Cambrian Re-think

blackfour · Post by **blackfour** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 9:05 pm

On the suggestion of Goingnorth i've decided to do a fictional GWR route first, as trackplans for the Cambrian are not forthcoming, also, i can't be arsed to do the stations, so unless someone does them, the route'll stay on the backburners, hopefully, once i've done this one, ytou'll sit up and realise that Blackfour is a force to be reckond with!

basildd · Post by **basildd** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:04 pm

So shouldn't your sig line say 'The mug who isn't building the Cambrian Coast Route'?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: basildd on 2002-06-10 23:04 ]</font>

eddief · Post by **eddief** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:33 pm

On 2002-06-10 23:04, basildd wrote:
So shouldn't your sig line say 'The mug who isn't building the Cambrian Coast Route'?

Well spotted Basil

eddief · Post by **eddief** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 10:34 pm

On 2002-06-10 23:33, eddief wrote:
On 2002-06-10 23:04, basildd wrote:
So shouldn't your sig line say 'The mug who isn't building the Cambrian Coast Route'?
Well spotted Basil, how about making a fictional Cambrian route instead, combining the atmosphere of the cambrian with a bit of freelance modelling?

saddletank · Post by **saddletank** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 1:17 am

There have been a number of cases of folks who have announced "I'm going to build so-and-so" then a few days later they change their mind.

Be aware that building a route that people will want to drive trains along time and time again is going to take a LOT of research, commitment, model building and skill. So if you decide that route building is for you then don't announce it will be ready by the end of 2 months time, and do choose a route you really really like and/or you know intimately and/or you can visit to take photos and get the feel for the place. IMHO there are already enough routes that are supposed to be a certain place and look/feel nothing like it.

Even a work of total fiction is going to take time, planning, work and consistency. A made up world has to look convincing and not look like a bunch of MSTS default models dropped on a flat green field with a few token hills thrown around.

I am not denigrating your efforts, but I am warning you that building a route that people will drive more than once, and more importantly will sustain your interest as you create it, is a long haul. If it starts to turn out that you really like what you are doing then keep at it. If it does not hold your interest as the builder of it then chances are it won't hold anybody else's interest either.

Timcourt1 · Post by **Timcourt1** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 1:35 am

Well said martin!

I agree wholeheartedly, just one point to add, you also need a bit of commitment since you will need to babysit the route for the first few weeks after publishing, Route building is quite a big commitment and its really not worth saying anything until you are at least a couple of months into building.

Takes me a week to do 10 miles of buildings and trees - not including terraforming roads and track plus signals and markers, this should give you some idea on time scales (although I am always late with my release!)

CaldRail · Post by **CaldRail** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 4:59 am

Again I have to agree. I worked on a fictional US route for six months before I started building models. Nearly finished it but the darn thing corrupted on me (after I had announced an imminent release too! You won't believe how embarrassing that is

) Route building is a major project. That US route would been ok back then but not by the standards we have now. If I ever break out the RE again Lake Milconsin will have to start at square one. I will need to study US rail maps, films, documentaries, back issues of railroad magazines/National Geograhics etc. Thats before I plonk any rails down. And its only a fictional route....

blackfour · Post by **blackfour** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 6:52 am

Yeah, it'll take me a while even to do this, and after that i may do a real route...not the Cambrian tho' as i'm no-where near that, so that'll have to wait...Don't worry people, after these exams i've got three months of nothingness, so it'll give me something to do...

qzdcg8 · Post by **qzdcg8** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 7:01 am

I agree with Tim & Martin - Route Building is a long term effort - it takes care and planning, some investment and a will to get the pig finished... Woodhead has been living on my hard disk in an ever growing (or should that be mutating) form now for 8 months...

Steve N

eddief · Post by **eddief** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 10:15 am

Well I have not tried route building, (I prefer loco building) but I've seen how much effort it takes to build 1.

One thing I would suggest, have a mess around with it and try various things. Its not a model railway where you have to plan carfully where everything will go (and even then it gets changed), its a computer railway and you can alter things easily.

kyle14uk · Post by **kyle14uk** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 5:42 pm

On 2002-06-11 02:17, saddletank wrote:
There have been a number of cases of folks who have announced "I'm going to build so-and-so" then a few days later they change their mind.

Thats Me!

I am building the North Wales Coast Route now and this one is definate as I have plans, pics and other stuff. I have decided not to give a release date .Every time I have done this it has not worked out but now I have proper research I am going to have a good go on this one.

pmorgancym · Post by **pmorgancym** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 5:51 pm

I wonder if the old hands here, could contibute to a "101 things you need to start a route", I've been considering crearing a fictional route for several weeks now but havn't gone so far as selecting a tile, as I still don't think I've got enough "real world infromation", saying that I've always been the same with model railways too.

MartinH · Post by **MartinH** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 6:00 pm

Blackfour

When you've had some route building experience and want a go at the Cambrian, let me know. I can't promise anything as I'm very busy, but I do know that line very well and would like to see it modelled (I could probably model many of the stations from memory, at least as they were in the 80s). I have intentions to build another line in that part of Wales (a closed one), but have deliberately kept quiet because I know that I won't be able to start until the Autumn.

Martin

blackfour · Post by **blackfour** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 6:44 pm

Righto, i will. Btw, i think i'll be doing Doncaster-Sheffield after this fictional one, no plans as yet, but i live right next to it so i know the trackplan pretty well, and photos shouldn't be that hard...So the Cambrian is on hold, maybe even stopped altogether if 3DTS bring one out.

ianm42 · Post by **ianm42** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 8:03 pm

So Tim, it takes you a week to do ten miles? Well, the Watercress Line is ten miles long, can I have it next Tuesday please?

(I've been working up to doing this line for 12 months and even went to the trouble of building a real model of part of the line to 2mm/ft scale some time ago as preparation for the Sim version)