PRR/Amtrak Catenary Project

They razed and lowered the wires for low bridges, tunnels and razed for some stations and yards . The Camden cutoff had some wood steel Bridges construction because of the cat being close above and below. Gfisher is correct to the stander height of 22 feet.

Matt
 
Last edited:
Well, panthograps are quite flexible and of course the builder of the catenary will adjust it to whats ahead, like in older tunnels it would hang lower than in the open landscapes.

Now it TRS could handle it like the real thing, that would be awesome!
:)
 
Are you planning to do a setup that would work for an electrified yard? (Close clearances for supports, etc to fit in between yard tracks)
 
Posssible with Scripting

If there was a way to put triggers that worked with the pantograph, but I guess anything is possible with scripting.

First, a system that raises the pantograph to different heights is possible. I use one for my later NH electrics; the user has to set the desired wire height in config and script for the asset (or a clone) and it requires a pantograph asset that meets some criteria, but it's not unduly complicated.

Using that system, it's possible to have two panto "up" heights using an existing trigger that was meant to just put the pantos up or down (using the "both" and "rear" slots to set alternative heights for one pantograph). I did this, experimentally, for a tunnel approach (Hoosac Tunnel) where the contact wire slopes down to a lower height at the tunnel entrance. Timing was critical for it to look *just* right, as if riding under the wire, but just having it set correctly for different wire heights should be OK.

I'm not enough of a game message guru to know exactly how this would work, but ideally a track trigger would send a message to a train approaching it indicating the new desired wire height, and the loco would respond by setting pantos currently slotted up to comply with the new height. There would be two at a change point, one facing each direction. A foreseeable problem would be helper units and reverse movements: the change might be triggered at the wrong time. One of the many things I don't know is whether multiple locos in a train receive individual copies of a triggered message (triggered as each comes in range of the trigger) or just one, for the whole train. And there should be a route environmental variable for default wire height, too, however the game manages that.
 
I'd find uses for these. If you want a tester, hit me up. If there are issues, I'll probably find them. I'm good at downing ambulances, so some virtual catenary should be cake.
 
First, a system that raises the pantograph to different heights is possible. I use one for my later NH electrics; the user has to set the desired wire height in config and script for the asset (or a clone) and it requires a pantograph asset that meets some criteria, but it's not unduly complicated.

Using that system, it's possible to have two panto "up" heights using an existing trigger that was meant to just put the pantos up or down (using the "both" and "rear" slots to set alternative heights for one pantograph). I did this, experimentally, for a tunnel approach (Hoosac Tunnel) where the contact wire slopes down to a lower height at the tunnel entrance. Timing was critical for it to look *just* right, as if riding under the wire, but just having it set correctly for different wire heights should be OK.

I'm not enough of a game message guru to know exactly how this would work, but ideally a track trigger would send a message to a train approaching it indicating the new desired wire height, and the loco would respond by setting pantos currently slotted up to comply with the new height. There would be two at a change point, one facing each direction. A foreseeable problem would be helper units and reverse movements: the change might be triggered at the wrong time. One of the many things I don't know is whether multiple locos in a train receive individual copies of a triggered message (triggered as each comes in range of the trigger) or just one, for the whole train. And there should be a route environmental variable for default wire height, too, however the game manages that.

That sounds awesome, if only I could find replacement pantographs for most of my electrics that could do that.

Appreciate the comments everyone!

Lately I have been trying to get the models to work nicely in game. I have started re-doing the actual wires to be a lot more low poly, so there is no pics for now. LOD is a pain to work with.

IDK if I should use them as normal splines or not. I am stumped on how I can get something like how gfisher set his up so that you can have poles as close as you like without them becoming thinner. I tried it but got tons of errors. If anyone knows any other method, I would be happy to hear it.

DJReonic- Sent you a PM
 
Last edited:
That's was an issue for me, too. It's part of the reason I have static versions available. A possible solution is to use one cat pole as an initiator and another as a terminator, or maybe just have either a fixed initiator or fixed terminator, but you still run into the problem of needing to use a correct run length to avoid squishing one somewhere.

I had considered making my RDG catenaries as roads, and may still do so when I revamp them, to make attaching them to static pieces as well as each other easier.
 
OK time for a long needed update-

Got a little sidetracked and worked on some other models. I did however finish a good amount of catenary. All of it is AO baked and works like I want it to. :)
 
Looking good is an understatement!! That looks amazing man! Glad to see you got everything worked out!
 
Back
Top