Midwest Mega Route

[BrandonS261]

What a difference two years makes! This was taken exactly two years apart from each other. I have decided to make a new thread in the Open Rails section of Route building called Midwest Mega Route 2023 so please refer to that thread for questions, photos and updates on the route from now on.

Thank You!

Brandon

[Fish4890]

id love to help with trees and what not but i dont do the Complex stuff you know...

[BrandonS261]

the progress is just amazing and when do we know when this will be Out or will we get parts of the NS Chicago Line From Chicago to Elkhart ?

Our main focus at the moment is the CPKC and BNSF from Chicago to the Twin Cities but we would like to do some NS, CSX and UP lines as well in the future.

There is also no time frame for when the route will be released in Beta forum as there is still a ton of work that needs to be taken care of first before we release it.

Since it is just Josh and myself working on it and we both have full time jobs and a life as well we could sure use some more people to help out with this project and get it up to speed.

Here is what the route currently looks like and it is mostly rails and roads with some scenery here and there.

Brandon

[Fish4890]

the progress is just amazing and when do we know when this will be Out or will we get parts of the NS Chicago Line From Chicago to Elkhart ?

[wcl]

CN List
Dresser Sub- 100%

To bad ya couldn't narrow it down just for this sub, I would love to just run on this one!!!!

[BrandonS261]

Thanks for the heads up Eric! I can't even get multi editing to work.

[eolesen]

Good luck with multi editing. The only way it ever worked for me on the early days of Packerland was Dropbox synch, and there was a hard and fast limit for only one person to make TDB updates. Not a problem once track was locked down and it was a matter of scenery placement or forest planting.

[BrandonS261]

Thank you Neil, It has sure been a major undertaking but we are slowly making progress. We need to figure out how to do multiplayer route editing so Josh and I can work on the route at the same time.

Brandon

[qballbandit]

Looking very familiar along the river. Keep up the good work!

[BrandonS261]

A few more shots along the mighty Mississippi River on the CP River Subdivision that the Empire Builder takes on its way from the Twin Cities to Chicago.

[BrandonS261]

If you have ever taken a trip on the Empire Builder or been fortunate to ride behind Milwaukee Road 261 down the Mississippi River here is some of my current progress on the route. I am really trying to make it so when you drive a train on a route you really get a feel of what the real route is like. As you can see the route is still fairly bare and needs a lot of scenery still to add but I am slowly making progress. The Milwaukee Road 261 ex GN Facility is custom built by myself and has the doors open so you can drive inside of the shop. Let me know what you all think and if anyone would be willing to help with anything please let us know. The main thing right now is trying to get custom buildings built.

[BrandonS261]

Hey guys,

I know very long time no talk from Josh and I when it comes to the route. Josh and I have started to come up with a game plan on how to accomplish this major route that we started years ago. We are actually meeting in person this weekend to go over stuff and ride behind Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive together.

Anyways, as for my section of the route I had to take a break from it over the summer as I usually do not work on Open Rails during the summer months but starting to get back into it once again.

My main goal is to get the CP and BNSF routes completed with roads and some scenery between St Paul and La Crosse, WI. I have also been working on the BNSF route that runs through my home town called the Wayzata Sub that runs from Minneapolis, MN to Willmar, MN.

Another route I have been working on is Twin Cities and Western from Minneapolis Jct. to Glencoe, MN. Ex Milwaukee Road mainline that the 261 will be taking this weekend in fact and I have personally railfanned that line quite a bit over the years so I know the line well.

I am also starting to build custom buildings for the route and work on making station signs. We will need help making custom buildings if anyone is interested. Mainly for the major cities like Chicago, the Twin Cities and Milwaukee along with stations along the routes as well.

Josh will give you an update on what he plans to do when he gets a chance and hope to put some new screenshots up when we are ready to do so.

Brandon

[frliss]

Brandon,

I'm looking forward to the screen shots.

Fred

[BrandonS261]

I have decided to think more practical and shift my focus to roads and try to get as many roads as I can done on the routes I have track 100% completed. I have also been working on some yards in the Twin Cities area to try and finish up as much track work as I possibly can as well in the area. Photos to come at a later date.

Brandon

[BrandonS261]

Would anyone be willing to build any custom buildings or stations for our route? Mainly for the Chicago, Milwaukee and the Twin Cities area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Brandon