CSX Q187 past Carters

Had a successful test of the crossing signals and traffic lights. I seem to really like this angle.

Carters Sub (Tampa Terminal Route) Progress

A couple good looks at the area I've been touching up. I have taken to a couple of changes, one of which is the use of Pofig's trees to outline the slash pine forests nearer to the tracks. While it lowers FPS at some locations, that can be fixed by future hardware upgrades. It does significantly improve the image quality though. The leaves in the model in use with this route do actually resemble the slash pines.

I am also working on the 570 overpass, though that isn't pictured... yet. Lots of it is fortunately flat scenery while some of the more 3d scenery is deja vu from 2010.

The Bridge that Caught My Eye Last Week

It's funny for me to consider how I rendered that area, which indeed as previously posted turned out to be a bridge construction site. This is CR 655 at Main Street in Auburndale.

The patches of dirt is about correct, but the corrugated fence was never needed. The Street View (silly me for not looking) shows pilings in place.

Fortunately for this "by the map" builder, the image overlay was updated to an image from April 24. Goes to show an example of the rapid transformation of the route corridor. Actually, I wonder why the town planners did not cater to putting a sidewalk on Main Street. Isn't it the "main" street which embodies the commerce and whatnot for the town? Shouldn't it be accessible to all forms of transport? OK, yes, I want to photograph a train from that bridge. At least there's US HWY 92. ;-)

On a similar subject, ingame detailing of the area in Carters Siding started today. Fortunately, for the benefit of ops like Q251 and Q235, the siding was entirely laid down, signaled to the best of my ability, and frogged. The intersection of Memorial and Old Dixie Hwy is being done at the moment. Soon enough, the whole siding will be complete. The "business" that CSX does at the siding day-by-day could be a hint at one of the next TrainzWatching videos that I will be producing.

More Work Coming Soon

Interests shift but with me, they rotate. I will probably be working on another section of the Tampa Terminal. Much of this does owe to the fact that I was there twice in the last few weeks and acquainted better with the area. Most of this work will be done around the Carters Sub, finally hooking up the detailed Lakeland Jct to the well detailed Auburndale Connection area.

Updates at Auburndale

It can surely get interesting when you pass by an area you did in Trainz and notice something unusual.

Well, not to say I wasn't informed that the S-Line north of Vitis was getting some heavy duty refurb and upgrade work, and the signal at Central was installed. That doesn't seem nearly as image-changing as this.

The big thing I am speaking of is that overpass. This links Main St to a roundabout ramp to CR 655. Google Earth had a hint at it, but only some dirt work in 2010. It is now... complete.
I had not had that thing in mind at all! I thought it was just some dead grass or something when I saw the map. I didn't bother to look into the street view, and now that I did, I can see piers under construction.

The bridge flies over from Main St in a SW direction to which it does a 180 left turn to meet CR655. I believe it is a stop sign intersection, but can see traffic lights if traffic is heavy enough.

Also I didn't really know that 4-1-1 head signal existed. Thought it was a searchlight, but much like New River (Distant to S Dania SB and Distant to Whalen NB) in Miami, it was one of those quiet upgrades. Shame for Miami on that end, as there are now no pure SAL signals anymore on this line; all of them are now either DV or modern colorlights.

Gotta get working in Trainz now! Those views from 92 in real life are... might I say... gorgeous!