So that's it I'm in. Before I go any further I must commend Geoff for putting together this challenge and say what a great idea it is as it will no doubt give railworks users some great little routes to play around on thus generating interest in the program. My other reason for thanking Geoff is that's it's given me the motivation to get off my duff and put the past year and a half aside and start being involved in train-simulations again.
I'd forgotten how much satisfaction I get out of these programs and route building till I read Geoff's post and decided it was time to take a closer look at RW and learn a little more about it. As such I've spent the last couple of weeks delving into content creation and and route building in order too see exactly what RW can do and for the most part I'm impressed. On the weekend I started a Micro route as a test bed and am including some pictures below. The micro route was essentially a test bed for the challenge so I could try out various methods of doing things before starting the challenge on Friday night.
http://www.tracksideproductions.com/images/station.jpg
http://www.tracksideproductions.com/images/yard.jpg
http://www.tracksideproductions.com/images/fields.jpg
http://www.tracksideproductions.com/images/2ndyard.jpg
The micro route basically uses the same rules as the route that I'm going to enter in the challenge. So here it is, the Challenge Route Proposal;
The Churchwood and Midland Line
The route will be a fictional one set in the years following the creation of British Rail and will run from the former GWR town of Churchwood to the former LMS town of Midland Junction. The length of the route has yet to be determined but I'm going to aim for 8-10 miles between the two stations so that passenger trains will be able to get up a decent amount of speed.
The route will use STRM data which should help create a realistic looking counrty side and will also mean the track gradients will vary. This should also allow for some nice rolling counrtyside. The track between the two main stations will be double tracked and there will be a spur leading to an old coal mine. There will be a main yard at the terminus which will allow for a variety of activities including fueling and shunting. The yard at the other main station will smaller, but will also have a turntable, fuel point and coaling point.
The mainline will be double tracked and as the route will be set in the early BR era will have semaphore signals and other scenery items set around the time period. (1950's to 1960's) I'm hoping that by doing this the route will swing both ways and allow it to be used by both steam and diesel fans.
The premise of the route (history) is going to be that the town of Midland Junction was an old Midland/LMS town several miles from the GWR town of Churchwood, however as the size and importance of Midland Junction grew so did the GWR's desire to expand into the town. After several years of failed attempts by the GWR to expand into the town and build it's own station, an Act of Parliment forced the Midland Railway and GWR to share the existing terminus and freight yard. As the town grew so did it's importance and traffic volumes for both railways.
More to come,
Cheers,
James.
(years of Tele have ruined my imagination.)
