Birmingham Area

[dean1986]

Gobsmacked by these pictures some of them look real.

Amazing

Dean

[gypbrc]

Most impressive and very recognisable! I'm very familiar with this part if the world and you have done a superb job with the scenery.

As for the signalling, the dispatcher handles calling on by using Tab. So you would have to tab past any signal in rear of a section occupied by a train. The modern signals you are using suffix the name in the editor with C for these signals. Or the ground shunt signals can be used.

[firstborn]

Whoa

Another absolutely incredible looking route... This is absolutely fantastic

I've no idea why... but i'm particularly impressed with you weed work on the old tracks

[fakenham1]

Dean, Firstborn and Gypbrc - thanks for you kind comments. Certainly keeps my motivation going.

Gypbrc, thanks for your reply - I was hoping there's some way of getting that subsid signal to light up when cleared into a yard without having to tab past.

Here are a few more screenshots. The first few are from Four Ashes Rd bridge, north of Dorridge..

Looking south - signal controlling entry into Dorridge


And north



View of Widney Manor station..


Next a shot of where the line crosses the M42 - Widney Manor and golf course in distance


Cheers. I'll try and get a few detailed shots of the Birmingham end up soon.

[fakenham1]

Hi again,

As promised, a couple of the Birmingham end- more specifically New St. I've been experimenting with track/rail textures to try and get a more grimy feel of the station. This place is very much a wip - quite a lot to sort out, especially the OHLE and reskinning of buildings etc. By the way, a big thanks to all those who take the time to make these incredible assets and upload them for all to use - v much appreciated.




And lastly a map of New St.



More to come soon..
Cheers

[fakenham1]

A bit more work around the station throat (east-bns) , detailing with point motors etc etc..maybe need to darken that rail a tad..

[Silverstar46]

I must add to the complements already posted, the screenshots of the route look photo realistic and have a real wow factor. Thanks so much for creating this route, I look forward to seeing more screenshots as you progress.

[davidlewis]

I echo what everyone else has said so far, wow!

You have a clear talent at route building and thank you very much for sharing these WIP images with us all, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is looking forward to the release of this route.

Regarding the Birmingham end of the route, I read that you was including Lawley Street FLT (great idea, may I add!) but I was wondering if you would be adding the various yards/Met Cam works at Washwood Heath to give a little more operational possibilities for freight workings?

Regards,
Tom

[RobertM]

Now were getting to the best bit.

What commercial routes/assets are you using? As NS looks like it is ripe for the new OHEL tool used in ECMLS & GEML

[gypbrc]

Yes good work on BHM there. Personally I would opt for the catenary from ECML rather than GEML since it includes by default a specific under bridge support which would prove useful for New Street. But I don't know if that's practical given your route requirements.

I don't know how adept at modelling you are but there are plenty of free models of the nearby landmark buildings to load into Sketchup which could then be exported into game. I'm thinking Rotunda and Selfridges Bull Ring in particular here. Are you modelling pre-refurb New Street?

Just going back to the question of superelevation I asked earlier. I know you're using a route default track type and possibly track rule but have you laid the track using easements? I'm looking at that shot of Warwick Parkway where the cant is very noticeable IRL but less so in the screenshot.

[skoda]

New street looks superb , nice and dark
The screenshots highlight the one downfall to having properly rendered points in that you cannot currently mix rusty track with clean , so it's impossible to have a rusty section start at the blades

The catenary tool is currently broken in the ECML and GEML routes , the catenary wire renders at the correct height but the masts are too high with the concrete bases floating off the ground !
It will be interesting to see if it gets fixed for the new Manchester to Liverpool route or whether they just produce a new set of catenary parts (comments in other threads on here suggest new build catenary systems built since the problem surfaced work fine) ?

[fakenham1]

Thanks again all for the kind comments.

Davidlewis, yes I do plan to model Washwood Heath etc - also plan to extend to Daw Mill. I'm finding it a bit more difficult to find cabrides etc on youtube for that section (modern, with the new signalling), unlike Snow Hill to Banbury where there are some excellent ones.

RobertM, yes I'm using those routes you mentioned but OHLE isn't my forte, so I've got a bit of learning to do regarding that area. I'm having a good look at cab rides on youtube to try and copy the overheads as best as I can.

Gypbrc, regarding modelling, I haven't much of clue - all I can do at the moment is reskin unfortunately. Maybe in the future I could have a go. Regarding the superelevation, unfortunately I had trouble with easements therefore I gave up and laid the track normally. I must admit I became a bit impatient as I wanted to get on with scenery placement. Hope it doesn't disappoint too much. However I do plan to give it another go when I extend the route. Maybe on the bits like Warwick Parkway where it is obvious I can re-lay the track a have another stab at it.
Regarding New Street - pre refurb.

Skoda, yep that junction scenario you described is annoying. I do plan to blend the tracks later, but I'm leaving it for the moment as It seems you can't de-blend or lay new track over the blend if you change you mind.

Just one shot before I go - of the approach into New Street from the east. As you can see, I've got a bit of learning/sorting out re. the OHLE!



Cheers

[fakenham1]

Hi again,

Just a quick shot of some track and ballast blending experiments - this time with a view beneath Saltley Viaduct looking towards Lawley St.
I think I'm starting to get a bit of an unhealthy obsession with this blending malarky! - but I think I'm getting there. I'm starting to use bits of those gravel trails in the old Kuju folder and reskinning them into different shades of grey. Next aim is to make a procedural loft of these things - hopefully it's quite straightforward to do that?



Cheers

[deltic009]

The work you are puttin in you are certainly getting back in results. That shot from Saltley viaduct is superb, more than just capturing the essence of the route. you are approaching comparison with photographs now and even putting Google Streetview to shame.

[fakenham1]

Many thanks Deltic009.

A couple more of the Saltley area-the first looking towards Saltley..


The second looking towards Washwood Heath ..


Quite time consuming this track/ballast blending. If only we could just paint the terrain with a high res finer paintbrush...

Cheers guys