White Pebble Rapids Rail Road

Place a Static Camera in a Tunnel.

2010-04-26T03:58:00.001-07:00

If you lower the ground over a tunnel to the tunnels track height, you can place a static camera in the tunnel. It looks cool when it is facing the tunnels opening as you can see the train coming into the tunnel. When you have the camera placed where you want it and only when you have it where you want it, you can raise the ground over the tunnel and the camera will stay where you put it.

By Fuzzybones on Trainz Forum.

2009-02-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

Between a Ravine and a tall cliff.

[Q] I am currently trying to create a scene where an engine is running on tracks and one one side is a steep ravine and on the other was a locomotive tall cliff where the tracks were cut into the mountain.

[A] You will find this is not the easiest thing to do due the the "baseboard" size, and the way the "smooth" function work but this may help you.

If you lay one track the way you want on the baseboard, then another track (with a number of spline points) next to it (make sure they do not join up by holding down the "shift" key), then lay a third track on the other side of your main track the same way.

Now you have 3 tracks close to each other, so use the spline height thing in Surveyor and give one track a height of -10m's to each spline point. Next on the next track set the spline points to a height of 10m. Now carefully use the smooth function on the two tracks, one track will go up and the other down leaving your main track in the center. You will have to "play" around with this by moving the tracks a bit more apart to get the effect you want but it is the only way I know of and have used in the past reasonable well.

By seeseeme on Trainz Forum.

These are available on the DLS.

10 cliff splines by author haegarle .

136383:3500

136383:3501

136383:3508

136383:3510

136383:3511

136383:3520

136383:3521

136383:3522

136383:3523

136383:3524

2009-02-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

[Q] Please could you tell me what is meant by the config file and where do you find it?

[A] There are numerous config.txt files. Each asset that you've downloaded or created yourself has its own config.txt file, in its folder. I guess all the built-in assets that come with the program must have their config.txt files too but they are held internally and you can't see them. The config.txt files contain information that each asset needs in order to be operative. These files can be viewed in Notepad but the syntax of the tags they contain is complicated, in places extremely complicated.

In addition, TRS2004 has a number of configuration files that have slightly different filenames. These files tend to hold settings which control the trade-off's between the program's performance and its quality of operation. Most of these files can also be viewed in Notepad. The syntax of their commands is relatively simple but the parameters of each command get a bit complicated.

With all these files, it's best for beginners to look but not touch. Once you gain more knowledge try experimenting then but not at first or you may well mess something up. As with anything to do with computers it only needs one wrong character and the whole thing stops working.

john259 on the Trainz Forum
Razorback Railway

TrainzMap in TS2009.

2009-02-19T02:41:00.000-08:00

Yes Trainzmap works with 2009.
Step by step Tutorial.

[1] Start up notepad and put some text in the open page, say 'TS2009 dummy file' [ Text not really needed ] and then save file to 2009 Trainz directory as TRS2006.exe. [eg; C:\Program Files\Auran\TS2009\TRS2006.exe - Make sure you save the file with a .exe extension and NOT a .txt extension]
[2] Open TrainzMap
[3] Click on File menu
[4] Click on Trainz Folder setup
[5] You will notice an area called TRS2006
[6] It will have the TRS2006 file location. C:\Program Files\Auran\TRS2006\
[7] Click on the Browse button in the TRS2006 box.
[8] Browse to the folder TS2009 is located in. C:\Program Files\Auran\TS2009\
[9] Once you close this do a full routes scan. [This will fool TrainzMap into believing that the TS2009 directory contains TRS2006.
[10] TrainzMap will now work with TS2009.

NOTE: It seems that any TS2009 map with 5m grids can't be read by trainzMap, it can only display route maps of those routes that are TRS2006 compatible [no 5m grids].

by nickel on Trainz Forum.

Adding new empty board/s to your layout..

2009-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

After adding a new baseboard section, I set the Radius and Sensitivity dials to Maximum. I then place the cursor/compass on an adjacent area on the old board and click “Get Height”. I then click “Plateau” and then I click “Use Height”, and was able to raise the height of the new baseboard by dragging across it. Do this to all different height sections of the adjacent areas of the two boards and you will find that your job of setting out the new board will be a lot easier.

Or you can work on the new board with chance as your tool.

In 2004. Use "Alt-MMMG" (Make Me a Map George). It completely landscapes a baseboard or series of baseboards by chance.
It's a way to do it quickly, but the landscapes are a bit wild! Especially if you are a bit slow with the Esc key to STOP!

In 2006. Use "Shift + Ctrl + Alt and AMMMP".(Always Manipulate My Maps Please).
Hit Esc to stop.
Ground textures take longer to draw. Also if you do more then one baseboard, the area you look at gets textured better than others, don't know why.

Now for a couple of keystrokes that are fun to try, you can use these to take Screenshots by using the "Ptr Scr" key whilst in this mode.

2004/06 Fly and Walk mode. Fly = "Alt + fly", Walk = "Alt + walk".
2009 Fly and walk mode. Fly = "Alt + U", Walk = "Alt + Y".

and the 2004 keystrokes that let you ride in a vehicle on a road?
It's "ALT + CARZ".

Some Tips for you to try.

2008-12-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

Don't use the undo button to delete a spline, chances are TRS will crash

Where possible, lay your track in the direction the trains will be travelling. This helps the AI as it "prefers" track which is laid in the direction of travel. For the same reason, do not use double track as a) it makes the AI think it's travelling the wrong way and b) it makes curves very difficult to build (and for certain countries it's the wrong spacing anyway)

Leave the signalling till last, as laying a signal and then laying more track ahead of it can cause problems with the AI.

Trackmarks. If you have a long stretch of track or you find the AI constantly takes the wrong route at a certain location, lay a trackmark down on the path you want the AI to take and then tell your trains to "Drive Via". I find that placing a trackmark a full braking distance before a signal and telling a train to "Drive Via" prevents the AI from trying to take control of points which are beyond the signal and it will instead wait for the signal to clear.

Choice of track. Experiment! There are thousands of different types of track available in TRS and on the DLS. It's sad to always see people putting so much effort into the rolling stock, scenery and buildings used on a route and then to have the visual effect of all that ruined by using the default tracks which were built-in to the original Trainz.

When you make Bridges note that grass does not grow under a bridge so use a dark colour such as "Dock Surface" or Ballast if its trackside.When you are making Fields note that a field is rarely ploughed right up to the fence.Try to orientate you fields so you can paint a rough grass texture to follow the line of the fence and paint the rest of the field your required colour.Always include a "Farm Gate" or "Open Farm Gate" in your field and paint a Mud texture round it , suggestive of Tractors or animals going through it.

I've had to lay out a few small forests on my "Real Life" route so most of these have been learned the hard way - I have had to delete my original efforts! When laying out large numbers of trees always use the "Randomly rotate new objects" function in Surveyor options AND vary the height of the trees by using the Height button. When laying out Tree Splines , don't lay them in straight lines - lay short stretches in criss cross lines so as to make them look less uniform. Always paint the forest floor a darker colour (e.g. Ger Forest) than the surrounding area. For good measure use a sound file such as "Crows".

there is nothing worse then driving your train over "floating track" that has a space between the track and the ground. When you are done laying all the track for your route, use the ground elevation tool to bring the ground up to your track. Don't bring your track down to the ground or you will lose the gradient you set for the track. Select the "ground up" button in the topography menu and gently tap your left mouse button to bring the ground up to your track. Keep doing it until the ground just starts to cover the edge of the track, then hit the undo button once to lower the ground one "mouse tap". Do this for your entire route. It is time consuming but the result is no more ugly space between your track and the ground.

Sick of planting trees and texturing. Build up a random clump of trees and add the texture beneath in a square somewhere out of sight on a baseboard. Name one of the trees 'Trees' so that you can do a 'find' if you forget where you put them. Now copy and paste where they need to be. Stagger the paste in a brickwork fashion and rotate each time to avoid repetition.

Planted trees/objects and now don't want them. Copy and paste a blank area of board onto the trees/objects and now they're gone.

If you are using a very small variety of trees and it's all looking a bit similar, try pulling a few into the ground to resemble less mature trees and also shrubs. You can do this with the ones you are going to copy and paste and they will retain the heights above ground. Do this with grass as well and then it won't look like a harvester/mower has been through it. by escafeld

Default Railroad Grades

2008-11-11T01:39:00.000-08:00

Is it at all possible to see the gradient of the track in Surveyor? Ive been working on an expansion for my layout, inculding a nice long Narrow Gauge Grade....however its been a while since I laid any track. Most of the grade is about 3%, which is where I want it, however enough of it is around 6% that its keeping me frustrated.

So is there any way to see the grade in surveyor? I know I can see it on the map view in Driver, but that involves loading the map constantly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

In surveyor, on the advanced track laying tab is the gradient measuring button. Just click the button to activate the tool and click near a track spline point. It will show the percent track grade from that spline point to the next spline point in the dialog box.

You can also type the grade you want in the dialog box and click on the set grade button to the right of the dialog box. For example, typing in .30 would give you a .30% grade. Then click on the track near the first spline point and the track will be set automatically to that grade up to the next spline point.

By Klinger,
Location: Afghanistan, Waterbury, CT, USA

Instant Smooth Track.

2008-09-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a fix I found on the Trainz Forum about building a route through a tight canyon with a river on the side.
Pretty easy when going straight, but the curves present a problem. No matter how careful I am, when I do a test run, I always find places where the cliff face goes under the track creating a bump. Well, tonight, I found out how to fix that. Once you have laid your track, raised your cliff face, and lowered your river, click on the track tab, then the advanced tab, and in the upper right hand corner, click on the smooth terrain button.
It's the one that looks like a movie studio's clap board. Then just click between each spline, and viola, instant smooth.

TrainzObjectz for TRS 2004

2008-08-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well if you have just come from the WPRRR site you would have found that it has been updated a bit, hope you like it. Leave me a comment.

TrainzObjectz for TRS 2004 will list all the custom objects, including scenery, spline objects, track, trackside objects, textures, rolling stock and rolling stock parts which you have installed and tell you the Region and Type to which each has been allocated and much more.

Even better than that, TrainzObjectz allows you to change the Region and Type and even the Name of the object so that you can create your own "filing system" for your objects.

Fed up using a certain type of track - want to replace it with another type no need to rip up your track and start again. This program can change it with just highlighting which track you want to replace it with. You can change a certain house, bridge etc. to another type. [all of the same object will all change]

TrainzObjectz lists installed and missing assets of items such as layouts, Driver sessions and scenarios. Right-click on the relevant asset and select the appropriate option. When the list is displayed, right-click on any missing asset and select the appropriate option to make TO list the type of object each missing asset is. This information can help to locate it on web sites which do not list kuid's.

TrainzObjectz can be downloaded from the Authors Home Site:
http://www.tafweb-trainz.co.uk/trainzobjectz.html

What to build and what not to build.... That's the question.

2008-02-17T15:57:00.000-08:00

This will be a blog for the beginner to read or even the older Trainz user who wants to have a laugh or think back on when.

Ok, after trying to place a tunnel in a ditch that I had made under my track, I worked out that you need to set tunnels up on the baseboard at ground level and make mountains over them.

Next boo boo, Made a canyon that was to have a river flowing through it, covered the canyon floor with grass, then tried to make the river, should have made the river before putting on the grass. I need to take off the grass in the area that the river will be in so I need to download a program called 'Erazor' from www.uelasticus.de/erazor/erazor.zip and a texture kuid_44700_11992.cdp from DLS. This is used as a marker. Just apply it to the area on your board where you want to have your ground textures removed, exit TRS and run erazor. In the marked area all textures are wiped away leaving the yellow on grey grid.

Well I have started laying the track, trying to get it as accurate as I can be, to be faithful to the layout map. Layout size is 22 feet by 12 feet, at least I don't have to lay cork nor add electrical or joiners, this gets better and better.

Well I have laid 85% of the track and have made my first big blunda, wrong track! I used the 'track wood us' which is as I know now 4 foot track, I needed 3'6" narrow gauge. What to do?

Checked the Net - nothing, checked every trainz site I could find - nothing, get up the courage to post on the 'Trainz Forum - Wow! overnight, several posts from some very helpful people who were very friendly. [See my site for answer].

Ran out of base board so I had to add another to the south end, I only needed 2/3rd's of it, but may use the other later. I will add a cutting through the mountain there just in case. Well, got to get back to world building. Will blog soon.