SW Pennsylvania Mon River Line

[slabay]

Hint: use telegraphs from creator "eurostar". They look better in higher versions of TRS.

It IS eurostar's Telegraph 20 wire. You got my hopes up, because I really liked these telegraphs back in 09 but I wasn't happy with them in 10. I thought you might have been giving me something better.

I don't know..... maybe it is Dermmy's famous low "in the weeds because this area's not really finished" angle that I took the shot at that makes them look bad? I've played with some higher angles and it looks a bit better. Another thing from the upgrade that I wasn't too thrilled with. Since I haven't done very much route building work since the upgrade, maybe I'll just pitch the changes I've made and see what graphics settings I can tweak in 10 & switch back to my 09 version in compatibility mode.

---Scott

 

[slabay]

Sort of in a route-building slump, so I've been doing a little more reskinning. Now it is a trio of Detroit Edison (DEEX) SD-40's dragging a string of Bethgons between Fayette City and Belle Vernon north of MM45 on the P&LE/CSX side of the river.

Thanks to Roger Crouch (prjindigo) for his SD-40's and MSGSapper for making them work in TS2010. Strangely, even standing still at idle, the wheels rotate in reverse. I think I might try swapping some JR bogies under it. Then again, maybe not because the detail on the JR stuff will probably blow the rest of it away.

---Scott

 

[slabay]

I haven't done much work lately- just bought a house and moving has been a bear (but I never have to do that again!!!!)

Here, the mill switcher spots some coil cars.

My Allenport Plant sign will be available on the DLS shortly. Thanks to Dave Snow for allowing reskinning of his great assets!

 

[Euphod]

Strangely, even standing still at idle, the wheels rotate in reverse.

Here's the fix for that:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?87979-Sop-Wheels&highlight=wheels+turning

 

[Jrrrail]

I like the riverfront scene.

I hope to get better , when I create my roughts.

 

[slabay]

Thanks for the fix, Ed. I'll have to try it out when I get some spare time (probably this weekend).

John- my first few tries at routebuilding were pretty tragic. Keep watching in these forums....there are a LOT of guys out here doing some REALLY great routes. It just takes practice and perseverance and you'll get the hang of it. Good luck!!

 

[slabay]

I ended up putting a set of NS37's bogies under the SD40's and I like it much better than the spinning wheel ones anyway, so I never tried the fix. 003 on the right has the older spinning wheel ones, 001 on the left has Justin's.

I've been doing some more reskinning work lately to fill out some details. Building the route hasn't really tickled my fancy lately.

Can't leave 2Wayne and btvfd have all the fun with the SW1500's. Here's my Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel reskin of Mchawkman's SW1500:

Here the WPSX switcher spots a few loads of slabs. Anyone know of a good 50' flatcar that is reskinnable that has PSD's available? I need a plain non-bulkhead flat and anything much over 50' will be too long. I think my first piece of content I try to make (not reskin) will be new steel slabs. I'm not liking these very much either.

PC6141 rolls by on the main while a CR Geep works the block plant at Dravo. Thanks to Dave for his church sign, re-purposed for the cement plant!

 

[slabay]

I managed to get out of my slump and got motivated to do a little more of the route building this evening........ A lot of roadway work (not very interesting to look at raw roads) and some trackside un-improvement (growing weeds, etc.). Managed to build the Allenport Mill and Stockdale out a little bit, too.

Penn Central 9537 crosses Locust Street in Stockdale:

Approaching Locust Street passing the Stockdale VFD and the Post Office (I used to walk to this post office with my grandfather every morning to get the mail - PO Box 211, Stockdale PA!)

Looking towards PA88 from above the VFD and across the ball field parking lot:

Loading scrap to go back to Monessen at the Allenport Mill:

The mill switcher pulls a set of gons full of pipe:

P&LE 1544 with a set of slab racks leaving the mill gate onto the PC/CR mainline towards Stockdale:

Enough of the good stuff- now for the bad: Is there a setting I am missing or something? How do I fix this? It is JVC grass, and I am using TS10. Is there simply a setting I have wrong? I am in native mode, have antialiasing set to 2, and am pretty sure I am using DirectX. It is not just the grass- the fence and power lines will do it to my trains, too.

 

[slabay]

After a bunch of reskinning, it is time to get back to a little route building. After all, I have to use some of the stuff I made, right? For a little change of scenery, I've been working downstream across the river at the Monessen Mill.

Dragging a cut of bulkheads out of the rail rolling mill on a crappy afternoon:

A longer shot across the Monessen plant:

Passing a set of boxcars in the siding at a warehouse in the mill along the P&LE (now CSX) mainline:

Pulling a slag tipper out of the blast furnace:

"I think I can, I think I can...." The Little Engine that Could drags its slag tippers up the grade to Monessen Junction with the Norfolk & Western (now Wheeling & Lake Erie) mainline at the top of the cliff:

Almost to the switchback (the next set of tracks back). The W&LE double tracks approaching Monessen Junction are behind the switchback:

Now pushing back across the N&W/W&LE mains:

Crossing over C. Vance Deicas Memorial Highway, still pushing (took a few liberties here because this stuff has to go somewhere and this spur has been abandoned for years - again, this is not a rivet-counter's route, but more in the spirit of the era):

In the middle of nowhere between Monessen and Rostraver:

Finally!!! 2 1/2 miles away, but after a 7 1/4 mile trip, climbing 310 feet out of the valley, we can ditch this stuff!!

 

[deadpoolmx55]

Im liking this route! being from downtown and just a trip and a fall from falling on the MON line that's about 100 yards from my house makes me very interested in this line. Great work so far!

 

[slabay]

A little route building going on.......

Looking down from the W&LE line onto the Monessen Southwestern Rwy as the Monessen plant switcher drags some slag to the Rostraver pit:

Nighttime on SR906 as a P&LE empty coal train heads south out of Belle Vernon below:

The Wheeling Steel train brings gons of scrap steel back from Allenport to Monessen with empty slab racks at the rear, northbound out of the Newell Yard past a waiting coal load and a parked set of empties:

 

[slabay]

WOW! I haven't posted anything here in nearly four months! I sort of fell into a route building funk, got really wrapped up in reskins, and haven't done anything on my route since about the time of the last post in this thread. I found a link to historicaerials.com in another thread, and looking at the areas of my route on that site, I saw in photos all of the stuff that I could only vaguely remember from the dusty corners of my mind. So, I was re-inspired to get back to a little bit of route building work. This is in the area of the Brownsville bridge on the east side of the river.

Lots of good stuff on these old photos.... even in this area, double track mains up to the P&LE yard, the Monongahela Railway's yard on the Loveridge Branch, the now abandoned PRR Redstone Branch....

 

[slabay]

I wanted to run the Pennsylvania North Western ES44's, so here they are, away from their home tracks, on the Mon Line:

On the Brownsville crossover on Monongahela Raliway's Loveridge branch with a unit train of Detroit Edison Bethgons.

Passing CP Brown. P&LE gondolas full of scrap rails lay in the siding.

Crossing over Albany Road as they head onto the Brownsville Bridge to cross the Mon to the Norfolk Southern side.

 

[slabay]

Killing two birds with one stone, here are some Heritage Units pulling a loaded Detroit Edison unit train entering Newell, PA- I wanted to get some good screenies of my CSX Heritage Units in TS12, and not on my simple display track board. These are also the first shots I've done on my Mon Line in TS12.

I've got some more detail work I need to do now that I've migrated the route to TS12 (some of this was built in TS09, moved to TS10, and moved again!) I've found that the details are great, and I can build the route, but I can't really run trains, because my poor laptop just can't handle it.

 

[deadpoolmx55]

NICE route and locos look great!

 

[slabay]

The late evening sun sets and shines off of a Conrail local in Stockdale:

(Got to fix those sinking cars)

 

[slabay]

Replaced the old telegraph lines with LWVRR's new Laurel Line ones. Here's a typical Penn Central "Whatever's lying around the yard today" lashup pulling empties southbound to the coal mines. Looks like its a pair of Alcos, a switcher, and a spare F unit today.

 

[mp202]

Aaaaaannnd, traveling at a blistering 10 MPH.

 

[slabay]

Aaaaaannnd, traveling at a blistering 10 MPH.

LMAO, it doesn't seem quite that fast when you were waiting at a crossing for it to go by, either!!!:hehe:

 

[cascaderailroad]

I have tried 5 mph speedboards, and AI hunts, stalls, speeds up, speeds @ 10 mph, then repeats the stalling, slowing, speeding repitition, over an over, like it is hunting & pecking.

I always us 10 mph speedboards, as even at that speed, trainz seem to be passing by the trackside camera, much too fast, in yards.

Your route looks great !