Snow High Valley Distr Ctr (High Resolution 950x532) Approx

Musical Chairs in the Big Yard Today!

Evening all, and to BobbyB, thanks for coming to visit and your kind comments,

:hehe: Today we had so many Freights and Passenger Trains, it was like musical Chairs in here, but like anything else, we always find a way to clear up the Log Jams.

And it looks like it is starting to Snow too.

Locomotives are getting ready to come out of Diesel Service area and start making a joint with some of this standing Freight we have ready to distribute.

Blue Planet Passenger Consist is moving up and staging until Dispatcher gives him a route out of the Yard.

NS Heavy Power is reverse moving to pick up Coal Empty's and haul them over to the mine for refilling.

These baby's are strong and can pretty much pull whatever we have in consists! Although they do smoke a bit.

We are having our local come out to get small deliveries on there way. We have 3 Long haul freights and 2 Locals working today as well as 2 sets of Passenger Trains to move out ASAP. Not a minute to spare either as Time is money and managed Dwell Time for Freight has highest priority for the Railroad!

On the Right in this picture, were getting our first long distance Freight put together.

Also if you look to the right along the edge, you'll see some yard lights I put in the for the night shift employees, it help our workers be in more safe environment with good lighting.

Tomorrow will continue this Story as work our yard and get goods moving to our Customers.

Thanks for dropping in, night now!
 
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Clearing the Log Jam on a Cold and Snowy Day

Well good morning,

Had a problem with MAC computer, so now I can get to posting the pictures.

The Snow is a coming down, its 30 Degrees and lots to do, we have some Photographers here taking pictures of the Trains, this one is seen thru the Tall Grass as the NS Power is moving to grab a Consist in our Yard..

So much Snow is coming down, you can't really see very far down the Tracks, and it's imperative that everyone make safe Rail Moves via Radio, as hand signals are not visible in this type weather, and Brakeman Lamps won't be to visible either.

Our Engineer is patiently waiting for the NS Power ahead to clear for him to leave.

Meanwhile over at the Propane Plant our Switcher is pulling out the Empties and they'll go out for refill.

He will pull out switch Tracks and go over to and grab the Propane Cars too.

#3360 came in and hooked up to our Switcher and they grab a slew of Empties in the Yard outbound for return to Owners Site.

Later will see how the Yard is doing.

Have a good weekend all and thanks for visiting!
 
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HeatherYard is busy......Etc Crews hired for Relief Engines!

Evening All,

As you can see Xmas time is busy around the Yards, this yard is called Heather.....Lots of stuff coming and a going.with the RR being new and all that, we have bunch of Loads coming from CSX and and other RR's as we are an interchange and very important to get the entrusted Cargo's moving.

I have hired lots of Extra Boards today, as we are putting all available power into this
yard to move out and make our commitments.

Just hoping my Dispatching Crew can carry it through for the Crews?

The Engine in the back here is coming from Propane Storage and will switch XCrossover to tracks on our left, then the 2 NS Locos slowly moving forward on right will grab 2 strings of Cars and hook them together, switch 2 more tracks to the right and Grab a Car and Caboose.....Heading out later as Manifest Train NS #8045.......

I got a Switcher and larger power hooked together to pull more Tankers out from another Propane Loader Site to what they have already, plus some other stuff in the Yard as they head out tonight.

Switches are lined, but they'll do a quick reverse move back and grab the other set of Propane Cars to ship out.

We got some serious Smoke going on as these trains have heavy loads to move today.

On the Engine Service Side, I have 2 Sets of Engines and a Single, all Sanded, Oiled and Fueled up to go as soon as I clear out Blue Planet Passenger, Steam Passenger, Chem Train #1501, Freight NS 8045 up ahead......

Good thing I have a Notebook to write all this stuff down,, But my Dispatchers are on top of things........

Well look at this, the MOON came into view tonight as Manifest NS #8045 is leaving the l
yard now on a clear night, no Rain or Snow for the moment! Now I could only get some of this Chocolate, well not this time......I know better.........But just the thought of Hershey's Krackel......MMMM Good.

Moving thru Industry Switches and we We Western Penn Chemicals Switcher #1501 ready to pull out empties, once we clear the main for them. I think we have about 30 cars here.

Notice he has a blinking Yellow Light, he is Remote Controlled by a backpack the Engineer wears, and he is outside standing by his loco...Amazing what we have these days, he can control the Loco to 800' remotely.......Would you ever think such stuff is possible, I didn't.

Well I have bunch other Trains and Switchers on the move, will pick up this story tomorrow morning sometime.

Thanks all, and have a blessed Sunday with your families.
 
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It's the Battle of the Moons! Freights on the Move at Midnight....

Morning all,

Well this week has gone by so quick, I think I blinked...

So it looks like I have some competition here, between our Blue Planet and Logo and our Moon, Hmmm, Probably need to see if there is anymore Moons available? I like them both.

A cabooses Red Light is what you see as he is leaving the Yard, way down the Tracks under the Moon you can see his Head Light as he prepares to turn a corner by Cat Construction. I like the Old Cabooses with Lights and Lanterns, Hope to find some more when I get a chance. It was from an ERA of another time, and I miss sorely the lack of Cabooses on our present day Trains (Yes I know why) it's called a FRED Device or EOTD I think for short acronym. I don't care, I still miss them!

Here is the Lead end of our Train as he is coming past the Corn Sweetener Tankers waiting to be hauled off once we clear.

Looks like CAT has Farm and Construction loads waiting to be shipped out ASAP! And I have Power directly across by the Power Plant lead just waiting for of NS #8045 to clear the Main.

Coming thru the Crossing at 12:00AM.....All looks good, no cars out tonight here, they're probably in the Bars having a Taste, or in Bed already getting ready for their next days work, this is a nice Town and the Folks here are downright friendly.

Oh looky here, this is CSX #2518, he is going to go and grab the loads at CAT Plant across the way, after he gives Manifest NS #8045 a good roll by confirmation.......He has his light on and is looking at the Hoses and Bogeys for defects, all our Crews look out for each other, we don't like nor can we afford the outcome of bad derailment!

That's all for now, let's see later what else is on the move tonight.

Have a great day all and thanks for coming by to see NCNO Trains on the move.
 
Big Snow Storm warning for NCNO area!

Evening all,

We been told a heavy Snow Storm is headed our way in the next day, so we have much to do, as White Outs are possible up here. We are headed to the next town with good load of Freight here.

Looks like the Storm is approaching soon, as heavy Snow is starting not far from here according to Weather Reports.

#1501 is coming out with Empties from Western Penn Chem Co....I can see one thing we need here is more Yard Lighting installed, it is just plain too dark out here for us to work in. I'm going to talk with Corridor Mgr about getting some more lights out here ASAP.

You can just see the Red Light of NS 8045's long freight as it pulls out of the Yard behind us tonight.

#1501 Chem Train is going to come into one of these empty tracks below in the center, you can barely see his lights as he is approaching the area.

Well we took the Tracks on the left, and will drive around back as the Tracks in this yard go into a turnaround loop becomes the Track on our right, pretty cool! Like I said before, Southern 1581 put a lot of effort in this layout. I just have to learn the Route,:hehe: I still get lost out there sometimes in the night.......:eek:

Well that's it for now, you won't believe tomorrows pictures from a major Snow Storm.

Night all and have a good week ahead.
 
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Those are actually some really, really epic shots blue. I like it. Don't think I recognize the loco leading the train in the 4th picture, what is it? Also, you may want to look into the freeware rolling stock of JR, rrmods, and uslw, as they have a pretty vast collection of excellent rolling stock between them which I think could take your shots just that little bit further.
 
Those are actually some really, really epic shots blue. I like it. Don't think I recognize the loco leading the train in the 4th picture, what is it? Also, you may want to look into the freeware rolling stock of JR, rrmods, and uslw, as they have a pretty vast collection of excellent rolling stock between them which I think could take your shots just that little bit further.

:cool: Thanks Southern 1581, much appreciated, I check those sites out, and the little switcher says he is "SW1500 IORY 1501 #25 SAP"

I don't know what "SAP" refers to, but I got him off DLS the other day till I can find some SW types with NS or CSX, livery.

Brought this up in CM and this is what it showed:

kuid <kuid2:359354:100381:1>
username "SW1500 IORY 1501 Indiana & Ohio Railway"
interior <kuid:-18:1101>
enginespec <kuid:104722:51150>
enginesound <kuid:104722:53230>
hornsound <kuid2:98966:544563:1>

;) Glad you liked the pictures, I never know how they are going to come out, especially ones in a Blizzard Snowstorm.
 
SAP is nothing more than sort of a way to put a signiture on the assets. The same way that Davesnow's assets all end with DES.
 
Hopefully I'll be able to get the beta versions of NCNO 1515 and 1516 to you soon, need to talk to mchawkman and see if it's alright if I pass a skin or two out for testing. Also just asked Mr. Dave if I could send out some beta copies of some of the NCNO skins I've made, pending a response.
 
Hopefully I'll be able to get the beta versions of NCNO 1515 and 1516 to you soon, need to talk to mchawkman and see if it's alright if I pass a skin or two out for testing. Also just asked Mr. Dave if I could send out some beta copies of some of the NCNO skins I've made, pending a response.

Ah! Thanks for the meaning of SAP etc, now that makes perfect sense, like an Artist Initials on Paintings Etc. And hopefully will have permission from the Owners you mentioned above........
 
Blowing Snow and Cold continuews

Burrrrr!!!! It's cold, snowy, foggy, windy on the Rails today, thank goodness for heaters in the Trains, sometimes like AC, they don't work, and that's a bummer., here near Engine Service bays you see another Freight getting ready to move out soon. The Sun is trying to peak thru the Snow Clouds in the back, but I hear more Snow is on the way. So will tough it out as we continue Shunting Operations.

In Picture below, the late Colors of Fall are spectacular.

Rounding the bend here.

And I don't think I told you all, we have a Minnie Horse Shoe Curve hear, it's pretty cool. The Color in this Forest is amazing too.

Our Signal awaits us as we slowly advance down the Track at reduced speed due to limited visibility, and you thought we could run at full speed, not in this weather we don't. We have to be able to stop in time for Red Lights, and downed Trees etc. Days like this we have to be do diligent.

The story will continue tomorrow as head to the next town, just before, will drop off 3 Coal Empty's for the Mine.

Thanks for dropping by folks.
 
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Hello everyone,

Hope all is well with the Trainz Family, Mr's Blue caught a Fall Cold, so were trying to nurse her back......

I try taking different pictures as our Freight comes thru the Forest, and this one reminded me of Xmas Colors, so I kept to show. The Seasonal Trees Southern 1581 put in really liven up the detail in this route, as they'll change when we get to Spring, a while away of course. You can't detect it hear, but we are still in snow clouds, so visibility is not to good. Our speed is 10-20 MPH as we move towards the Mine area.

As you can see here, look how close we are to the lights, and they don't show up to much like on a Clear day or evening, quite a contrast I'd say.

Looking thru here, you can't even see the end of our Train, but you sure do see a awesome back drop of Fall Colors. The Route Creator, Southern 1581 new quite well how to populate this area with balanced color and type of trees.

Even further back, we are at 31 cars from the front + 2 Locomotives, you see just beyond the bridge and that's it, imagine if it was night.....Forget about it!

Now at the signal end, you just barely see our train lights, and they are probably 1 to 1.5 Million Candlepower. Let's put it this way, if you brush by them while entering the locomotive, you receive 2nd or worse degree burns on your arms. The Crews hold a very healthy respect for them, as the ones who don't pay attention get a painful reminder!
We are coming up to the Mine Switch to drop off our 3 empty Coal Cars, another more dedicated Train will stop and bring in more cares later today.

Will cut off power here for minute and then have the Mine Power come and separate the 3 Coal Cars from our consist, since we are turned against the Track spurs this is the best way to get the cars in safely.........Mgt doesn't want us to do it old school were stop way back and pull the cars, uncouple them and let them freewheel it into the spur with a Brakeman to set the brakes to stop them.......While our power slips past the switch quickly and the conductor flips the switch to divert them into the spur......I used to watch crews do this where I grew up, it was amazing to watch........

That's all for now......Have a great day.....
up p
 
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Next stop: Coal Drop and Hump Yard, Crew needs relief! Weather is Light Snow,,,,

Late evening all, been a busy with Xmas Decos, and blowing out fuses,,,,oh what fun, need to separate some lights on circuit......

Anyway, our newest power is NS 5259, and I think he'll work out nicely to handle Coal Shunts here at Crowhart Mine Co.

He's going out to snatch up those 3 empty's, will pull our power back and grab our Consist and head towards the City.

Well this is a good site, Dave's Cafe, maybe will stop after we do a Crew Change in the yard ahead. You can smell them Burgers and Steaks cooking....MMMM Good!

This yard is brand new, and I'm sure with our business, it won't be long before it's filled to capacity and will need another one Built soon! LOL. We are moving up to the top at 5MPH, as will climb over the Hump Section.

We have a small hump Yard here, we are pulling over it to stage, the relief Crew will handle this job, as we have been on 14hrs with the Snow Storm and slow speed due to visibility.

Interesting view across the way, you can really see how the Hump Yard is setup, some folks can't quite figure why the tracks are so high in one spot,:hehe: LOL, guess this have to wait and watch the Hump Yard in action later this afternoon.

:sleep: That's it for now, bedtime for this ole man. I plan on showing more of the industries we have on the Railroad soon too.......

But I wanted you all to see this Hump Yard Southern 1581 made, and it works absolutely perfect as long ad you know how to shunt over the Hump........:p.......Engineers are a special breed, not just anyone can be one........:D

Thanks for visiting, and I see quite a few of you did come by, much appreciated.........
 
Nice shots Blue! Glad the hump yard is working for you. The way I have it designed, you can use the loop to run around your train as long as it isn't too terribly long, and then use the lead just outside of town to push the cars up to it, that way you only have to go over the hump once, and you don't have to hump the engines which would bottom out on the hump.

I need to get back to work on the layout soon, at the moment I'm just trying to find room in my schedule to do so. Next week is finals week, and I have a engineering graphics project due Thursday alongside my English portfolio, plus a chem exam I believe on Friday. So I am completely booked at least for the next 2 days, and I'll only have some very minimal breathing room by Friday between 11:00 and 2:30 before I have to gear up for another weekend working the train.

That said, after finals week, I can really turn myself loose on the project, and most importantly its content pack. I have a few ideas for skins that I want to pursue, plus a couple of existing skins I can finalize for release. I'm really hoping Dave releases his GP15 soon, because that little switcher is absolutely perfect for this route and I plan to skin one pretty much instantly upon release for this route. In addition to that, I have Dave's GP40-2W finished for one number, I plan on doing several more, I have mchawkman's SW1500's done more or less, probably won't need to do anything to them to get them release worthy. I have his SD40T-2's started as well but not finished. I have SD40-2's and SD60's from JR finished, but whether or not I can put those out there is doubtful at best. This leaves the projects that I have not yet started. I fully plan to skin up Dave's GP38-2 for this route. I may do another skin from him as well but I would actually have to look and see what all he has made in the locomotive department, as the list by now of his assets is getting to be quite spectacular. The other option is to work around the highly improbable chance of getting the JR SD40-2's out there by instead skinning the SPorBust SD40-2 for the NCNO. I think I can produce a skin in suitable quality to get Frank's seal of approval, although really I'm going from highly unlikely chance of success to highly unlikely chance of success. Basically I'll just see what I can come up with and get permission for and what I put out I put out.

After all that I want to start addressing the problems that the route has, which I have outlined several times and don't have to energy to outline again. Hopefully I can put out an updated route and content pack out around Christmas-ish.
 
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