The Abandoned Mines

The Abandoned Mines was the winning entry for the Hallowed Cove Comp built by Jotrain Gamer, the layout featured an abandoned mineshaft with hidden caves, interesting scenes and secrets. The layout was built over 11 days, according to the creator and utilised custom props, trains, terrain all modelled by “Jotrain” and ambient audio.

Several unique rollingstock were made for the layout, these include 3 minecart wagons (empty, coal and gold load variants) and a driverable minecart which the player be seated in. These carts were modelled to suit the undevised narrow gauge tracks within the game.

Trivia:
The layout was set at the dusk of nightfall with dry thunder enabled and Halloween mode disabled to give it an eerier and startling atmosphere and environment. As a result, the most dominant light source are the lanterns hanging from the wooden tunnel supports, illuminating as the minecarts runs through them.

The idea of the layout originated from a Minecraft underground roller coaster that the creator made in their own world which also included a ride through a gloomy cave and around a lava lake.

The layout was also heavily inspired by the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" mineshaft roller coaster scene, recreating several design aspects such as the supports and the minecarts that the player rides in from the film.