Atomic Systems

I have started to create a new route callled "The Waterford Main line", which is an entirely fictional route. This route will be able to run ALL of your OHLE stock, which means if you have spares hanging around then this would be the route to use them. Waterford is the fictional replica for London. I have some of the map drawn, but I'm having trouble laying the track in route editor, I try to get the points facing the right way, but they go back to the default angle as soon as they join! What would you suggest for laying track with the least hassle as possible? I will be looking for helpers to lay scenery, but firstly I need to get the trackwork done (It uses UK Finescale)

Harry

This route will be able to run ALL of your OHLE stock

Bet you can't have a 76 and an 86 on it at the same time.

Dave

hertford wrote:I try to get the points facing the right way, but they go back to the default angle as soon as they join!

Press 'T' once they connect, this cycles through the different ways the section of track can be connected to the previous piece of track.

I had this trouble when I started creating my test route (Or NNR layout with no scenery in other words), it was puzzling me for a while, then I got frustrated and dicided to read the Help system, thats how I found out I was doing it wrong!

Cheers! It works well! Although it does come up with a little error message for a left-hand point saying "Point to point connection is invalid" or something like that.
And this route WILL be long enough to run a Class 86 on it, or even a Class 91!

And this route WILL be long enough to run a Class 86 on it, or even a Class 91!

Doubt you could run a 76 and an 86 at the same time though

You cant lay points face to face, you need a short piece of track between them

Don

rwaceyw wrote:

And this route WILL be long enough to run a Class 86 on it, or even a Class 91!

Doubt you could run a 76 and an 86 at the same time though

Oh! You mean by dating upon which the route is based! Well, Post-British Rail stock would work the best, but I'm sure an activity involving pre-privatization stock would work too. You could even mix the two together.

I think the point is that a Class 76 ran on 1500V DC overhead rather than 25kV - I don't think that will make much difference to MSTS, will it?

Well MSTS lets you run DC locos on AC track, so I hardly think a change in AC current will stop your 76s from working on the 25kv current

Ok, so I've started laying Signals in the Waterford Terminus area. (I'm using UKTS_10451_BR(E)_Colour_Light_Signals) and it says that they need to be linked. What do they need to be linked to? (This is my first attempt at actually building a route that's gone this far in progress)
Also, I would like an easy suggestion on how to rotate objects without tilting them. I would greatly appreciate it.

Hold the control key down whilst rotating them. Same goes for moving them without raising and lowering them.

Cheers, worked a treat! I have now got the triangular line to Waterford Queergate from Broxtown to the North and from Waterford Mill Road (The Main Terminus) to the South. The line is also partly scenerized, most of the platforms are laid along the route and the signal-placing along the triangular line is nearly done. (All that done in one week!)

Ok, I have the entire southern section of trackwork laid now, and just working on another branch line further north. I just have to fully scenerize it now. Also, how do you add water to the route??? I do wish to have a few rivers/streams along the route.

Advice to MSTS route building "nuggets"...

It's not a good idea to place any interactive features including signals (and especially linked signals) until you have laid all your track, roads and just about everything else.

In the event of the tdb falling over it will be extremely difficult to do a successful rebuild - best case scenario you will be left with a host of "end on end" vector errors, worst case an unusable route.

Leave anything like signals, platform markers, level crossing gates etc. until absolutely everything else is done -- including any terraforming, terrtex application and scenery item placement.

hertford wrote:Also, how do you add water to the route? I do wish to have a few rivers/streams along the route.

Basically, there's three ways to add water depending on your needs:

The main and easiest way is to dig the riverbed, switch to the mode you use for altering the terrain textures (can never remember it's name or shortcut, only what you need it for - sorry I can't be more specific here), select one of the sub-tiles, right click and 'set tile water height' for the tile the water's going on. Then select the sub-tiles where the land goes under water level, right click them and 'toggle water'. This method is fine for rivers, lakes and seas. It works for streams too, but because they have shallow banks and aren't very wide, you have to sink each of the ground points individually and make sure there's no bits of the surrounding terrain that has the water turned on below water level that shouldn't be.

The second way is fairly useful for streams and can be made to look very effective if done well. It requires using transfers of stream textures, with suitable alpha channels, to lay what looks like a stream just on the surface of the terrain. With this and making streams by the method above, I'd suggest using some vegitation or small rockforms to tidy up the appearance, particularly where they run close to the track.

The final method only really applies in a few rare situations, including when there's a dam or weir that isn't on a tile boundry, there's 2 different levels of water on the same tile or where there's water above the surrounding terrain, such as aqueducts. The only way to do this is to make your own water shape as a scenery item and lay it, piece by piece, by hand in the RE.