Locomotion goes through Marias Pass

[Joputivo]

Merry christmas for everyone! This is a idea i've in my head since first time i play US Megapack. i tried to convert some maps but failed to catch the feeling of Marias Pass like on MSTS. Joining my work and my family i dont have too much free time to play locomotion but sure i've is patience, so in a long road travel last weekend i matured the idea and establish main frame. it'll be route map like cajon or kicking horse maps of BB. Running from Whitefish to Shelby with local connection to Kalispell and passing through cutbank , blackfoot, glacier park, summint, ja, essex, some i missed now. Dont want to make a map too high or low, i want 5 echelons of height from Whitefish and 7 from Shelby. Im not from the town but sure will cross the summint with goods (intermodal and manifest), coal and woods. Of course the Empire Builder.

Im order to make this true i need a bit of help. i need a basis map to star building the landscape. Tracks diagrams to place correct towns and level crossings, local industries with sidings (eyecandy things). I thing if the creator of warehouses from container mod can remake it to accep everything and produce goods a or b in order to not fullfill the map with 16 diferent industries. And for ending, will ne great if someone pleases to make a industry working as dopler with passenger with the shape of withefish station or essex or something like plastikman's barstow building but in industry way.

Im writing from a smartphone so as soon i returned to home i will start with this!

[Joputivo]

Well, starting up... By the time i´ve the path done and the towns and sidings included. They will be:

- Shelby (town + Industries)
- Cutbank (town + grain elevator)
- Fort Browning (town)
- Glacier Park (town)
- Of course the Summint (sidings)
- Exxe´s Pits and old Walton Place (sidings + platform)
- Red Eagle (sidings)
- Belton (sidings + platform)
- Conkelley (IND)
- Columbia Falls (IND)
- Whitefish (town + IND)
- Kalispell (only few start miles) (IND)

When i´ve something coul be named "screenshot" I´ll post it

[lego_trains]

Sounds good!

If you need anything let me know.

[Joputivo]

Well the track laying a the elevation up an down the pass are done but in a flat map, so there no mountains/valleys and rivers. How will i do them? did you make cajon, kicking horse, etc by hand or with greyscale based maps. By the way, Im using a heavily modified version of MRL map for test bed. We have only 5 types of diesel GN and 2 steam locomotives, so we have a little shortage of GN rolling stock. Another thing is these little depots, water/fuel depot tower or something like that. Next year i will post some screens of test bed to show what i want to transfer to my map (essex pit, walton sidings and MOW depot, Shelby and Withefish yards. So if you Lego give some ideas to rise the landscape i will thank you very much!!

[robo]

How are things going on?
I believe the maps you mentionned are mostly made with grayscale images imported with mapgen. It can be a pain to find useful grayscale heightmaps on the web. I never played any trainsimulators, but somewhere I'm feeling that if you try to convert MS scenarios or real tracks you end up nowhere, because it's a completely different thing . It can be easier to get some inspiration from larger model railroads in my opinion. If you have some experience with graphic programms, you can quickly get a basic map using only a few functions. To give an example how this could work, I attached a grayscale image basing very loosly on a large trackplan I found on the web. http://ggmrc.com/about/the-track-plan/
Theorectically you can make rivers and mountains by hand, but if you plan to make a fullsized map it's a lot of work.