post:

A buddy of mine has shared the Rolllins Pass route which looks great. It was made for 2004 but i could not find a new copy of that for sale so i had to get 2006. Does anyone know if Rollins Pass will run on 2006 or if there is a problem that needs to be updated? I tried instaling the CDP files, and they went in ok, content manager updated...but i didnt see the route on the list of routes. My friend suggested i delete some of the "chump" files...but i didnt see anyting called chump ...he said they were the .ja files. But i may have deleted the wrong files so i am re installing and trying again and though i would ask here for advice. thanks.

he suggested removing the third party and the trains ones or the stuff would not show up but that may have been incorrect. I am a complete noob here so welcome help and advice. ( i have worked with MSTS and RW for years but new to Trainz) I removed the third party chump from the Wold Folder since that was the only one i could find but then some of the default rolling stock disappered from the viewer so i knew i was in trouble. So a re install was in order.

Rollins pass looks great and is just the sort of early 1900s route i hope to work on ..

Click to expand...

when i first started looking at Trainz in general and this route in particular, the home site for TrainzItalia was not in operation, i see they are up again and hope to be in contact with them when things have developed further. Their other routes and work look very interesting.

this thread is about a personal project to look into the possiblity of updating and enhancing a Payware Route called Rollins Pass 1915 and a cojunct version in the Winter. It was created by TrainzItalia and has undergone several revisions and new release formats. The original was created for 2004 and while it works well on TANE does not work well on the in between Trainz versions.

The home site for the creators is:
http://www.trainzitalia.com/

crisger said:

A buddy of mine has shared the Rolllins Pass route which looks great. It was made for 2004 but i could not find a new copy of that for sale so i had to get 2006. Does anyone know if Rollins Pass will run on 2006 or if there is a problem that needs to be updated? I tried instaling the CDP files, and they went in ok, content manager updated...but i didnt see the route on the list of routes. My friend suggested i delete some of the "chump" files...but i didnt see anyting called chump ...he said they were the .ja files. But i may have deleted the wrong files so i am re installing and trying again and though i would ask here for advice. thanks.

he suggested removing the third party and the trains ones or the stuff would not show up but that may have been incorrect. I am a complete noob here so welcome help and advice. ( i have worked with MSTS and RW for years but new to Trainz) I removed the third party chump from the Wold Folder since that was the only one i could find but then some of the default rolling stock disappered from the viewer so i knew i was in trouble. So a re install was in order.

Rollins pass looks great and is just the sort of early 1900s route i hope to work on ..

Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

The route should install on TRS2006 with errors in some cases as the content is older and needs to be updated. In TRS2006 you need to use Content Manager Plus (CMP for short) to repair and update content, as well as commit the content should it be open which happens when it is imported on occasion. There are no CHUMP files to be removed as in TRS2004 since the data is now handled by CMP instead.

So from the Launcher, click on Manage Content. CMP will start up and display your installed items. I'm sure you discovered this already, but I need to mention it so others who search the forums may find this useful.
Once CMP loads up, I suggest checking for assets that are open for edit. There should be a filter (tab) already setup for this. Click on that and let it load. If there is nothing, then you are all set here. If there is stuff, you need to commit the content in order for the items to appear in the game so highlight the content - click one item and press CTRL+A to select all. With everything selected, press CTRL+M to commit. This may take some time to commit items if there's a lot of them.

Now I'd check to see if the route has faulty items. This will definitely a show stopper and will keep the route from loading up in Surveyor, or Driver and needs to be remedied before doing anything else. Click on Search on the left side and setup a filter for installed and faulty. There may already be a filter (tab) setup for that, but I can't recall because it's been quite some time since I used TRS2006. Once the assets load, if there are any and I'm sure there are some faulty ones, they need to be repaired. Click on each asset, one at a time, and then right-click and view errors and warnings. This maybe a show stopper now for you as it can take time to repair the assets. You can ignore warnings, but the errors need to be repaired in order for the route to load properly, especially with the route file its self. So having said this, post up any errors you have and we can assist you with the repairs. Check the various sub-forums here for repairing assets. Even though the information maybe aimed at TRS2010 for example, it's still pertinent for TRS2006.

Keep in mind that TRS2006 is no longer supported and it maybe difficult downloading assets for it from the DLS as it is. Once you have TS12 installed and operational, I suggest you get a First Class Ticket (if you haven't already), and enable it. They are about $22 per year and are worth more than their cost many, many times over. This will allow you to still download TRS2006 assets for missing dependencies, as well as new stuff into TS12 with no download limits on speed or quantity. Without the ticket, you are limited to 100MB per day and at less than optimal speeds on a very busy server.

The other question now comes up I'm sure. Will the route work in TS12? Probably. Stuff that works in previous versions has a 90% success rate. This might be your better option since assets have also been updated so there are fewer errors on the dependencies which you need to search for anyway. If there are errors, however, they will still need to be repaired.

John

wow ok John thanks so much for taking the time to show me the steps to take...

my friend sent me pics of the route, it was made by someone in Italy it looks like. Rollins Pass 1915. I will go thru the assets as you suggest and see what may need to be fixed. It is well worth the effort to update it as it is a superb piece of period work and may be my entry effort to contribute and a learning curve chance to learn the new methods here. thanks again! And yes i have a first class ticket just haent enabled it yet as this month i have to move living accomodations and do some much overdue work work, so may have to wait a bit on this but i had just wanted to ask and you really helped explain what needs to be done which is exactly what i needed thanks.

A view of the route fyi.



when i installed the route itself in 2006 there was only 1 error

when i tried to install the objects i got 264, but was not sure what that meant. So sounds like the basic route is ok but the object library will need work. Some nice things too, period buildings, RR line structures and even horse and wagon figure with sound effects will be fun when i can get to it. and will be a good chance to train on the methods here.







whoever made this route really knew what they were doing. textures are very well done. As is the vegetation and the object placement. One of the nicest from that period I have seen in any sim.

Chris

Ok... If it was made by someone in Italy, I will make an assumption, which is something I don't always make.

Contact TrainzItalia. They maybe able to help you. You need to login to their forum here:

http://www.trainzitalia.com/forum/

You may also try contacting user Pendolino here via PM as he may be able to direct you in the proper direction to get your route in working order.

I agree it does look like a nice route.

John

Thanks John, i was guessing ..as many of the assets have italian names almost all of them in fact. So that may be a good path for help. thanks a lot for all of the advice. much appreciated.

Chris

My friend who told me about this route is working on adding objects and detail to it here are some of his improvements to the town of Fraser...adding detail and people...

Yes, Rollins Pass was a Trainzitalia production. I have no idea if they've re-uploaded it on their new site (They literally just got a new site put together after their old one has been down for awhile).

It is a very nice route. If you're looking for more NG Items for it (It is NG IIRC), look up Author Slugsmasher. Theres another one who's name eludes me atm who did most of the RGS Mikados for TRS;04/06 which were some of the best steam locomotives for either sim, but they haven't been publicly updated for 2012 yet.

Found the link for San Juan Trainz here:
http://steammachine.com/prowler/
He's the one that did all the Mikados.

Also Look up the Cowboy who did a bunch of the Assets that Trainz Italia used to make Rollins. There are a few others.

Unfortunately, unlike Elvas Tower, The Narrow Guagers have mostly deserted Trains for a variety of Reasons, mostly real life conflicts. I see Slugsmasher update his stuff about once or twice a year, and he does seem to be making progress on a California Logging NG line from around the turn of the 20th century (He even released a 1 Baseboard Demo of it), but /shrug.

Good Luck,
Falcus

HI and thanks so much, so my guess was right about the Italian connection. cool and thanks so much for the info and the suggestions, i did find that site with the wonderful engines, Sub Par Productions, i wrote to him but havent had a reply yet. I am sorry NG guys didnt want to work with Trainz i work with a lot of differnt sims and am just happy to find routes and content that is great no matter what sim it is for...and hope to continue with that approach as I see wonderful work going on here. Thanks again for all of that info. really helps.!!

crisger said:

HI and thanks so much, so my guess was right about the Italian connection. cool and thanks so much for the info and the suggestions, i did find that site with the wonderful engines, Sub Par Productions, i wrote to him but havent had a reply yet. I am sorry NG guys didnt want to work with Trainz i work with a lot of differnt sims and am just happy to find routes and content that is great no matter what sim it is for...and hope to continue with that approach as I see wonderful work going on here. Thanks again for all of that info. really helps.!!

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I'm glad you're getting this stuff straightened out. bdneal Ben Neal comes here on the forums as well and his stuff is being updated. Also check out the rolling stock by Narrow Gauge. Peter has made some truly nice 2-footers.

John

Bdaneal is still pretty active. All his stuff is Standard Gauge though. The site I linked has the Narrow Gauge DRGW/RGS Mikados on it. I think the fellow's name was "Prowler", but not sure.

Falcus

OK both will be helpful, as the route I am studying is SG i believe but NG is great to have too, as I am interested in doing some of the Colorado narrow gauge lines such as the one that ran from Chama to Pagosa Junction and from there to Pagosa Springs where I am, the local logging lines for the Sullenburger Mills (which was the largest active mill in Colorado at the time)...and the three lines that ran to Silverton in addition to the NG route to Durango.

Just wanted to do a quick update, have continued working on this route and resources for it, has taken literally many months to gain access to and develop understanding of the history, details of each car, engine, RR operations for both the Denver Northwestern and Pacific and also the successor Denver and Salt Lake, and all of the details of the landscape, towns, stations, depots, and the like. I have had to continue to learn and develop my skills in modelling as well and we now have a team working on this together including a mining engineer who is expert in the RR history and also engine specs and details, and an architectural engineer who is helping with both the rolling stock, being also expert in the history and one who has and knows and loves this route here in Trainz and also is working to make structures.

We found tho the route is very good, many of the structures included are only approximate and many not accurate at all in terms of their details and location, and many important features were left out. The snow sheds in Coroana were much more extensive, and we hope to add both Rolllinsville and extend the line to Tabernash and maybe eventually to Craig so we can include the coal fields. That will all require much work, so we started with both making the structures and the rolling stock and are starting work on the engines. We have a rotary snow plow and plan to make all of the other equipment but now have box cars, ore cars, flat cars and cabooses and all of the first St. Charles Car Company Passenger coaches and parlor cars and combines created and in conjunction with wonderful help from experts in the rote from the historical societies and relevant libraries and collections have gathered all of the needed plans, plats, photos and maps to do the work. Now will just take time.

here are a few samples of the work achieved so far, and I stress that any thing released will be on its own merits and the route itself remains under the rights of the orignal makers, it is not available currently but it is our hope once we get our work done making assets and resources we can pass all of that on to them and they may consider placing the updated route on the market again. That is our hope, and in the mean time we are making our own version in MSTS Open rails and doing a lot of the devleopment work in that environment. Trainz has its own unique qualities that I have come to appreciate and I would hope our final work for Trainz would be compatable with at least Trainz 2010 and hopefully more recent versions as well. The work on these is by our team, each doing what we can to contribute as it is a large and demanding project...and we hope to help preserve and restore the history of this remarkale route. As compatable stock is found for Trainz I approach makers for permissoin to repaint, and or shape files to work with to convert as it is our hope for as near complete accuracy as possible and generous sharing has allowed us to get this far.

I do appreciate all of the generous help given here already and members have shared shape files for some rolling stock in Trainz format that is allowing us to make trainz rolling stock that will be as accurate as records and skills can make them.

cheers

Arrow Hotel

Chris



Fraser Depot 1910






New England Kitchen, Arrow snow version



DNWP Parlor Car No. 800



Passenger car set



3000 Series DNWP Gondola



Gondola Set



1001 Sereis Cabooses

A few more

5000 series box car (they had 6 truss rods!)



4-6-0 No. 300 - 303

TrainzItalia needs to bring this route back.

With a little work it looks great in T:ANE:







Just needs a few trees replaced.

Harold

Harold that looks great i didnt know it worked in the new version. that is very hopeful. Did you have to convert files or change any of the textures? it looks like you may have added some horses to Tolland and some other touches. Very nice indeed thanks for sharing those pictures. It is my hope that they will consider re releasing it once we get our historical work done. IF you would like any of the buildings I have finished I will be happy to send them to you, PM me. thanks.

Very nice work, Chris. I look forward to seeing the route when it's completed/updated. The new content is really, really nice.

Regarding terrain... You might want to invest in TransDEM by Ziegler Tools. The program is about $35 US or so.

http://www.rolandziegler.de/StreckeUndLandschaft/startseiteTransDEMEngl.htm

You can download the DEM and then place historical topographic maps right in place on top of the height information with the exported files complete and ready in Trainz Route format. This will save you a ton of time when it comes to track laying and building placement as the topographic maps are quite accurate. This will also give you fairly close grade and height information. On a route I've been working on, the difference in some places is perhaps only 1 to 3 meters, which is nothing, and is more related to the resolution of the mesh than the information picked up from satellite.

John

Hi John, thanks a lot yes i have been thinking that might help but it helps to know exactly what it is called, DEM has been importable to MSTS which i started with but it does not come in completely squared off so there is a skew. Glad that this is possible in Trainz that is a big big help! thanks again.

The original standard gauge Rollins Pass 1915 comes in to the game with only one change.

The "yellow grass" needs the .texture changed to a .tga.





Needs better track and switchstands.

Harold

crisger said:

Hi John, thanks a lot yes i have been thinking that might help but it helps to know exactly what it is called, DEM has been importable to MSTS which i started with but it does not come in completely squared off so there is a skew. Glad that this is possible in Trainz that is a big big help! thanks again.

Click to expand...

This will definitely help. The maps will never come in squared off as they are done by UTM coordinates based on a projection. You can download the map quads from the historical map database. I can provide the links to you when the time comes, which will be skewed to the proper angle based on how they are in relation to the N-S alignment. It's more difficult to explain than it is to see in action. The maps however, will match up to one another, and the place textures and final DEM can be trimmed square if that's what you want within TransDEM and of course in Trainz.

Glad to be of help.

John

wow thank you Harold, great to know. that looks really really good. I will have new buildilngs for Tolland including all of the actual stores and the houses behind them there were some side streets too which we have figured out and also an ice house that goes by Park Lake, that lake by the Y. Will have all of that for you if you like soon.

John thank you very much, that will be very helpful.