Chicago Metro V2 maps

[sniper297]

Coming soon - most of the main route involved general cleanup, but also added commuter stations to the Burlington and Milwaukee lines, then added passenger pickup industry "invisible platforms" to all stations so passenger train drivers have something to do. Added another transit line with streetcar running, and invisible passenger platforms to all streetcar and L stops - can't begin to say what a tiresome tedious chore THAT was. Anyway, here's the maps;





Also added named switch towers, key should be self explanatory - the idea is that by looking at the map in multiplayer anyone can find the nearest interlocking tower to figure out where he is.

[sniper297]

Passengers loading at one of the new Milwaukee commuter stations.



Section of the streetcar route. Still haven't figured out these invisible platforms, the height is adjustable but it don't stick unless you adjust in the session rather than the route - I set all these to 0.3 and saved the route, started the session and they're all standing three feet above the sidewalk again. Red Bull gives you wings or something.



Ran the tracks on the outside lanes since apparently the vehicles are hard coded to the inside lanes and can't be changed. You still drive thru cars at intersections but it's not as bad as constantly running thru them in the same lane.



I'm calling this the "Douglas Park L", but it's really a mix of that and the old Congress Street - Garfield Park elevated lines.



Interurban section currently has only the one station and it's only a mile or so, I may expand someday if I can find or make some decent interurban cars. Adding trolley poles to the old NYCTA cars is on the back burner right now, at the moment they're giving me some kind of sound loop in TS12. Other glitch, the icons for Load Passengers that are visible in the TS2010 F6 window are invisible in the TS12 F6 window. They still work, but it's a worrisome glitch I'd like to fix in case it turns out to have teeth later on.

[Amtrak71]

Looks cool! Cant wait for the MP session for this one(if there even is one). hopefully we can get my Trainz MP fixed before it comes out!

[sniper297]

That's what you get for buying a Mac instead of a REAL computer! Seriously, I would double check that you didn't do something to disable or corrupt that KUID, then submit a helpdesk ticket to report it. It's an industry commodity that's gonna be used by a lot of routes, if a TS12 route uses it and it's not available to Mac users then TS12 and Mac multiplayer are not compatible as advertised, they need to upload it.

[NSL Fan]

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=39453

Hey Jim, have you seen these?

[sniper297]

Worse than useless to me. Somebody MIGHT have thought about making North Shore cars and said "Landrvr already did, I'll make something else". Meanwhile he wants to put silly restrictions on how to share the ones he made, meaning if you use them in a session you have to add a readme with email addresses where the end user can ask for them to use in the session. And of course totally worthless for multiplayer. No, my primary goal for all addons I make is ease and simplicity of installation for the end user, so I just won't use anything that isn't either on the DLS or free to modify and upload to the DLS.

What I would really like is an actual 4000 series dual powered CTA car, altho a North Shore car available on the DLS would be nice too.

[NSL Fan]

Ah, I see.

Overall, in any simulator, Chicagoland Traction is sorely underrepresented. It is something that I am noticing is being slowly fixed, though, at least in MSTS. There are North Shore and South Shore routes in production that I know of, and if the routes are built, stock builders will come. It's all a chain reaction. One can hope that someday there will be more stuff. I know I've tried (at least 5 times) to create a route, or rolling stock, but each time it turned sour. Like I said, maybe one day...

Here's some philosophy though. Think of all the routes and stuff there are for things such as the NYCTA. Someone had to choose that they wanted to build that stuff. So what if they chose something like the CTA instead. There would be no NYCTA, or at least not as much of it. It'd be an alternate reality thing. There'd be people who think that all that Chicago stuff is dandy, but feel that real absence of the New York stuff. That's basically what is showing here in the V scale relm, to me at least. I am glad that there are content creators who have created what traction we have now though.

At the end of the day, I may be rambling, but hey, I can't be the only one who laments the lack of this or that...

Zach

[sniper297]

Worst trouble with route building is once you start you need a 12 step program to stop. Decided to go ahead and start the north-northwest expansion, rather than going all the way to Milwaukee I connected back into the main route thru a belt line running along Bloomingdale (1800 north). Dunno who it belongs to, in Bing maps it looks abandoned now, but this being a fictional route I can do whatever I want with it.



That's the new main map, upper right side is the new section from Hubbard Street to Independence Boulevard, includes Goose Island cuz why not. Screenies;



New commuter station on the Milwaukee line looking east toward the new wye at Independence.



Wicker Park industrial area, if this looks familiar it's because I stole half a dozen tiles from one of Phil Skene's routes. Not to worry, I slopped some paint around and filed off the serial numbers, Phil will never know.



North end of Goose Island.



Not many spurs here, but a lot of tight curves so what switching there is will be challenging.



Hubbard Street tower looking toward NorthWestern Station - I refuse to EVER call it "Ogilve Center".

[sniper297]

More shots for the commuter fans.

[sniper297]

Up and running;

Chicago Metro 2,<kuid:522774:100023>

On the DLS now, hasn't appeared in content mangler yet due to the usual delay updating that. Template sessions to come over the next few days.