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Some, BUT PERHAPS NOT ALL, of the trees in these shots are mine.

 

by Roy McLaughlin

'roymac'

The Western Central Railway starts in Edmonton, Alberta  (fictional version of the city) . The landscape is close to what you would find around this area i.e. sometimes flat and empty other times hilly with a lot of trees. It is a double lined route which heads SW and North out of the City. For Passenger activity I have included Sherwood Park (East), St. Paul (North) Union Station - in Edmonton, Ponoka (South) currently. All are interactive except Union Station. There is an Oil Producing Station close to St. Paul, a Coal Mine in the central part of the N. American Default map, and a container station also on that map. These will form the basis of the industries in which the freight traffic will rely on. The N. American Default map is the only map that is not entirely mine. I have always liked it and have used it as a starting point in all 3 versions. Each time it has gone through extensive modifications to suit my new theme. From Edmonton the trains will travel in an East-West direction with the odd short section of track merging to a single line, so as to make good use of the AI features built into Trainz. I don't want the trackage to be too complicated as the AI is good, but not that good! It will be looped so that when left to their own demise, the trains will go about their business without having to constantly monitor them. Warehousing facilities,  a Refinery and a Power Station have yet to be completed.  I am now building the Power Station which is located well SW of the City past Ponoka. When finished I believe the layout will be a good one for both just watching trains and meeting the demands of its industries.

I have enjoyed the making of this one (Western Central)  and have tried to focus on trees, mountains and water more. The blending of those 3 elements into a believable landscape is so far, going well. Perspective is important when doing so, as the blending should appear seamless. Even the detail which makes up the scene - buildings, roads etc, are important and if placed properly can really bring the scene to life. One of my faults when doing so, is that I like detail. To me, it is those little extra support structures that when brought into the picture, bring it alive.  All you have to do, is the next time you are outside somewhere, look around you, and you will see those extra detail items - signs, markers, lights, small support  sheds, signal boxes, trash receptacles  or , telegraph poles. These are what I call the 'add-ons'. They bring life to the scene.

 
 

This portion is composed of shots from the Alberta Central Railway, the previous versions of Roy's layout. I was building this page when version 2 was lost to  'exception errors'. I decided to include it here because 'what might have been' is still a pleasure to look at, and these are great shots!

 

 

NEW  WINTER  ROUTE IMAGES
 
 

 

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