To continue on from the last post....
ns2616 - Another great person that helped contributed to the project, He did some pretty good reskins of stuff from my buddy Paul aka PWeiser such as CGW Caboose #601 and Milwaukee Road HH-660 #1603 (which is still pending release as there is a issue that needs to be fix). Unfortunately once we release that, that will be the end of his contributions towards my project as he has moved on with his own projects.
Joek5 - This one came out of no-where but when I was scrolling thru the forums one day I found a post from him showing he was making a model of a 2-4-4T engine from the NYC with him saying it was also sort of based ones from the Illinois Central which IRM has one. I spook to him by PM and he was happy to come on board and take on making IC 2-4-4T #201, he is a pretty fantastic guy to work with although progress has been slow since we are still looking for the proper drawings for the engine but we are very slowly but surely making progress on it. Im glad to have him.
davidakridge - My buddy David came on board because since DaveSnow did not accept content request anymore but has been accepting reskin's of his content, I approached David with some reskin request of Dave's Thrall Boxcars and he did excellent reskins of both Thrall Car Company #20306 and Minnesota Dakota & Western #3049. There was a third Thrall Boxcar that IRM has but that one was already made by my buddy Simulatortrain but since his model was made in a way that it was not reskin-able so thats how I approached David to see if he would like to take on this reskin project (Since I know he is pretty good at making weathered reskins), Hopefully I will find another project for him to work on for this year.
btvfd - Like Davidakridge, I couldn't ask for Davesnow for possible content request so I did the next best thing, since Davesnow has made some models of rolling stock that IRM has but did not make paint schemes I need for him, I approached BTVFD about if he would like to do some reskins of DaveSnow's Waffle sided PS1 Boxcars which IRM has two of. He agreed so I had him fantastic looking reskins of C&NW 161795 and Department of Transportation DOTX #503 (which is actually a very historic car as it was the 1,000,000th car built by Pullman Standard). We did plan on making a reskin of the car when it came out of Pullman Standard in a special paint scheme that it had for a short time, but we were unable to find any color photos of the car at that time before it was sent to DOTX and was repainted to what it ls today. Hopefully when Davesnow makes another piece of rolling stock that is present at IRM, I know who to go to when the paint scheme I want is not included as he is a fantastic reskiner.
DaveSnow - Although he has no involvement with my project, I will have to give him thanks for allowing the release of IRM related reskins of his content that both davidakridge and btvfd did for me.
rr_jdm - I cant thank him enough because if it wasn't for him, there would have never been a IRM route to begin with as he helped me get started with this project by creating this fantastic DEM for me to use and for providing the google map scenery assets I need to place everything down, this year, he sent me updated versions of the google map assets allowing me to make further progress on the route.
TweetsieDude - Like with Steve, I was surprised when I one day got a Skype message from Dusten saying he was interesting in making a model of T&D 4-4-0 #16 (a engine I was originally planning on having Trainboi1 tackle) but I decided to take up on the offer and right now he is currently still in the process of making the model, he is a good content creator and with him having a busy life, its amazing how he is able to create fantastic looking models, I enjoy helping him out with this project whenever I can.
Majekear - Another excellent content creator who has uploaded a lot of amazing pieces of rolling stock on the DLS over the years. What got him on board was after doing some research I noticed some pieces of rolling stock he made were examples IRM has and he is very good at modifying content, one of his best pieces he made for the project was making CGW Idler Flat car #W52, He's content creation skills really impressed me when he made that car and it cause me to do a couple more flat cars such as 3 C&NW Flat Cars, 2 of which were MOW ones. I look forward to working with again hopefully this year one some more stuff.
BenjaminW - My good buddy Ben has really improved his content creation skills recently which really makes me glad he was excited when I ask if he would like to make ATSF 4-8-4 #2903 for me, although he has a pretty busy life with school but I do enjoy helping him out with the engine when ever he has the time. Hopefully one day we will be able to finish this project.
USSc1798 - A Great New addition to the team, Like my buddy Ben and Evan, he has really accelerated his content creation skills and has pumped out some amazing first pieces of content. He did a fantastic job with making some railroad crossing signs and will likely be tackling some more scenery projects hopefully this year, he as also agreed to make CB&Q 4-6-4 #3007 and a model of the Borden Milk Car BFIX #520 (with special thanks to Mark from K&L Trainz for sending me drawings of the car to send to him), he is really excited to tackle these projects and I know Im going to enjoy helping him out.
BlackDiamond1964 - Last but by no means least we have my buddy Scott, Who I must say, his content creation skills are amazing and very good attention to detail, Scott here is what made my route progress really get going back in 2016 and he also gave me the confidence that my route could one day be release. Everything he made was outstanding and I do have to say his East Union Depot, The CTA 50th Ave Station and the Storage Barns were some of the best pieces he has ever made for my route. Unfortunately he left the project to move to a different train simulator and I still to this day miss working with him on because he was a big factor (With Bendorsey) with providing the push towards finishing the route. I am currently looking for someone to fill in his spot to finish the rest of the projects he did not get too. Im also looking for someone who has Blender especially since he sent me the blender file on what he got done with the IRM Diner Complex before he backed out. Hopefully when that person comes forward, progress on the route can get back into full swing.
PHEW!!! That was a lot to type but now I can finally finish off with my goals for 2018 regarding for the route. What are the goals I have planned for this year for the route, well they are to is to get the rest of the custom scenery finished and then lay down the road splines, so I can finally at long last removed the google map pieces and finally start fixing up the bumpy track work and level it out, edit the ground elevation and put in some ground textures, then the route can finally be ready for beta testing.
Thats all for now, cant wait to see how 2018 will turn out for my project. Hopefully for the better.