MSTS Interest

[Paul Charland]

Hi All,

Just wondering how many of you use MS Train Sim?

I'm about a month away from finishing the route I'm currently working on and am starting to get a bit more serious about a DAR route.

Steve posted a DAR RDC to the train-sim.com library yesterday and I had fun running it on my route.

Paul

[Paul Charland]

Hi All,

I've finished and posted my route at train-sim.com and have a Brill-300 to complete before I can start my next route.

It appears I can piece together enough information to get what I need to start the DAR in MSTS but Google Earth still has not filled in the map between New Minus and the east side of Windsor, making this section pretty difficult. The other thing that's bothering me is a total lack of interest in this kind of project. I'm a thousand miles away and would need some help with someone doing a bit of leg work to get some photos once in a while.

Without any interest or local support I'm not sure if it's worth starting a large project like this.

Paul

[stem]

Well Paul. I'm in the process of DLing your offering from Train-sim right now!

It seems that it is rare to be both a DAR fan and a MSTS fan too. Never the less, I wish to do what I can but I agree with you that we need to unearth more images to build the line. Not knowing a great deal about aerial surveying, I'm wondering if we have someone who is knowledgable about obtaining aerial photos that we could use to create the trackage for the DAR section you propse to model. I would also like to know if gettting aerial photos in the 50s and 60 is even possible. I'm having a great deal of difficulty tring to visualize what the railyards looked like back then especially Kentville, Middleton, Yarmouth, Digby and Windsor for a start.

You can't go too far without the tracks. I'd especially like to get into building the cars and trying to build the locos.

[Paul Charland]

Hi Steve,

Like the new look, just need to find out if you can add the DAR logo up in the corner somehow!

I still would like to do the DAR if the information I needed became available. The aerial shot of Kentville from the '60s and the track diagram would be plenty to do both your '40s and my '70s versions, I'm sure the tracks changed little if any other then the number of tracks going into the roundhouse. The problem is just getting a basic mainline out of the low res image that's on Google Earth right now, it's pretty hard to follow even when you know where it's supposed to be.

I'm thinking I'll take on some smaller project and try again in six months sort of thing.

Paul

[stem]

If everyone likes the new look I'll edit the templates to put the DARDPI logo on soon.

As for MSTS and the DAR, it seems reasonable Paul that perhaps it's not quite time to do this. I'm sure more info will be forthcoming this year that will provide the necessary missing information.

In the meantime, to generate more interest, I suggest that a few more DAR pieces (like the Dayliners I have to complete), a Kentville or Windsor station, a few box cars and a locomotive or two might help generate more interest especially from the MSTS community.

By the way, did you catch the thread from Mike who has photographed all the remaing fruit warehouses and mapped the CVR line on Google maps? This is good stuff and maybe something we collectively can do in the meantime.
http://www.dardpi.ca/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27

[Paul Charland]

Hi Steve,

I've been thinking maybe I might start Canning to New Minus and that would take a while and hopefully Google would come out with the missing 30 miles. On the other hand if they haven't in that time it may be four months of work down the tubes. There's still that nagging lack of local interest needed to take the odd photo here and there.

Paul

[stem]

Does anyone know how to contact Google maps and/or put in a request to have section updated? Not only do we need the Windsor to New Minas area updated but we need the Canning to Kingsport and quite a few sections down the valley updated too.

I used to think the more it was used the more likely it was to be updated but this doesn't seem to be true or even more likely, the threshold for updating is well above what we could ever generate ourselves if we looked 10 times a day everyday ad infinitum.

As for local interest, the link I gave you for Mike's Apple warehouse site and the discussion thereof indicate that Mike, who lives in the Canning to New Mimas area, would be interested in providing photos as he has already done a lot of work documenting this section recently as witnessed by his Warehouse site.

On another note, I wonder why I'm missing my smilie GIFs? I noticed they disappeared a while back. I'll have to fix that pronto.

[stem]

I DLed and installed the FK&G and Paul, it's brilliant. Loved getting out of the engine house to even start!

The three activities all failed to load however and showed the engine as "unknown". No biggie. My first run is with 9058 to view the line and it feels just like running through Nova Scotia. The eastern states are so much like the maritimes!

I also looked at my locomotives list and there are no FJ&G locomotives that I can see either.

Interesting site. Know about it? http://www.flashearth.com/

[Paul Charland]

Hi Steve,

Only based my "lack of interest" on the number of replies to my question over a two and a half month period, was really hoping to start a discussion and get more people interested, just didn't happen. I have read Mike's offer to supply the photos, I'm sure there are others who may supply photos as well, I was hoping to make contact with them.

The FJ&G, I'd like to do that quality of work on a DAR route. There's a good 2200 hours in the route and it's only 20 miles, the DAR might be about the same to create as the largest amount of time is spent on drawing custom structures and they're roughly the same in that department. Over the last six or eight years I've been able to collect about a thousand photos of the line and have been in contact with several people who live in the area and if I need a "better" shot of a building they were willing to go out and take shots for me (I've never set foot in the area and only worked from photos and satellite shots). This is the kind of support needed for a guy who's a thousand miles away.

As for the activities, there is a list of minimum downloads in the Readme file, three engines and a caboose, plus a bounding box fix for the S-2s. There is also a long list of rolling stock in the Activities folder that covers all the activities and probably future activities. Make sure to download and install the current new roads, xtracks, and BIN, some have not and wondered why they have problems.

Paul

[stem]

I kind of figured that's what you were doing which is why I didn't say anything for quite a while.

Your 2200 hours in the FJ&G shows. I was playing with it again and the detail is wonderful. Thanks for the reminder that I should have read the README more thoroughly (heh heh). I just scanned it looking for an "installation" section which of course I found but of course I missed the important part because I didn't read everything like I should have. I'll go back and read the whole thing more carefully this time.

Well then what do you think of taking this tack:
A small specification or bullet list of things required to collect before an MSTS line would be started? Then we'd have something to work towards and everybody can see it and help fill in the blanks. When the day arrives it's all there, then we can start, knowing that the project won't get stumped.

[Paul Charland]

Hi Steve,

The one big huddle to overcome is the map situation, once this information becomes available I'm sure the rest of the information will come along.

I can download DEM information to tell MSTS the contours of the land but what I'm lacking are digital satellite shots or Google Earth shots where I would place markers to be imported to Route Editor to be used to start laying track, roads, rivers, just about anything you want to place.

Once thing becomes available you get a much better idea of what you need by what's in the satellite shot.

Paul

[hecrowell]

Hi Paul

I have just recently been bitten by the MSTS bug. It was introduced to me by a friend who no longer had interest in the program.
Just a bit about me - was born in Yarmouth NS in 1942 and for years watched the huffers shuttle rolling stock around waiting unloading for ship transport and/or rail transport to Halifax and all points in between via DAR. Then the Dayliner service Yarmouth-Halifax. I now live in Saint John, NB and have been and still am involved with MS Flight Simulator and have enjoyed that hobby both as a pilot, aircraft repainter aircraft modeler and scenery designer (built the Yarmouth airport to replace the default [and terrible] YQI scenery). I think train modeling and route design would be of great interest to me not to mention the scenery accompanying the routes. Of particular interest would be the route between Yarmouth and Weymouth - including the Bear River Bridge as it was in the "good 'ol days". A definate challenge and I fully realize the time it takes to reproduce these objects and the sometimes frustrating job it is, but it does not go without its rewards when any success is accomplished.

I found this site when looking for information on the "Flying Bluenose" and train #123, #124 - in particular, good photos and/ or 3-view drawings to use in 3DCanvas.
Can you give me any info that would be helpful in modeling, sources of any drawings and/or other info (other than give it up) to get me on the way?

In closing, this looks like an excellent forum and I surely hope that interest will be struck and grow with any and all visitors who stop by here.

[Paul Charland]

Hi... didn't catch your name,

Sorry, I don't know how much experience you have with this not having created anything in Flight Sim myself, so if this is too basic for you, I apologize.

As far as route building goes, the DEMs you'll need for a Canadian route can be found at:

http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/index.html

You'll need to register (at no cost), then find the maps you want. On the Home page hover your pointer over DATA and a menu will appear, then select Digital Elevation Data, then Download, select the 1:50,000 map, a larger map will appear, find Yarmouth and select the maps you'll need from there, just have to double click on each map segment and they will be loaded on a list below to then download from... use the ftp downloads. Unzip these, note each DEM has an "e" and "w" part, you'll need both of these for each map segment to load in Geometry Extractor. Grouping all the e and w parts in one folder will help when it comes time to use them.

What you really need at this point is to spend about $25 US and buy an excellent book called Route Building Guide, a 380 page guide for creating routes in MSTS by Micheal Vone.
It can be found at:http://www.abacuspub.com/default_ts.html I see it can be downloaded for only $20 US in PDT form... that's what I have.

Only difference between this and a Canadian route is using a program to create markers to import into MSTS Route Editor. For the Kentville area I've been working on (that recently ground to a halt) The only thing I could find was Google Earth. Using GE I was able to use their markers to mark the location of tracks, roads, rivers and treelines, then runt a saved kml Google file through Route-Riter to convert the file to the mkr format MSTS uses.

I don't use 3D Canvas myself but if you go on the forum at www.train-sim.com (same people running it as the F/S forum) there are plenty of people there who can help you out. I use a program called Train-Sim Modeler from Abacus, same people who have the route building guide. Highschool drafting in 3D, if you can draw a plane, you can draw a plane!

Paul

[stem]

Welcome Harold.

Always nice when one more of the good guys signs up for our DARMY here as I like to call it, being a cornball kind of guy that is.

As you mentioned the old Flying Blueneose runs, I assume you already discovered the wiki side of our site first right?.

It seems we have a nice balance of local residents on this site who know their area as well as being DAR fans who can bring more local flavour that most of of never knew about. Most of the rest of us lived there at one time or wishes we did anyway!

I've talked to the Yarmouth Historical Society and I have on letter a written desire to share Yarmouth history as it relates to the DAR but nothing substantial has ever come out of it. If you know their local musem well, can you tell us if they have anything at all on display regarding the history of the DAR and the infleunce it had on the community?

I'd love to hear and or see anything more that we could use to fill out our Yarmouth sub history on the wiki.

And last of all, I have loaded up this route that Paul created and put on the extra S3s and vans he created for us as well as done those Dayliner repaints that are available to download. I too wish to continue development of the line and have got both the 3D Canvas (because Paul Gaudsen uses it) and the the TrainSim Modeller (because Paul Charland uses it!) and am interested in continuing to create assests for this rail line to see it through to completion even if it takes years. I think the heritage value of a project like this is way to high to abandon it and now that Paul has given us a flying start it's up to us to continue the inertia.

Thanks and haPpY rAiLs Harold!

[hecrowell]

Paul:
when it comes to beginnig something in MSFS or MSTS, nothing is too basic. It seems that everytime I create a model (FlightSimulator), be it a building, a plane with animation of control surfaces/landing gear, a building - whatever, there is ALWAYS something new to learn. Thats what makes these hobbies so great. I will indeed have lots to learn all over again for MSTS, but believe that I will be able to grasp most of what I need if I ask the right questions in the right places. Thanks for your info

Steve:
Thanks for your info. Like I said, I no longer live in Yarmouth, but will do whatever I can to dig up or find where info can be dug up re Yarmouth's railroading history/pictures.

I am now in the research mode to find info on scenery making, train modeling etc etc - its a slightly different world than Flight Simulator - but hey - I once had to learn that and in fact I am STILL learning.

It appears that the software used is something similar to the flight simulator world - several types and no doubt one type more suitable for certain things than another type.

No doubt this forum will be hearing from me from time to time as I progress down the road to yet another hobby.

Harold Crowell