Trainz Tutorial: Using Basemapz

Trainz Tutorial: Using Basemapz
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Let's take a look at a long awaited piece of companion software for Trainz called BaseMapz.
BaseMapz allows content creators the ability to import track plans as placeable assets into various versions of Trainz. These assets can then be used to quickly lay track and build a working model railroad.
Get BaseMapz: bit.ly/2jFUOUt
Original track plan from Model Railroader Magazine: bit.ly/2j2LC9t
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[@Froggyman145]

Finally, I just might be able to recreate Tweetsie Railroad, after 11 unsuccessful tries from memory/references. Thank you so much for this! Note: will probably be using a Google Maps view of it, will update on how it goes.

[@BanditAviation]

I will test it on TRS19. My friends told me about Basemaps and I'm thinking about building some of the Model layouts. this is a good idea to start off. Thank you!

[@alexatron5963]

it doesnt work on TRS19 :C

[@railroadactive]

I was able to make a route this way with TRS19 and I followed this tutorial to a T so its possible.

[@Trainz20]

Approach Medium, Thank you for this, now i have a series inspired by your model route speedbuilds! Thanks again for this. Huge fan!

[@NJP76]

Congratulations on once again getting featured in the Trainz Newsletter! In my opinion, they couldn't have found a better candidate. I am becoming more of a fan of your channel with each video I watch. PS: You have earned a shoutout in my live stream this week.

[@ApproachMedium]

Thank you and thanks for the shoutout! Glad you're enjoying my videos. Doing my best to up the quality with each video I make.

[@RebelRacer70]

OMG, this is a truly amazing piece of software. I've been trying to "free hand" a layout which has been taking forever now and it was absolutely BRUTAL. I had to Alt/Tab back and forth from Surveyor to the pic of the layout God knows how many times trying to get the dimensions & especially the curves right. I've accomplished more in 15 min's than I have in hours of work without Basemapz and that's no exaggeration. Thank You Approach Medium for the vid and a HUGE Thank You to ModelerMJ for this fantastic piece of software!

[@ApproachMedium]

Awesome! Glad to hear it helped you out :-)

[@modelermj7982]

ModelerMJ here. Just wanted to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH for doing this tutorial and getting the word out about my software. I really appreciate it when fellow Trainz users take the time and effort to do this kind of thing. By the way, I've also very much enjoyed your series on building the Pennsylvania & Berwind - very nicely done and I certainly learned a lot.

[@ApproachMedium]

Oh man I'm so glad to hear that from you! Glad you approve :-D I knew it wouldn't take long for this video to circulate back to the software creator. Was thinking of sharing it on the Trainz Forums but I'm going to take a guess it's already made its way there. Feel free to link to this video on your website if you'd like. I'm happy to finally be contributing to such a great community myself. Also glad to hear you're enjoying the series! See you in the next one

[@robertstoner217]

Thanks for the tutorial. I've owned Trainz: A New Era for about 1 1/2 years now, and this is my first go in train simulation. I have built a number of layouts, and I've been looking for a simple way of doing this to create a good model layout, and this seems to be the answer. The video is very informative and helpful.

[@ApproachMedium]

Hope it helps you along. Once you get the basemap in track laying can go pretty quickly.

[@GooseinTheCabooseProductions]

Fantastic video man, this looks to be one of the much cooler tricks in virtual model railroading. Looking forward to more!!

[@ApproachMedium]

Thanks! Plenty on the way ;-)

[@colinsmith2618]

dude that intro gives me flashbacks to idubbbz when he still made content cop

[@mikepericolosi9386]

You are amazing Approach Medium! Love the way you create and detail routes. Cannot wait for the Steam Era Transition route I asked for a few vids back. Keep up the amazing work! 😉😉👍👍👍

[@ApproachMedium]

Thanks buddy!

[@mikepericolosi9386]

+Approach Medium welcome! Also where's part 2 of the TMR17?

[@ApproachMedium]

Will be out this Tuesday. I'll be alternating the series for as long as I can handle a video a week.

[@mikepericolosi9386]

+Approach Medium I just noticed Skype on your pc. I was rewatching to tutorial because I am planning on making a Model RR in the future when I have spare time.

[@ApproachMedium]

I do have Skype but it's currently set up for my personal account and I'd rather not have my entire name out and available to the world. I'll create a skype account eventually and when I do I'll let everyone know in a video

[@djkirkdigglerusn5476]

I'm trying to do a whole train route from city to city so how would I do that? Won't that take a lot of pictures and tiles? Can you do a video on that please :)

[@SekHakuna]

Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

[@ApproachMedium]

Welcome, thanks for watching!

[@jclassproductions8079]

Approach Medium, Awesome, it's a nifty tool as it can help with building routes🛤

[@GWR-fd1up]

What dimensions would I need to put in, to make a real scale map

[@Mearrin69]

Great work. Thanks for this. i've been trying to freehand an Iain Rice plan in TMR2017...and it hasn't gone well. Will try this tonight.

[@ApproachMedium]

Let me know how it works out for ya

[@Mearrin69]

It went pretty well, despite my general derpiness with TMR17. I gave you a shoutout and link in the description of the vid I posted.

[@falconauii]

Hey A/M can you do a Tutorial on more than one baseboard, am trying to copy a large layout but it only makes it into 1 board using basemapz, which is way to small, Thanks.

[@NicoDaycon]

Every time I create a basemap that requires more than 1 baseboard, it doesn't align them correctly in surveyor. Is there a way to fix this?

[@colivera427]

Just finished up the Rice Harbor plan. All the track is in place except for the turntable at the Engine House. Thanks for the tutorial!

[@ApproachMedium]

+colivera427 Awesome! Drop me a link if you post photos anywhere.

[@xigma5538]

Ok cool found the video and now I can start building some cool routes 😎

[@TWA1945]

Hi Approach, how do you get the baseboards to work fully (or gauge) in T:ANE, like you used for the WK&S? A friend of mine is making the basemapz for me and they say there isn't any option for real scale, and only model gauges are available.

[@ApproachMedium]

If you want to use google satellite views you’re better off using a program called TransDEM

[@RailfanLogan]

I keep getting "Unable to read config file for asset" when importing to Trainz 2019. Any help would be appreciated.

[@delawarecountyrailfan2204]

Can you also take a screenshot on Google Maps and use that as a real scale route?

[@ApproachMedium]

Yes it's possible but I haven't done the work to figure out how to do it exactly.

[@johnwhorfin5150]

good question Trainboy105...Dems

[@superflashlightrailproduct1355]

How do you get that name at the top left screen. CapeCod2 - Basemapz. Basemapz that I have just says Basemapz. How do I get the name on the top left screen?

[@freakyfridayyy2476]

Where can I download this? The link in the description doesn't work for me at all.

[@PRR-Fan]

Approach Medium I tried this in Trainz 2009 and the route creation worked in BaseMapz with no errors. I imported it into Content Manager and it created the route but when I view it in Surveyor it does not show the layout image. It is all black. Not sure if 2009 does layers or not.

[@teejaythomas4043]

I tried this with google maps of actual area I grew up in, It worked fine on the first basemap. every basemap since I get the following error "VE76: Unable to load mesh file" is there a way to fix it that you may know of or one of your followers?

[@Ianjanes03]

I can't find track plans that are not blurry or too bright when i open the route in trainz.

[@ultimategaming1503]

Does it work on Mac?

[@tsrail9244]

I. NEED. THIS. Okay bye imma go download basemapz

[@KTHedleyBassoon]

Does it work in TANE

[@liamcrimmins8886]

Hey can you make a tutorial on how you make your level crossings?

[@ApproachMedium]

Yes. It's on my list of tutorials. It might just take a bit before I get around to it ;-)

[@Flamerailzzz]

How do you lay multiple basemaps down? I'm working on the 161 mile NS Alabama Division from Atlanta to Birmingham and Im really struggling to start because of the applications.

[@ApproachMedium]

There may be a better way to do it, but off the top of my head I would suggest making a few basemaps routes, then either merging them in surveyor or just placing the actual map file down on a blank baseboard. Basemapz turns the basemap into a scenery asset so you could just make a bunch and place them manually.

[@Flamerailzzz]

Thanks your the best!

[@theblackdiamond6399]

nice vid I sub

[@norbertdx]

Anyone knows if RWDecals will work with Trainz?

[@BrettCulley]

how do i delete the overlay after i have layed my track down? i don't want to accidently delete something in the content manager i need.i layed my track on the same layer as my base maps, i am new to this.one last question, can track be replaced with other track after its already put down?

[@ApproachMedium]

You can either delete the asset just like you would any other asset or you can delete the layer the basemap is on. The basemap can be found in the buildings tab. You can place any track at any time.

[@djkirkdigglerusn5476]

Does it work the same if I use google earth maps :)

[@rockywoodfilms3934]

Does not work for me. I did everything up to importing to content manager and nothing shows up in surveyor at all Trainz version 2006

[@capefeartrainsandsirens]

I’ll try to do the KCS Vicksburg Sub

[@harleymemphis9190]

is basemap still avalibe !

[@MBTAMoreRailfan]

does this work on mac?

[@onionhat9141]

Dang basemapz doesn't work anymore apparently is there any other place I'm able to get something like this? wayback doesn't even work

[@noahhaley0640]

Unable to read config file for asset

[@cakensmoosher2911]

Any chance you could create a tutorial for beginners on how to build a layout from start to finish in TMR17. I haven't seen a lot of tutorials showing the basics of building the bench work, laying track and such in TMR17.

[@ApproachMedium]

Check out my other Trainz Model Railroad series. Might be something you'd be interested in ;-)

[@MikeNHOC]

I followed the directions you gave and everything worked fine. However the basemap that shows up in TANE is really light, is there a way to make it darker and easier to see?

[@ApproachMedium]

You have to adjust it in a photo editing program

[@MikeNHOC]

ok, Thank you.. I will try again

[@JOINTBAW]

does the rout maps have to be on the base map website or can you use others?

[@ApproachMedium]

Use whatever you want.

[@ivandivan1881]

Hi there :) great to see you ,have question ,do you know where can find converter like this one here but with scale 1/1 ,i see here the largest scale is 1/8 ,i already work with it and it works perfectly but there is no scale 1/1 ,do you know if somewhere exist converter with scale 1/1 ,for images from google earth into trainz basemaps ? Thank you very much :)

[@ApproachMedium]

I've heard there's a way to do it but I'm not familiar myself. I would check the developers website and the Trainz Forums.

[@ivandivan1881]

Thank you :) let me know if u find something about that :) Ivan :)

[@kesenex2883]

@@ivandivan1881 measure the distance of the screenshot when 1" equals an x amount example (1in =100ft) times the measured distance to get it feet instead of inches example (19x100=1900/8=237ft5in in 1]8th scale

[@ivandivan1881]

@@kesenex2883 Thank you :)I do appreciate it :)

[@scamtrak]

For some reason it always errors on me and won’t upload. It keeps on saying kudi won’t install when it’s done downloading into Trainz. Any advice to fix it?

[@ApproachMedium]

It sounds like the build number is incorrect. So you might be exporting it with a build newer than the game you're running.

[@stevechurch2222]

How much does Trans DEM cost?

[@tsargaming4740]

thanks

[@mrelvispresley6977]

thanks for sharing AP! Btw I already knew your name profile on trainz as you were featured in TMR with Franklin Avenue Lol. see you!

[@ApproachMedium]

You got it buddy! I figured some people have already figured out who I am. Waiting for it to trickle into real life next lol

[@mrelvispresley6977]

you have been featured once again in trainz newslatter, congrats!

[@Gavin.Faivre]

Thanks for showing me how to do it

[@ApproachMedium]

You got it! :-)

[@steamloco]

Where is dowload?

[@eastnetherlandsrailroad3421]

Why does the link not work?

[@stevechurch2222]

will base maps work with google earth pro in making a 485 mile route?

[@ApproachMedium]

No. You'll need TransDEM for that.

[@ReaverLordTonus]

I don't suppose there's a source image or "sprite sheet" (a image with pre-scaled track pieces and specific objects like turntables) that can be used to drafting our own track plans in photoshop? Or a program that's specifically for designing track plans to scale?

[@ApproachMedium]

www.railmodeller.com/home-railmodeller.html

[@ReaverLordTonus]

Approach Medium is there a PC version? I don't use Mac.

[@ApproachMedium]

I'm not sure. There's a bunch of other software out there. I don't have much experience with any of it though.

[@raysyndrome7209]

Every time I upload it to tane it keeps enlarging it o.o

[@CodysTrainz]

Is basemapz safe to run on your computer? It say's it comes from an unknown publisher

[@Chasingrail]

Totally. Never had any problems

[@KeithHallDJKUniverse80s]

the link for basemapz does not work

[@paulpaisanu3524]

Basemapz link is not working :(

[@imeric3026]

How do you make one bigger than 200ft? (Make a real world track plan) If I can only do 200 ft at a time it will take me hundreds of pictures.

[@ApproachMedium]

As far as I understand it, you'll need to break it up into separate routes and merge them together. But I don't know that for sure as I've never tried.

[@versejj1405]

Sorry to ask such a used question, but what is the intro music?

[@ApproachMedium]

Otis McMusic - Sting

[@coolcatTF2]

Hey approach medium is there a way to get this and JR content if you bought the game on steam

[@ApproachMedium]

Yeah just download from JR's site or the DLS

[@coolcatTF2]

Approach Medium never mind becuase right after i got tane for the download station

[@aprintojoss8079]

Basemapz is useful for flat terrain. It's NOT FOR map If there are many hills or different height of terrain.

[@rjc0234]

Is there a tool that allows you to import 1:1 scale maps for full sized prototypical lines?

[@ApproachMedium]

+rjc0234 There is a way to do it but I haven't had the time to sit down and learn it myself. Once I do I'll probably make another video on it. Let me know if you figure it out before I do ;-)

[@rjc0234]

I have seen people doing a work around, buy importing the maps into sketchup, making them 1:1 scale, and exporting them through the (incredible) "rubyTmix" program that the same gentleman created. thankfully (similar with you and this tutorial) there is quite a good English tutorial on that. great job! thank-you

[@StorkNest]

Basemapz site cannot be reached through Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, Chrome says it takes too long to respond. I can get a saved copy of the site without pics.

[@ApproachMedium]

Strange. I'd check again later.

[@arierx1824]

good job

[@ApproachMedium]

Thanks dude!

[@sequonabrint7558]

first time what Is a j peg

[@rpxx4458]

Nice video Approach. RPearson here. One comment I have is you didn't take any care to straighten the image before you loaded it into Mike's program. Scanning in plans from magazines can result in some distortions. Yours was rotated or skewed a bit. Mike has an excellent manual that comes with the BaseMaps program. Fairly short and detailed. It covers this and more. I recommend everyone read thru it before doing any serious work for Trainz/Tane/TMR17.

[@ApproachMedium]

You're absolutely right. I don't own a scanner so the only way for me to get the track plan into my computer was to take a photo with my iphone. I did the best I could and for the purposes of the tutorial I think it got the job done. The thing about these track plans is that they're not drawn perfectly to scale to begin with, so using them is simply having a close reference. Track spacing and turnouts aren't perfect so some improvisation is required anyway.

[@lukasburkett8400]

I learned a lot

[@ApproachMedium]

Sweet! XD

[@AussieChristophe27]

My computer security software doesn't seem to like Basemapz, because every time I try to install it my security software deems it unsafe and removes it.

[@ApproachMedium]

+AussieChristophe27 Just lower your security settings and you should be good.

[@coltjeffries229]

Was that Otis McMusic at the beginning?

[@ApproachMedium]

Sure was!

[@joshbnsf]

I love this naw I can do it thanks you so much

[@ApproachMedium]

Sweet! XD

[@joshbnsf]

can you do a BNSF root

[@ApproachMedium]

I might be able to do one in the future. Have to find a good track plan first :-)

[@joshbnsf]

OK thanks you

[@joshbnsf]

@@randomnessetc5600 this was 3 years ago

[@tehangrybird345]

Is Trainz model railroad in T:ANE

[@Chasingrail]

It’s a separate game

[@doctorwhofan5558]

Website won't load

[@tsargaming4740]

doing it as i watch

[@csxmike7824]

I tried, but it's not showing my map. I click load the created map, and it's blank. All the layers are there, but nothing that I can see. Do you know what I did wrong?

[@ApproachMedium]

Strange. Did the preview in Basemapz look correct? Are you saying that it created the route for you complete with the layers but the track plan image isn't showing up?

[@ApproachMedium]

I would suggest you create the basemap file again and reinstall it and see what happens. You might have just dropped the incorrect file into CM or Basemapz didn't scale the image properly.

[@csxmike7824]

Yes, that is exactly what happened. I'll try to remake it again. Thanks for the tutorial though! That just added a lot to trainz :D

[@michaeleaton9296]

how do you create track plan?

[@ApproachMedium]

You can find them on Model Railroaders website or online and in magazines.

[@eastcoastrailfanproduction6393]

When i hit ok after putting in my trainz username and password in, it says that i have to put in a numeric integer value.

[@yuhuiding6641]

MBTAfan I like the MBTA

[@yuhuiding6641]

And the LIRR MNRR NJT and PATH

[@eastcoastrailfanproduction6393]

cool!

[@cedarvalleyrail8419]

welp, my import is 15 baseplates by 9 so great

[@NortheasternRailPhotography]

It does not work for me

[@michaeleaton9106]

can it work for trainz 12 too or no?

[@ApproachMedium]

Yes. As far as I know it works will all versions of Trainz.

[@michaeleaton9106]

Approach Medium ok, cause I have trainz 12 and I'm gonna try it, btw, thanks for the tutorial

[@liamwebster1400]

Suscribed to you :).

[@ApproachMedium]

Awesome! Welcome to the channel!

[@liamwebster1400]

:).

[@westernwashingtonrailprodu6339]

*imports entire reaction meme folder*

[@scarecrow108productions7]

LOOOL!!!! XD!!!

[@southeastvirginiarailfan2110]

I may do that and upload it to the dls lol

[@JeremiahTrane]

That dont work, the tracks are to close to each other, and on the layout itself, for the buildings that are on the map, once you place a building over that map, the buildings are all way to big. So this dont work well at all doing it this way.

[@The_L-3C_Pro]

2:06 ok i won't

[@hunterrailfannerarchives881]

First

[@ApproachMedium]

w00t! XD

[@parkertrainz6149]

You play minecraft

[@ApproachMedium]

Yeah. Not as much as I used to but yeah I do play occasionally.

[@meat4570]

BOBBY STANFORD New it!