Elvas Tower: DSP&P Mason Bogies - Elvas Tower

OPEN RAILS Denver South Park & Pacific Narrow Gauge Mason Bogies and Crews

Engines are suitable for use as player driveable or in AI consists

These models have been constructed to represent how these engines would have appeared as delivered to the DSP&P Railroad from the Mason Machine Works in the 1880's.

The following historical and technical information is derived from the books:

"The South Park Line" by Mallory Hope Ferrell
"Denver South Park & Pacific" by M.C. Poor
"Pictorial supplement to Denver South Park & Pacific" by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club
"Mason Steam Locomotives" by Arthur W. Wallace

Additional non-book reference materials:

Mason Bogie scale drawings by Arthur Wallace
Mason Bogie scale drawing by Gould Studios
"MLS Master Class - 2002" - Mason Bogie model construction series by David Fletcher


The Denver South Park & Pacific Railroad was the second largest purchaser of the famoust "Mason Bogie" type locomotives, purchasing 19 of the 2-6-6T engines from the Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts. These engines were all built between 1878 and 1880. Of particular note, these were the first locomotives built in the United States using the Walschaerts valve gear. Another unique feature of these engines as built is that they were all equipped with the Eames Vacuum Brake system instead of Air Brakes. Though small, by all accounts they were well liked by the South Park crews for their agility on sharp curves and steep grades, and were considered excellent steamers. The South Park Crews game them the nickname "sewing machines" for their smooth running, and the novelty of the then new Walschaerts valve gear. The engines could be broken up into 3 groups - Light engines having 38" diameter boilers, and "Heavy" engines having either 42" or 44" diameter boilers (with only #23 and #24 having the largest boilers). As with all Mason engine of the period, they featured ornate paint schemes and decorations. While there is some speculation on colors, evidence suggests the brown based paint schemes feature on these models to be the mostly color for these engines. Two variants of artwork are represented on these models based on actual photographs, though it is likely other variaions were produced as well. The longest serving of all these engines was #24 the Buena Vista, which was the only Mason Bogie to receive a Colorado and Southern number in 1899. Most of the engines were in service until around 1890. Sadly, none of the unique little engines survive in preservation today. Only one example of all of the Mason Bogies survives today, and can be seen operating at the Greenfield Village museum in Dearborn, MI.

Specificaions:

Type: 2-6-6T Mason Bogie Wheel Arrangement
Boiler: 150 psi, coal burning
Cylinder Bore and Stroke: 13" x 16", except for #23 & #24 which were 14" x 16"
Valve Gear: Walschaerts
Driving Wheels: 37" Diameter

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MODELING INFORMATION:

Locomotive and Tender models created in 3DCrafter Professional Edition, Version 9.1.1 (Build 1256). Post Processing of shape file performed with Shapefixer File Version 0.1.0.39 by Paul Gausden. Textures created using MS Paint and Photoshop Elements 6.0, and converted to .ace format by TGATool2A and AceIt by Scott Miller.

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INSTALLATION:

Unzip DSPMasonBogie.zip to a temporary folder.

Move contents to ..\Train Simulator\ folder

Accept write overs if prompted, which will place a single engine consist for each locomotive in the CONSISTS folder and the "DSPMasonBogie" Locomotive folder in the TRAINSET folder.

NOTES ON BUILDING CONSISTS WITH THE TWO-PIECE MODEL CONSTRUCTION:

In order to achieve the proper pivoting of the front "Bogie" underneath the boiler, each individual locomotive consists of two .eng files - a Front section, and a Rear section. Each individual engine name / number has its own .eng file. The supplied consists may be referenced for how the two halves must appear within a consist.

The following table specifies which Front and Rear .eng file combinations are correct for each individual locomotive:

Engine Name / Number Front .eng File Rear .eng File Light or Heavy Engine
____________________ _______________ ______________ _____________________

3 / Oro City DSPBogief3.eng DSPBogier3.eng Light
4 / San Juan DSPBogief4.eng DSPBogier4.eng Light
6 / Tenmile DSPBogief6.eng DSPBogier6.eng Light
7 / Gunnison DSPBogief7.eng DSPBogier7.eng Light
8 / Lake City DSPBogief8.eng DSPBogier8.eng Light
10 / Granite DSPBogief10.eng DSPBogier10.eng Light
11 / Ouray DSPBogief11.eng DSPBogier11.eng Light
12 / Como DSPBogief12.eng DSPBogier12.eng Light
13 / Ruby DSPBogief13.eng DSPBogier13.eng Light

9 / Kenosha DSPBogief9.eng DSPBogier9.eng Heavy
14 / Twin Lakes DSPBogief14.eng DSPBogier14.eng Heavy
15 / Breckenridge DSPBogief15.eng DSPBogier15.eng Heavy
16 / Eureka DSPBogief16.eng DSPBogier16.eng Heavy
20 / Silverton DSPBogief20.eng DSPBogier20.eng Heavy
21 / Pitkin City DSPBogief21.eng DSPBogier21.eng Heavy
22 / Crested Butte DSPBogief22.eng DSPBogier22.eng Heavy
23 / Grant DSPBogief23.eng DSPBogier23.eng Heavy
24 / Buena Vista DSPBogief24.eng DSPBogier24.eng Heavy

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SPECIAL FEATURES:

3D Cabview - All controls within the 3D Cabview are fully animated and may be used for manual firing if desired. Note that the 3D Cabview is only available in the REAR, or second Engine.

The Left and Right cab doors are animated, and may be opened or closed with the Open Rails door open / close command.

The side and rear windows are also animated as a MIRROR animation, when the player is in control of, or in the cab of the REAR engine.

The shape files for the front and rear engines, as well as the 3D Cabs are provided in both "normal" and "hi-shine" versions. As downloaded, the "hi-shine" versions will be in the main TRAINSET folder. If you prefer to operate the engines without the "shine", copy the shape files in the "NoShineShapes" folder into the main TRAINSET and CABVIEW3D folders.

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SPECIAL OPERATIONAL NOTES - PLEASE READ!!!

CAB SWITCHING - To properly operate these locomotives after loading in Open Rails, the user must IMMEDIATELY switch cabs to the Rear engine by pressing the CTRL+E keys. The sounds will not play correctly and the 3D Cabview will not be available unless the engines are being operated from the rear engine.

BRAKES - These engines were originally equipped with Eames Vacuum Brakes instead of air brakes. However, these engines have been configured to still use air brakes to allow maximum flexibility to be operated with other rolling stock in the sim. The Brake system has been configured to mimic the operation of the Eames Vacuum system as closely as possible for a more authentic experience in two key ways:

*** There is no Independent, or Engine brake. All braking can only be performed by the Train Brake, regardless of whether the engine is running light or coupled to a train.

*** There are no traditional Brake Gauges in the 3D Cabview. Instead, a single "Vacuum" gauge is mounted on the Ejector below the brake application lever. As the brakes are applied and the train line pressure is reduced, the Vacuum gauge will increase similar to what it would do with the Eames vacuum system. A reading of "0" means the brakes are fully released, and anything above "0" shows the brakes are applied. The higher the number displayed on the vacuum gage, the greater the brake pipe pressure reduction.

ANIMATED COAL LOAD - The bunker coal loads are animated in both the 3D Cabview and also in the exterior view as the coal is consumed and replenished during refueling. However, both of these animations will work only in Open Rails versions x4150 and later.

TOM's CREWS - Tom Werb has once again generously configured and supplied 5 different "Crews" for these engines. These are placed in the engines by use of Open Rails Freight Animations.

FRONT COUPLING LINK - The link on the pilot of the FRONT engine is also animated as a MIRROR animation if the player desires to couple to a train or car with the front of the engine. To raise or lower the link, switch cabs momentarily to the front engine and use the MIRROR animation command. When finished, return to the rear cab of the engine to continue operating the locomotive.

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LEGAL:


As author of this new design, I advise that it is copyrighted, but royalty free. You may use it and edit it as you wish, but you may not distribute it for money, or include it in a paid or non paid distribution without permission from Derek Miller, who can be reached via personal message at www.elvastower.com or www.trainsim.com forums (user midneguy). You must include my name in your credits, as well as my copyright notices, and this entire Readme.txt, if you repaint it, use or derive files from it, or otherwise use or distribute these files with my permission. Copyrights for content included in these files, but not created by me as listed in the credits section of this readme.txt, are retained by the original authors. Refer to the included readme text files in the installed "DSPMasonBogie" TRAINSET folder for copyright and distribution information for additional content not authored by Derek Miller.

Because this program is royalty free, it is provided WHERE IS, AS IS, WITH ALL FAULTS, and WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE or any other warranties. There is no liability by the authors in your use of this program, instead all liability is assumed by the user.

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OPEN RAILS NOTES:

I have made every effort to make these engines compatible with the additional parameters and improvements available in Open Rails version 1.2 at the time these models were submitted to the file library. I may or may not make updated .eng and .wag files available as improvements continue to be made to the Open Rails program, but primary responsibility for maintaining these files to correspond with future Open Rails development will lie with the end user.

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CREDITS AND THANK YOUS:

3D Models and textures © 2018 by Derek Miller with the following exceptions:

Thanks to Tom Werb for creating the Crews for these models. Engineer and Fireman shapes & textures (a.k.a. "Tom's Crews")
are provided for use with this model and may not be copied, modified, and/or transferred to a different model for distribution.
For information on adding "Tom's Crews" to models for distribution, contact Tom Werb ("Sandy River Tom") via personal message
at ElvasTower.com

Special Thanks go out to Carlo Santucci for developing the solution to have the coal in the bunker animate in the 3D Cabview.
Special Thanks also go out to Peter (steamer_ctn) for developing the solution to have the coal in the bunker animate in the exterior for for "tank engines" such as these.

Sound credits:
Whistle and Injector sounds provided by Derek Miller.
Bell sound provided by Captain Bazza, aka Barry R Munro
All other non-default sounds provided by Brandon Smith
SMS Design by Derek Miller and Brandon Smith

Beta Testing and Input: Herb Kelsey, Tim Muir, Scott Brunner, Tom Werb, and Andre Ming

If I have forgotten anyone I humbly apologize but know that I appreciate all the advice and inspiration I've received. I also must mention that the vast amount of information available on the forums regarding modeling for MSTS has been invaluable. The success I've had in making these models would not have been possible without drawing on the experience of so many others that have blazed the trail before!

Thank you all and hope you enjoy these models!

Derek Miller
June, 2018