FEC Key West extension modern day
- Thread starter nikos1
- Start date
Michael_Evans
thread killer
Michael_Evans
thread killer
Thank You (crosses fingers in hopes of SPORBUST releasing it)That FEC SD70ACe and were make by Sporbust:wave:
knifeswitch1
Jointed Rail
Frank released that awhile ago, but it's not avalible anymore.
thanks you all for your comments, glad you all liked those shots
Richard, thanks again, now im really gonna have to keep working on this route, hopefully i should have more progress by the time the next issue is out.
mabye even a christmas beta but thats a big mabye lol.
ill will bug Frank to rerelease the FEC M-2 on his new site.
Ben, im glad you liked the screenshots, you did a great job on the bridges and this project would not have been possible without your help.
ill be looking for Bahia honda on the DLS
im sure trs is gonna enjoy placing a fixed object that long
Richard, thanks again, now im really gonna have to keep working on this route, hopefully i should have more progress by the time the next issue is out.
mabye even a christmas beta but thats a big mabye lol.
ill will bug Frank to rerelease the FEC M-2 on his new site.
Ben, im glad you liked the screenshots, you did a great job on the bridges and this project would not have been possible without your help.
ill be looking for Bahia honda on the DLS
im sure trs is gonna enjoy placing a fixed object that longFECrailway_Richard
Member
I'd love to try out a beta version of your route; but Christmas is a rather tall order there, Santa!
The FEC SD70M-2s from SPORBUST are great! They were a big hit at the last FECRS convention. Frank even took the time to make them auto-number individual locomotive numbers when you run them multi-unit. I couldn't operate a modern day or futuristic FEC route without them.
I already know how great Ben's bridges are. I have been fortunate enough to use a lot of his work. He is concerned about the detail he has to leave off to keep the poly count in check. We focus on all of the quality detail that he was able to add in. Ben's bridges are a great addition to the eye-catching route you have built.
Hi Guys:
While I've got your attention I still need info (plans, pics, drawings, data, etc) for:
1. Jewfish Creek drawbridge.
2. The bascule drawbridge in the Long Key crossing viaduct.
3. The drawbridge just before entering Key West at Trumbo Point.
I have a pic of the Jewfish Creek bridge but it doesn't show much due to the angle at which it was taken. Zero, zilch, and nothing on the other two. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
While I've got your attention I still need info (plans, pics, drawings, data, etc) for:
1. Jewfish Creek drawbridge.
2. The bascule drawbridge in the Long Key crossing viaduct.
3. The drawbridge just before entering Key West at Trumbo Point.
I have a pic of the Jewfish Creek bridge but it doesn't show much due to the angle at which it was taken. Zero, zilch, and nothing on the other two. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
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ok, about time for an update.
I have layed all track and bridges (including Bahia Honda) from Key West to Miami and done some terrain and a little bit of scenery work.
I have the next 2 weeks of for xmas vacation so i should be able to get some work done.
By the end of the Holiday i hope to have a pre-alpha ready:hehe:
That version will include Key West finished (about 65% done), Bahia Honda, 7 mile bridge (done) and the area in between those too and random scenes here and there. I probably will end up doing some of Homestead too as it will give me a excuse to run some of my CSX stuff as well.
Got bored of mindless spandrel arch spam so i decided to move inland a bit and work on a little scene on the part of the line just south of Homestead, this area of the line is almost totally uninhabited covered in dense forest and swamp.
I have layed all track and bridges (including Bahia Honda) from Key West to Miami and done some terrain and a little bit of scenery work.
I have the next 2 weeks of for xmas vacation so i should be able to get some work done.
By the end of the Holiday i hope to have a pre-alpha ready:hehe:
That version will include Key West finished (about 65% done), Bahia Honda, 7 mile bridge (done) and the area in between those too and random scenes here and there. I probably will end up doing some of Homestead too as it will give me a excuse to run some of my CSX stuff as well.
Got bored of mindless spandrel arch spam so i decided to move inland a bit and work on a little scene on the part of the line just south of Homestead, this area of the line is almost totally uninhabited covered in dense forest and swamp.
Alright about time for a long overdue update!
finally finished the Bahia Honda bridge and surrounding area as well as other misc stuff.
OK picture time!
A very underpowered stack train passes CP Bahia Honda
rouding the curve to the Bahia honda bridge
heading onto the bridge which was kindly made by Bendorsey, Ben i have reskinned the bridge into a rusty grey color, hope you dont mind,the brown looked kinda odd.
finally finished the Bahia Honda bridge and surrounding area as well as other misc stuff.
OK picture time!
A very underpowered stack train passes CP Bahia Honda
rouding the curve to the Bahia honda bridge
heading onto the bridge which was kindly made by Bendorsey, Ben i have reskinned the bridge into a rusty grey color, hope you dont mind,the brown looked kinda odd.
across the bridge
On spanish Harbor Key with the bridge in the background, route sure looks good with trainz tuner on!
Railfan's paradise, i wish i live here
passing a eastbound in the Spanish Harbor siding
crossing the Spansh Harbor channel and off into blank baseboard land
more later today or tomorow
On spanish Harbor Key with the bridge in the background, route sure looks good with trainz tuner on!
Railfan's paradise, i wish i live here
passing a eastbound in the Spanish Harbor siding
crossing the Spansh Harbor channel and off into blank baseboard land
more later today or tomorow
FECrailway_Richard
Member
In The Last Issue Of The FECRS Speedway
Hundreds of FEC employees and FECRS members ready about the goings on in the following article in the Speedway newsletter:
Virtual FEC
The date is September 1st 1935 and a strong category five hurricane is approaching the Florida Keys and the FEC has sent a train to evacuate people living in the keys.
In the early hours of September 2nd, as the train is racing back towards the mainland the hurricane suddenly shifts its course to the north and makes a short-lived landfall near Miami, before turning northeasterly and back out to sea.
Although this hurricane encounter was much less costly in lives and property damage than it could have been from a sustained direct hit; Florida residents from Miami to Palm Beach had months of clean-up ahead of them.
It is believed by some that if this monster storm had continued on its projected course and speed, that it would have caused major devastation in the Florida Keys. Flagler’s Key West Extension would have taken a major hit. The storm could have easily overtaken an FEC train sent to rescue World War I veterans from a rehabilitation camp. It would have taken several months for the railroad to regain operations from Miami to Key West over this line, if at all.
Empty container well cars return from the Fleming Key Port on the FEC.
Work on the parallel highway slowly continued slowly through the 1930's and was completed shortly after the start of World War II. The Florida East Coast Railway’s passenger service stayed profitable throughout war-time, but after restrictions were lifted, the passenger trains were slowly abandoned as automobile traffic grew along the US1 highway.
The 1968 FEC labor strikes put an end to any remaining passenger service and the line became freight only operation which included general freight and aggregates to the port of Key West, plus fuel for the naval station. During this time traffic became marginal and the mainline became mostly single tracked.
In 1978 a new container port was built on Fleming key and the navy took over the old port enabling them to station larger ships such as aircraft carriers in Key West. The new container port brought the line back from near abandonment and the track was bought up to high-speed mainline standards and the bridges were repaired to handle the new traffic.
Wait a minute! Wasn’t the Key West Extension damaged beyond repair by the hurricane of September 2nd 1935?
Well, in Auran’s Trainz Railroad Simulator you can model things as they are, or you can change history and model the FEC as it could have been, or even might be in the future. A Trainz Master Route Builder that goes by the name “Nikos1” is creating this modern day Florida East Coast Railway still operating trains in Key West. Some of these routes are masterpieces that take thousands of hours to create; but the result is breath-taking when the artist details the route right down to the blades of grass.
Some Fellow FEC fans such as Ben Dorsey prefer to build the individual objects called “content” that will most likely be used in several routes built by others. Ben is an excellent bridge builder and has created models of all of the bridges that can be seen on along the FEC mainline today.
Ben loves a challenge. After completing some huge FEC structures like the Roseland Bridge, and the Jacksonville Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge over the St. Johns River, he stepped back in time to recreate the Seven Mile Bridge of the Key West Extension.
These objects and routes don’t have to be compressed in size due to limited space, as you might with a physical model layout. Ben’s bridges are in one foot equals one foot scale. His KWE Seven Mile Bridge is one of the largest single structures in Trainz.
The sun sets as an FEC train rolls through downtown Key West.
Using this custom built content, talented route builders can recreate the FEC just as it was a hundred years ago, as it is today, or what we expect it to be in the future. History can also be rewritten as Nikos1 did, to create the FEC that never was.
Trainz Railroad Simulator allows you to go where no train has ever gone before. There is a route available to download for free on Auran’s Download Station that allows Trainz users to drive monorails on Mars.
FEC Locomotive #430 switches cars at the naval base in Key West.
Hundreds of FEC employees and FECRS members ready about the goings on in the following article in the Speedway newsletter:
Virtual FEC
The date is September 1st 1935 and a strong category five hurricane is approaching the Florida Keys and the FEC has sent a train to evacuate people living in the keys.
In the early hours of September 2nd, as the train is racing back towards the mainland the hurricane suddenly shifts its course to the north and makes a short-lived landfall near Miami, before turning northeasterly and back out to sea.
Although this hurricane encounter was much less costly in lives and property damage than it could have been from a sustained direct hit; Florida residents from Miami to Palm Beach had months of clean-up ahead of them.
It is believed by some that if this monster storm had continued on its projected course and speed, that it would have caused major devastation in the Florida Keys. Flagler’s Key West Extension would have taken a major hit. The storm could have easily overtaken an FEC train sent to rescue World War I veterans from a rehabilitation camp. It would have taken several months for the railroad to regain operations from Miami to Key West over this line, if at all.
Empty container well cars return from the Fleming Key Port on the FEC.
Work on the parallel highway slowly continued slowly through the 1930's and was completed shortly after the start of World War II. The Florida East Coast Railway’s passenger service stayed profitable throughout war-time, but after restrictions were lifted, the passenger trains were slowly abandoned as automobile traffic grew along the US1 highway.
The 1968 FEC labor strikes put an end to any remaining passenger service and the line became freight only operation which included general freight and aggregates to the port of Key West, plus fuel for the naval station. During this time traffic became marginal and the mainline became mostly single tracked.
In 1978 a new container port was built on Fleming key and the navy took over the old port enabling them to station larger ships such as aircraft carriers in Key West. The new container port brought the line back from near abandonment and the track was bought up to high-speed mainline standards and the bridges were repaired to handle the new traffic.
Wait a minute! Wasn’t the Key West Extension damaged beyond repair by the hurricane of September 2nd 1935?
Will the changes taking place in Cuba mean more Business for the FEC?
Some Fellow FEC fans such as Ben Dorsey prefer to build the individual objects called “content” that will most likely be used in several routes built by others. Ben is an excellent bridge builder and has created models of all of the bridges that can be seen on along the FEC mainline today.
Ben loves a challenge. After completing some huge FEC structures like the Roseland Bridge, and the Jacksonville Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge over the St. Johns River, he stepped back in time to recreate the Seven Mile Bridge of the Key West Extension.
These objects and routes don’t have to be compressed in size due to limited space, as you might with a physical model layout. Ben’s bridges are in one foot equals one foot scale. His KWE Seven Mile Bridge is one of the largest single structures in Trainz.
The sun sets as an FEC train rolls through downtown Key West.
Trainz Railroad Simulator allows you to go where no train has ever gone before. There is a route available to download for free on Auran’s Download Station that allows Trainz users to drive monorails on Mars.
FEC Locomotive #430 switches cars at the naval base in Key West.
FECrailway_Richard
Member
Part II of the Speedway article:
NASA is an important customer of the Florida East Coast Railway. FECRS members were fortunate to take a tour of the NASA railroad a couple of years ago. Skilled Trainz route builders and content creators are assembling the pieces to build the NASA complex in any time period from the early 1960s, to current day, and beyond.
Content Creator “Euphod” painted this NASA locomotive from our tour photos.
These artists live all around the world coordinating their efforts 24 hours a day through the Auran’s Trainz Message Board. “We Never Sleep!” is a great motto for content creators due to the addictive nature of this type of modeling. They don’t do it for money. They don’t do it for fame. They do it to prove that it can be done!
They often have code names such “Whecsailor”, “Dreddman”, and “Ishie (Ish6)”. They may have never met each other in person, yet they are friends working in a common goal. They will never know all the people who will end up enjoying the products of their hard work. All of us should take the time to show our appreciation.
Trainz Content Creators are always “pushing the edge of the envelope.” With this NASA project, the potential of Trainz simulator may be taken to new heights. To drive a NASA locomotive past the Vehicle Assembly Building or on the seaside branch past the shuttle launch pads would be great!
To watch a space shuttle on the crawler travel slowly from the VAB to the launch pad would be fantastic!
To watch the space shuttle actually launch from the pad would be AWESOME!
That is some of the amazing challenges that are being worked on at this minute. Ben Dorsey has already created the Solid Rocket Booster cars that the FEC delivers to the NASA interchange at Jay Jay.
The Florida East Coast Railway is becoming a popular name in the world of Trainz. There is an ever-growing list of pieces of FEC specific content available on the Download Station for free.
To learn how easy it is to start operating FEC locomotives in Trainz railroad Simulator, you can email me at Speedway@FECRS.com or go to the website www.Auran.com and click on Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006.
NASA is an important customer of the Florida East Coast Railway. FECRS members were fortunate to take a tour of the NASA railroad a couple of years ago. Skilled Trainz route builders and content creators are assembling the pieces to build the NASA complex in any time period from the early 1960s, to current day, and beyond.
Content Creator “Euphod” painted this NASA locomotive from our tour photos.
These artists live all around the world coordinating their efforts 24 hours a day through the Auran’s Trainz Message Board. “We Never Sleep!” is a great motto for content creators due to the addictive nature of this type of modeling. They don’t do it for money. They don’t do it for fame. They do it to prove that it can be done!
NASA rockets from the past will this route to be aged back in time.
They often have code names such “Whecsailor”, “Dreddman”, and “Ishie (Ish6)”. They may have never met each other in person, yet they are friends working in a common goal. They will never know all the people who will end up enjoying the products of their hard work. All of us should take the time to show our appreciation.
Trainz Content Creators are always “pushing the edge of the envelope.” With this NASA project, the potential of Trainz simulator may be taken to new heights. To drive a NASA locomotive past the Vehicle Assembly Building or on the seaside branch past the shuttle launch pads would be great!
To watch a space shuttle on the crawler travel slowly from the VAB to the launch pad would be fantastic!
In the hands of artists, Trainz can make Space Shuttle fly in the Florida Skys.
That is some of the amazing challenges that are being worked on at this minute. Ben Dorsey has already created the Solid Rocket Booster cars that the FEC delivers to the NASA interchange at Jay Jay.
The Florida East Coast Railway is becoming a popular name in the world of Trainz. There is an ever-growing list of pieces of FEC specific content available on the Download Station for free.
To learn how easy it is to start operating FEC locomotives in Trainz railroad Simulator, you can email me at Speedway@FECRS.com or go to the website www.Auran.com and click on Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006.
3 things:
1) WOW!! :udrool: :udrool: :udrool:
2) In the last pic on the far left, there's a little gap between bridge and terrain. Don't worry, I won't tell.
3) What is this Trainz Tuner you keep talking about and is it default content?
You can find Trainz Tuner here.
Scroll down until you find Trainz Tuner v1.2.
http://www.gaurc.us/index_files/software.htm
FECrailway_Richard
Member
The pictures in your recent update are great!
FECRS members will be going on a chartered bus tour along the Key West Extension route earily in February. Many FEC historians will be attending.
The previews of your Trainz KWE project have FEC fans drooling. As they travel south along US Highway #1 in February to view where "things used to be", they will wish that your version of history was reality.
I look forward to experiancing the quality of your route from behind the throttle as soon as it is possible.
Richard
FECRS members will be going on a chartered bus tour along the Key West Extension route earily in February. Many FEC historians will be attending.
The previews of your Trainz KWE project have FEC fans drooling. As they travel south along US Highway #1 in February to view where "things used to be", they will wish that your version of history was reality.
I look forward to experiancing the quality of your route from behind the throttle as soon as it is possible.
Richard
Thanks Richard for the compliments and posting the article here, i really enjoyed seeing it i so wish i could go on that trip, would be a real experience seeing what i had created looks in real life. If you are going on the trip some good photo's of structures, row, anything really, even if just pictures of buildings and the surrounding area would be great. Google earth is nice but you cant beat on the ground experience.
@ Ferrous: thanks! and yes i noticed that the ground wasnt at the right height but too late now lol, ill fix that next time i go into trs, anyways right after the bridge their is like a 3 percent grade cause i have lowered the land so there arnt steep cliffs into the water and that bridge is at the edge of the sceniced portion, in retrospect i should have made the water level higher in the first place but too late for that now
now some more screenshots for you guys
after the southbound stacker has passed the spanish harbor siding
the Northbound accelerates out of the siding.
Passing a grade crossing leading to some private driveways, due to the high number of car train collisions on the FEC, stop signs have been placed on all unguarded crossings which has lowered the amount of accidents (excuse the CSX sign, if someone has a pic of a FEC safety info plate ill be glad to reskin the crossing)
a nice view of the ocean in the background
passing railfans paradise
passing the next next crossing
along the beach
i so wish i could go on that trip, would be a real experience seeing what i had created looks in real life. If you are going on the trip some good photo's of structures, row, anything really, even if just pictures of buildings and the surrounding area would be great. Google earth is nice but you cant beat on the ground experience.@ Ferrous: thanks! and yes i noticed that the ground wasnt at the right height but too late now lol, ill fix that next time i go into trs, anyways right after the bridge their is like a 3 percent grade cause i have lowered the land so there arnt steep cliffs into the water and that bridge is at the edge of the sceniced portion, in retrospect i should have made the water level higher in the first place but too late for that now
now some more screenshots for you guys
after the southbound stacker has passed the spanish harbor siding
the Northbound accelerates out of the siding.
Passing a grade crossing leading to some private driveways, due to the high number of car train collisions on the FEC, stop signs have been placed on all unguarded crossings which has lowered the amount of accidents (excuse the CSX sign, if someone has a pic of a FEC safety info plate ill be glad to reskin the crossing)
a nice view of the ocean in the background
passing railfans paradise
passing the next next crossing
along the beach