Central Jersey Freight Lines (The Lehigh Line Project)

[xxuntitledxx]

Hey all,

So here's some picture updates... still fine tuning things...

I bring you CP-Bethlehem.

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(Yes, that is what you think in the background... )

Until next time (when there will be more scenery...).

Ken

[minerman146]

Your in ALLENTOWN? Holeee - Smokes!
There is a lot to like about your route, but I think the best part of it is you.

You don't stop, quit, or give up, you say what your going to do and then do it.
Will you please Beta this monster already so people can see it? (asking for a friend )

[xxuntitledxx]

I still have a lot to do, but I'm bouncing around based on my mood at the time. I've been working on multiple things at once to keep from getting bored of doing scenery work lol. I'm trying to do this trans-continental railway style... work from east and west and meet in the middle. Keeps me from giving up. I'm hoping once I get in the grove I can complete a lot in a little time. Mainly focusing on the main route (Allentown/Bethlehem to Oak Island). I'm going to work on the secondary lines when I can.

Ken

[BoostedFridge]

When working on any route project of this kind of scope, whatever method keeps you engaged is the right method! Keep up the good work.

[xxuntitledxx]

Hey everybody,

It's time for guess that location... a time where I post the area of my route I've been working on and give you all another WIP shot... so here it goes... (haha)

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Let me know what you think.

Ken

[xxuntitledxx]

Hey all, So I'm back in Bound brook, working on more of the right-of-way. They seem to have some sort of riprap material for drainage. I've been having trouble of finding a good subsitiute. You can see it in this video here https://youtu.be/rK8vGb7iamE?t=11m24s. It's the material in the foreground on the ground and on the embankment on the other side of the lehigh line tracks (closest pair of tracks to the camera). Does anyone have any ideas what I could use? It follows the tracks for a lot of the right of way through the area and I'm having a tough time figuring out what to use. I also attached a screenshot from the video below. Any help would be great.

riprap.jpg

Thanks!

Ken

[minerman146]

Ken,

You always ask the questions I can take a shot at. First, that's not what rip-rap looks like. Used in drainage ditches, embankments, usually where moving water can be present, rip-rap is angular grey stone, basket ball sized or larger if used by the ocean for example.

The stuff in your picture looks like a combination of broken concrete and cinders. The best substitute I can come up with and have used is "Sherman Hill Embankment01 and 02, rotated and compressed to fit in the space you are trying to fill.

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[xxuntitledxx]

Okay, so I kind of used your suggestion. I picked a different embankment that was closer in tone. So here's what I came up with...

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I still need to work on some minor sections and the north side of the track.

Ken

[minerman146]

That was super tricky to try and fill in. 2 different track heights AND on a curve AND specific to the prototype. When you work with what the game gives you to work with and then add creativity - this is the result.

[xxuntitledxx]

Running out of Ideas here...Any ideas what I could use as the building for Liberty Science Center? It's got a lot of glass and I'm kind of stuck with where to begin.

[xxuntitledxx]

Okay, so here's a short update. I've been able to finish working on the hump yard in Oak Island (big thanks to emdsd90mac's thread on the retarders in this: http://railworksamerica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1972) I kind of took the retarders that he created in his thread and modified them for my use.
I've also started to add more vegetation and other miscellaneous things. I have run into a roadblock though: houses.

I've been using street view in Google maps to try to see what the houses along the tracks look like. The only thing is that a lot of them aren't able to be duplicated too well in the sim. I try to find a house that is similar in size and shape but I know it just won't look like what's really there. Am I trying too hard? Or should I just try to get in the ballpark with what I have at my disposal with the assets available in the game? I mean If I can kitbash something I will do it, but some houses don't have a lot I could kitbash with. Anybody got any suggestions?

[xxuntitledxx]

So hey all,

Here's a quick follow up to a previous post...I finished the Drainage channels in Bound Brook. Thanks to discovering an asset that was extremely helpful.
Here's what it looks like...

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Ken

[minerman146]

Hey xxuntitledxx!
You removed your post about what to do about houses! Post a picture of what the area looks like so we can get an idea of what your dealing with.

My 2 cents:
Dense Urban/Suburban House is so challenging it has discouraged me from building in several areas of Bergen County. But I did take a stab at it three times:
Rutherford-East Rutherford-Carlstadt, Bergen Hill and Garfield. Rutherford/East Rutherford took 160 hours AND its on a slope in 2 directions. Take a look at Rutherford, all my close to the track stuff is on and good for a block or two. Then I started using the flex-buildings from Munich Augsburg. The decision you have to make is are you going to place houses where the lie on the google overlay or are you going to fill the space with buildings. In Rutherford, I went with the latter to fill in the space. Trust me, I was cringing with every building that was wrong, wrong, wrong that I put down. BUT, in the end, it kinda all blends in and you get the density you are looking for. Reproducing block after block is not only time consuming, but will eventually hurt fps with all the extra assets used to get each building looking 'right'.

Let me tell you after 50 or 60 hours of laying house after house I have to force myself to keep going. I just look forward to 'getting the hell out of there' and moving on. On the other hand the perseverance pays off, because having the patience to carry on to maintain fidelity to reality, doesn't just separate the men from the boys, but separates the dabblers from those that are committed.

This is why I freak out over the scope of your route.... Allentown, your doing freaking Allentown.
you got my respect!

[xxuntitledxx]

Yeah true... okay so here's the deal...Allentown is going to be nuts... but that will be forthcoming. For Now if I can tackle the hill that is Manville, I think I can tackle everything East. (Newark is going to be no cakewalk either, but I'm looking to other routes to be my guidelines: i.e. NEC, NJCL). Anyway...getting back to Manville, because I'm covering part of the Trenton Line and the Lehigh Line it means I have to do a majority of the entire town. So here's the general overview: I will have to cover both Manville Proper and Weston as stated in the overall screenshot. West Camplain road is probably my south border for the Lehigh Line section and Brooks Blvd. is the North Border. For the Trenton Line (which goes northeast to southwest in the picture) I'm using Weston Canal Road as the East Border and the trees area just to the west. You can see where it meets in the Junction that there are houses that form a complete development, so Essentially I need to make a majority of those houses because of the distance I'm modelling and the way the lines meet.

manville.jpg

As Far as detail shots go...
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/607560/
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/594423/
And I railfan there all the time so I know the place like the back of my hand. If you do a google maps street view on Vermont Ave you'll see that side of the street is flat, but on North street you'll see the houses are higher up for some part on a hill and then the road slopes down compared to the track.

So any ideas?

[xxuntitledxx]

So I just wanted to post what I've been working on lately...the Newark Bay Bridge...
Here's Google Earth of the bridge...

newarkbaybridge.jpg

Here's my version...

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As you can see it needs a lot of work done on it...I'm trying to figure out how to make the bracing less cluttered... and I might need to fix the arch...
Any pointers are welcomed!

Ken