Horeseshoe Curve New Route. Requesting help!

Pappy92

New member
Hello everyone. I have decided to start on the horseshoe curve in PA. Anyone that wants to help just send me a message. im starting the making of the DEM and HOG today.
 
Hello Pappy ... You are in luck ... I am working on two DEM's ( one smaller Fishlipsatwork), (and the other a Jerker DEM, which is hugely huge, and covers a 6 County area).

I will release the smaller Fishlipsatwork route very soon, as I had promised the smaller route to PRRE6 (and others) by June 1st, but I am working very hard to release a WIP Beta TRS2006 CDP ... ASAP ... I will release it in some degree of completion this month ... I Swear ! To all as freeware.:cool:

When I release it ... future improvements will be obsoleting all previous CDP's ... and the can be deleted in leu of the new improved CDP's that emerge.

I have no textures, trees nor buildings ... as I am trying to lay interlockings in great detail, and I am tugging up and down on gridwork constantly.

So it will have gray baseboards:
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The reason why it is late is that I am working to get AI Trainz working through the interlockings without stopping or creating their own errant paths, or going in reverse.

The present route goes from Altoona to Cresson ... but Cresson to Johnstown is heavily in the works this week.

My love of the Horseshoe goes back to @ 1975, and I first visited there in @ 1962 ... So who's Pappy ... I'll be 55 on the 15th !

That would be a perfect release beta date !

I previously gave this route (a much earler, now obsolete version) to one person a couple months ago, so it is nearing testing for all.
 
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Hello everyone. I have decided to start on the horseshoe curve in PA. Anyone that wants to help just send me a message. im starting the making of the DEM and HOG today.

Really? Another one, whats that like 5 people supposedly working on that area?:hehe: I wish you luck my friend, its a pretty big undertaking, if you havn't already checked out my thread on my version of the route with the assistance of JointedRail.com you can see it here: http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=69835
 
now that i know so many people are working on that i dont wanna do it anymore. i wanna do something no one has ever attempted.
 
I have made much progress yesterday and today. Yesterday no trackage was in between Cresson and Johnstown ... today all the 4 track mainline is laid, but all the gradients on the West Slope still need to be ironed out, as they are like a rollercoaster ... but the curvitures are perfect.

The East Slope from Cresson, via Horseshoe, to Altoona has perfect gradients and complex interlockings at: MO, AR, UN, SF, BF, MG, Kittanning Point, Slope, Alto, Rose, and Antis.

After Altoona the mainline takes a fictacious 50 mile hidden return track ... this is so that all EB loded coal trains will recycle back, and re-emerge at Johnstown. Likewise all WB empty coal trains will recycle via the hidden 50 mile long return track, and re-emerge at Altoona.

The route is a prototypical route from Altoona to Johnstown, with the added 50 mile long return track ... so it is esentially an @ 100 mile long oval. I am spacing signals so that 100 or more trains can have "Drive" hit, and all the AI Trainz will run automaticly, slowing and stopping for slower or stopped trains ahead.

CSX Speedboards on the Slope are set at 15 Mph, and the rest of the route at 20 Mph -35 Mph, so as to replicate slow uphill drags, and downhill trains in full dynamic braking.

This route has been especially difficult, as gradients on a DEM are tough to iron out. And curves are especially difficult to lay on mountainous terrain.

I still have in mind of June 15 as a release date ... baring total PC failure.

I am backing up my route on 2 PC's and as a CDP on a DVD-RW Disc, to safeguard backups.

I lost count exactly how many times I have started over from scratch, as gradients were totaly way off, and terrain was distorted unprototypically.

The TRS2006 route uses RTS tracks and MP Tunneltrack Dark ... but I very well could change out all the track to be MP Wood v2, MP Rusty, and MP Tunneltrack Dark, if enough people request that.

The end user will have to texture the entire route, as it is still gray/yellow grid baseboards, and very few buildings, and no trees.

I have been dwelling on curves, gradients, and interlockings ... all the rest of the junk like trees is just filler ... however I am sure you will appreciate the time spent on perfect tracklaying.
 
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Progress:

Signaling and speedboards have been installed (there must be well over 400 signals) ... all track has been completed ... but "West Slope" Cresson to Johnstown gradients are still being tweeked up and down. The "East Slope" Cresson to Altoona is pretty much completed.

The preliminary (WIP Beta Route) June 15th release date is still not out of the question (baring my GF objections to my being on the PC, constantly).:hehe:

With my route, using 12,000 ton loaded coal trains that have 6 head end locos, 2 rear end helpers, and are 107 cars long, I have added signals so that a train has 3 signals (one protecting front, and one protecting rear, and one in mid train), in other words my train takes up @ 2 blocks (actually 1-3/4 blocks), but the train fits comfortably within the 2 blocks.

No time to take screnshots ... Trackwork and signaling is a total horendous chore !
 
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