simulatortrain
jointed freaking rails
I decided this project was far enough under way to finally open a thread for it. (OK, maybe in spirit, in actuality I'd be lucky to be able to call it 1% done...)
Map and photo borrowed from HERE. Go there. It's awesome.
The West Sub ran from Hagerstown to Cumberland, both in Maryland, roughly 75 miles long: LINK
Along the way, it frequently crossed the Potomac River into West Virginia, on bridges such as this one: LINK
In fact, this happened nine times between Hancock and the end of the subdivision at Maryland Jct. (Just west of Cumberland.) Throw in some mountains, various other bridges, three tunnels and plenty of curves, and you start to see the scenic potential of this right of way. Since the B&O also connected Hagerstown and Cumberland, this was a line in which the WM was forced to live up to its slogan as the Fast Freight Line.
By 1970, B&O control on the WM was nearing its strongest. After the formation of the Chessie System in 1972, fewer trains traversed the meandering route of the Western Maryland, instead finding detours over the B&O. By fall 1975, the West Sub was in pieces.
I know I've posted shots of this area before (Little Orleans, MD- compare it to prototype pictures at the link above if you'd like- look at pages both east and west of there). However, since I've focused the past few months' route building efforts towards a refining of my scenery techniques, I cleared this area down to bare DEM textures and began again. As you can see, I still have plenty of trees to add, but it gives a basic picture of one simple scene. The dirt road you will see next to the river is part of the C&O Canal towpath, which the WM paralleled for much of the route:
Currently, I have about eight miles of track laid and graded (minus all sidings). Textures are complete for about half of that. The three-track B&O on the opposite side of the river will be in place where it is visible from the Maryland side, but will not be complete nor detailed enough to allow for much operation.
Below are a few more pictures. The bridge shown with F-units on it above will be directly behind the camera in the first shot:
(The floating bridge is a placeholder.)
Accuracy is the biggest concern on this route. As such, basically everything will be custom-made to fit, other than plants and small details. Due to the use of those objects, I don't foresee this going payware, but most likely freeware with donations gratefully accepted.
Here are a few samples of the custom objects- you may recognize some of them. In order- the bridge over Sideling Hill Creek just west of Pearre, MD, a nearby smokestack from a 19th-century brickworks, and an apple warehouse at Cohill, MD:
(Shot of apple warehouse on an outdated version of a test route.)
Enjoy, and stay tuned for updates as the spirit moves.
Map and photo borrowed from HERE. Go there. It's awesome.
The West Sub ran from Hagerstown to Cumberland, both in Maryland, roughly 75 miles long: LINK
Along the way, it frequently crossed the Potomac River into West Virginia, on bridges such as this one: LINK
In fact, this happened nine times between Hancock and the end of the subdivision at Maryland Jct. (Just west of Cumberland.) Throw in some mountains, various other bridges, three tunnels and plenty of curves, and you start to see the scenic potential of this right of way. Since the B&O also connected Hagerstown and Cumberland, this was a line in which the WM was forced to live up to its slogan as the Fast Freight Line.
By 1970, B&O control on the WM was nearing its strongest. After the formation of the Chessie System in 1972, fewer trains traversed the meandering route of the Western Maryland, instead finding detours over the B&O. By fall 1975, the West Sub was in pieces.
I know I've posted shots of this area before (Little Orleans, MD- compare it to prototype pictures at the link above if you'd like- look at pages both east and west of there). However, since I've focused the past few months' route building efforts towards a refining of my scenery techniques, I cleared this area down to bare DEM textures and began again. As you can see, I still have plenty of trees to add, but it gives a basic picture of one simple scene. The dirt road you will see next to the river is part of the C&O Canal towpath, which the WM paralleled for much of the route:
Currently, I have about eight miles of track laid and graded (minus all sidings). Textures are complete for about half of that. The three-track B&O on the opposite side of the river will be in place where it is visible from the Maryland side, but will not be complete nor detailed enough to allow for much operation.
Below are a few more pictures. The bridge shown with F-units on it above will be directly behind the camera in the first shot:
(The floating bridge is a placeholder.)
Accuracy is the biggest concern on this route. As such, basically everything will be custom-made to fit, other than plants and small details. Due to the use of those objects, I don't foresee this going payware, but most likely freeware with donations gratefully accepted.
Here are a few samples of the custom objects- you may recognize some of them. In order- the bridge over Sideling Hill Creek just west of Pearre, MD, a nearby smokestack from a 19th-century brickworks, and an apple warehouse at Cohill, MD:
(Shot of apple warehouse on an outdated version of a test route.)
Enjoy, and stay tuned for updates as the spirit moves.
