Using SCABs for the Darjeeling Himalayan Model Railway Project (continued)

By John D'Angelo and Peter Pardoe-Matthews

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For the next stage we move to Surveyor and create a single new board. Before anything else is done, the plane object is placed with the cursor accurately positioned on the board centre. This ensures that the overlay is precisely centred on the board. As the overlay is an object, it can be raised and lowered as necessary. The track spline points are shown in the overlay and it is easily possible to lay track using those spline points, which results in a very accurate replication of the original track layout on the main route. Any objects can be placed precisely with the assurance that the relationship to the track will be maintained.


Board with overlay before track is laid.



Track laid over visible overlay with spline points placed on overlay points.



Overlay raised to show accuracy of track placement.



Screen shot shows the relation between a spline point and the Trainzmap image.



Screen shot shows the relation between a spline point and the Trainzmap image.

Naturally, as this board has not been contoured, the scenic objects and textures are applied ‘on the flat’, but when Copy/Pasted to the main route, Surveyor places each item at the contour level. (A note of warning: ensure that the ‘Height’ button is not selected, otherwise the route will have a deep hole in it. We tried it, and yes, you DO get a hole!)

Boards made in this manner can be merged if the area covered is greater that one board. Track previously laid will match precisely.

There are additional benefits from this process.

As a large proportion of the track on any route is only plain track, testing and setting train control objects can be a tedious and time-consuming process. By adding run-in and run-out boards to the SCAB, behaviour of AI trains can be checked and adjusted for a particular locality. The added non-pastable items can be translated to the main board by using a reversal of the process, where Trainzmap is used to create a scenic object as before, showing accurately the position of each item. The resulting overlay can then be added to the main board. As it is a transparent object, existing scenery and textures are unaffected, and the overlay can be deleted when no longer needed.

Another benefit is that by merging SCABs and moving plain track on each SCAB, and if necessary, adding blank joining boards, a condensed version of the main route can be created allowing simulated ‘full length’ AI operation with a minimized time penalty. This will also be a very useful system for the creation of sessions.

We believe this process can have considerable benefit to group route creation, while it allows individual route creators to ‘farm out’ route extracts when specialized assistance is required.

John:

Thanks very much for your excellent description of the process, Peter. The illustrations were very helpful. I know this is a very large project and will be using the talents of a good number of people as it forms up into the finished product. I think if any of our readers that this project would be something they would like to join in on, and have experience in route creation, perhaps they would like to contact you.

Peter:

John, we realized when we started this project that it would be a major undertaking, especially as the terrain was so challenging, and also in order to preserve the ‘flavour’ or ‘Indianness’ of the route nearly everything we will need has to be made to suit. We have an excellent content and route making production team, and now is the time when we need a few extra hands to give our bare route boards some form and colour. The SCAB system will make this expansion of the team a simple process.

John:

If anyone would like to contact Peter about the project you can email him. I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear from you.

John
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Article and screen shots �2006 John D’Angelo and Peter Pardoe-Matthews. All rights reserved.