[TTDP] DoR's Screenshot thread (rather modest networks).

[Dutchman on Rails]

After admiring many of the screenshots here for a long time, I'd like to try your patience with some of my own screenshots.
These will take the usual form of following a game for a while, making shots along the way.

Perhaps a small introduction is in order. I like to play my games with lots of challenges. High costs, lots of terrain obstacles, few resources. That makes this thread one in the category of some of my idols here, relatively small, scenic routes. In fact I set the difficulty often so high that the 1920's are skipped as far as screenshots are concerned, as there are only a few bus services providing some startup income.

With that being said, I hope you enjoy the shots that I will post in here, and if you have any comments whatsoever, please feel free to tell me about them.

[Ben_K]

Well... Id like to see a picture of the 20's! Lets see a quaint little picture of a small bus on a nice country route! Maybe crossing a lovely brick bridge in a scenic valley?

(Also, a picture of a bus will keep Jasper happy for another day )

[Griff]

Well... Id like to see a picture of the 20's! Lets see a quaint little picture of a small bus on a nice country route! Maybe crossing a lovely brick bridge in a scenic valley?

(Also, a picture of a bus will keep Jasper happy for another day )

A bus on a highway would probably kill him with excitement

[Dutchman on Rails]

Well, Ben, Griff, as much as I'd like to oblige, the buses are citybuses. Place two bus stations well apart, and have a few buses run between them. After a while, this becomes more of the same.

For some reason, the famous PB_Build grf makes the costs of plain roads rocket up, but in my games it has no effect on plain rails (it does on altering the terrain, building bridges and tunnels, and thus all the supporting features). That makes rail lines between towns the preferred choice over road, even to very small hamlets.

Kind Regards, DoR

[Dutchman on Rails]

As a first post of screenshots, I'd like to introduce the recently started Wertfurter Kreisbahn to you. It uses the Wertfurter Kreis scenario I posted on page 64 of the scenario's thread.

The beginnings are rather modest, with just four citybus services in the largest towns, the other hamlets are simply too small to set up such a service. From 1927, the town of Niederkassel am See (not shown here) was linked to nearby Mariasee by boat.

The company had to wait until 1931 before the first rail service could be opened between the towns of Wertfurt and St. Johann. At that stage, the more effective routes were simply too expensive to build, so a less ideal, but cheaper route had to be chosen.

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

Three years have passed since the opening of the Wertfurt, St. Johann line. Apart from gathering money to start new projects, Wertfurter Kreisbahn had to lengthen the trainset to provide enough capacity.

This upgrade proved sufficient for Wertfurt, but not for St. Johann, though it was only slightly short. After some meetings to discuss the situation, company management decided on a new branch line to Friedrichswald in the north. Because higher ground, a large lake and an estuary were blocking the direct path, the engineering department decided on a detour to the west, crossing the river Wert northeast of Wertfurt and then following it's left bank all the way to Friedrichswald. To avoid trains having to cross for now, Wertfurt was to be bypassed by this line, and the junction layed as close to St. Johann station as possible.

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

Trying your patience a little further.

After the branch line to Friedrichswald has stabilised the passenger traffic in St. Johann, Wertfurter Kreisbahn is looking for new services to open. The best choice seems to be the coal mine near Kaisershaven and the power station near Niederkassel am See, both having opened in the 1920's.

As a preliminary, the line to Friedrichswald is extended to Kaisershaven. In order to avoid the next high ground and estuary, another wide detour to the west is made. For Friedrichshaven, the chosen solution is what in Germany is known as a spitzkehre. This setup, occasionally seen on this forum before by other players, is where a station is technically an end station, but in the train schedule functions as a through station, the train enters the station, then departs for the next one on the same side.

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

After some months to recover breath (and finances), it's time to work on the new Niederkassel-Kaisershaven line. Fortunately, as can be seen in the shot above, a narrow pass exists in the mountain range, just wide enough for the most part to let the single-track line pass through.

Work is started on the passengers line first, to keep the places happy. Back in the 1920's (not shown at the time), a boat service was set up across the Mariasee from the town named after the lake to Niederkassel. The opening of the new rail line means this service is now joined to the network as well. For those passengers as patient as the viewers of this thread, it is possible to travel from Mariasee to Wertfurt, changing at Niederkassel, Kaisershaven and St. Johann, and with some serious detours, but it is possible.

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

And the last ones for today...

While the plans of company management were to provide a coal service next, these have to be postponed. Again, in St. Johann, passengers are grumbling that they are not provided enough service.

The only solution seems to be a line to Schwanstein, to the south of the city, but engineers warn that this will be the most difficult undertaking so far. Schwanstein, a town with some fame as a ski resort, towers hundreds of meters above St. Johann, and in the latter town, there's simply no room to join the mainline station. The engineers' solutions speak for themselves in the shots.

[Ben_K]

Great shots!

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

First of all, thanks Ben (taking a bow). Just the encouragement to make a few more.

Managing the Wertfurter Kreisbahn is never without challenges. Even before the situation at St. Johann has been fully resolved, the passengers from Wertfurt start demanding more service.

This time the managers come up with a relatively grand, three-staged scheme to improve the services in the entire region.

1) The St. Johann-Wertfurt rail line is to be completely relayed, eliminating all the slopes.

2) Wertfurt is to become a through station, with the line from Friedrichswald moved to Wertfurt.

3) The service to Friedrichswald and Kaisershaven is to be split into two seperate services, both of which call in Wertfurt and terminate in St. Johann.

The stages are completed in 1940, 41 and 42, respectively. While working on the lines, the station buildings at Wertfurt and St. Johann are replaced to accomodate the larger numbers of passengers.

[Snorbuckle]

Can you tell me where you got those depot graphics from?

[calix177]

Love these shots.

For such difficult terrain and small network you make it look easy!

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

Well Calix, I have to confess that I do sometimes backtrack using the saved games when I don't like the result.

Also, this scenario has a break in it for the players, in the form of the towns of St. Johann and Wertfurt. They're large enough for a profitable passenger run, and close enough for a reasonably cheap line to be built.

As for the rest, it takes a lot of surveying the land. Mountain landscapes look pretty gruesome, but on a closer look, there are often features that provide some help to build the necessary roads and rails. In TTD, I've found so far that this is no different, though there are some areas in remote corners of this map that with the available resources right now are still impossible to build lines to.

Anyway, back to the story.

With the latest project now having solved the capacity problems at Wertfurt, there's finally time to start the coal service that was planned years earlier. The line between Kaisershaven and Niederkassel is upgraded to provide extra capacity for the coal trains, and stations are being built.

Despite the now low capacity of the mine, two BR85's are purchased. This because of some steep slopes, and also because it is hoped that the capacity will increase as the mine is being serviced.

[Dutchman on Rails]

While the coal service is developed, there are some hints of disgruntled passengers at St. Johann. It's difficult to provide more service right there. Ater some consideration, the company management decides that it's best to extend the St. Johann-Schwanstein line to Drei Annenberg (named in devout catholic fashion after the three St. Anna's, because the mountain rising up behind the village has three peaks). This way it would be possible, if necessary, to provide some passing tracks and add another train there.

The landscape isn't too easy in this region, some steep slopes, landfills, and a high bridge were needed before the line could be opened in 1944. Also, Schwanstein station had to be refurbished to be able to function as a through station.

[Snorbuckle]

Can you tell me where you got those depot graphics from?

[Pug]

The depot is just the normal depot from TTD

[XeryusTC]

It's a wider version that occupies the entire tile

[Marshy]

I have to admit, these are some of the nicest screens i've seen in a long time. Nearly all of the screens are scenic, and seem to be 'cut' into a beautiful valley. The bridges over the rivers a lovely, and the little towns with the single lines passing through or into are wonderful.

Keep this up and post more screens, i'm really enjoying them.

Marshy

[Dutchman on Rails]

Hello,

Snorbuckle, I sent you a PM on the location of the depots, didn't it arrive?

Now that I'm talking about it here anyway, might as well give the directions here. It's in the Transport Tycoon Deluxe section of these forums, in the thread: "Looking for GRF's? Ask here" on the first page. Filename is bigdepots.grf.

The idea for which they were there was to put several of them behind each other to create depots that can house the trains, but then I read about a limit to the depots.

Marshy, the scenario and the high costs combine to give the effects. Creating such a scenario is actually quite easy if you have a day, starting from a random TTD landscape. Anyway, as the game progresses and traffic and profits increase, there will be a gradual increase in higher-capacity lines, hopefully not less interesting. Though half the map is as yet undeveloped, so there will be some more small branch lines where trains struggle to climb mountains and gain profit (and where the 'schienenbus' will have it's work cut out for it).

Anyway, back to the screenshots.

After the opening of the Schwanstein-Drei Annenberg line, little happens for a few years. In St. Johann, Wertfurter Kreisbahn helps out the town's plans for urban renewal of their southeastern area by demolishing several houses and roads. It is hoped that in return the town will provide more flat land. While this works, needless to say when the inhabitants complain, the mayor denies any knowledge, and the Wertfurter Kreisbahn takes a big popularity hit.

Apart from that, only minor improvements (costly enough) are made:

- The Wert talbrücke (valley bridge) is replaced by one allowing for higher speeds.
- A mail service between St. Johann, Wertfurt and Kaisershaven is opened, relieving capacity problems for mail in Wertfurt. This calls for some minor improvements in and around Kaisershaven.
- Boat services are opened between Mariasee and Königsmünster, and between Niederkassel and Innshaven.They barely make a profit, but should help for future growth.

It isn't until 1948 that the next major service is opened, and the trigger is Niederkassel am See, where more and more mail is waiting. Diverting the St. Johann-Kaisershaven service to Niederkassel, and turning it into a standard service seems like a good idea. It only takes a small, but expensive connecting line. While at it, the existing Kaisershaven-Friedrichswald jcn and Niederkassel-Kaisershaven lines get some minor upgrades too (where not too expensive).