[CLietke]

http://hostthenpost.org/uploads/8988010bae0a36a027970072791a9172.png

http://hostthenpost.org/uploads/ebb53dfb573a31b151db191e4376533e.png

http://hostthenpost.org/uploads/05f00aa26eff928de4373e8d07e0dc50.png

http://hostthenpost.org/uploads/eac452a66cd0c1dbf8084217b2a48b25.png

[timmuir]

Nice job on the forests.

Here's some traction stuff for juice fans. An old layout I started 13 years ago, some of the old timers here may recognize it. Wire at 6-meters, ancient models along with some more recent stuff. The sprinkler and derrick cars go back many years. This also illustrates an issue with superelevation in OR and terrain tiles level with the rail heads. Inside rails get buried, outside rails are raised, exposing tie ends.





I reworked the textures on the sprinkler's tank today. Both these models have been in the library for years. I haven't even looked at them in over a decade, so it's kind of nice to run them again.





Thanks for lookin' :hi:

[Mipman25]

I just spent hours setting up a screenshot. I meticulously timed ten AI trains to all run with the synchronization and glamour of a Busby Berkeley dance number. It was tedious and I hardy enjoyed it. I'm not even that interested in train simming anymore. There were so many better things I could have done, yet I put so much effort into just one screenshot.

Why? Because the Columbus, Pittsburgh, & Allegheny means that much to me.

Ever since I painted its first engine five years ago to the day, the CP&A (then the Collinwood, Parker, & Allegheny) has been my biggest MSTS fictional endeavor, in both size and importance. Originally starting as a joint effort with two other ET users, the CP&A soon took off on its own, gaining a name as a heavy coal and steel hauler with elegant name trains.

While it did have an unrealistic start, with an unusually indirect mountain route giving way to a bloated, oversized network, everything I learned only made the CP&A more realistic. As I learned more about repainting, sound editing, modeling, and the history of real-life companies which neighbored the CP&A, it went through near constant changes to suit. Additionally, every friend I showed it to loved it and was willing to supply advice, only furthering the CP&A along. The railroad itself, which was once almost as big as modern-day CSX or NS, shrunk down to something more believable. After a few years, the CP&A not only got a new name...



But a new logo with wings which looked like they could actually fly.



And all the while, the CP&A was more than a fictional railroad. It was an art form, a way for me to express my creativity. Sure I took notes from both the real world and other ET users' fictional railroads, but I made it mine. The stark black and gold paint schemes, names like the Raven and the Steel Cities, even a custom streamlining style; all of it was my creation. I went from wanting the CP&A to just feel like another mid-east railroad to finding all sorts of ways to make it stand out from the rest while tempering it with realism and authenticity. While the last few years haven't been too active as far as the CP&A goes, it's incredible to think about how it's evolved.

And now it's been five years. Five years since I sat in front of my old laptop, formulating names and ideas for this joint effort. Five years since the first CP&A train ran out of Parker on the Allegheny Rails route.



Five years since I created a fictional empire on my old laptop, lost it in a hard drive crash, and only made it better. It's been so long, yet those memories are still so vivid. However, things just aren't the same now, as I've lost steam in this community and moved on. I still stop by every once in a while, but I have nothing to say or share. That doesn't mean I'm done for good, though. Maybe I'll build up some more steam some day. Who knows? For now, all we can do is marvel at what the CP&A has become. Here's to five years of the Columbus, Pittsburgh, & Allegheny!



There are so many folks who have helped the CP&A grow, most of them on Elvas Tower. I want to thank RailfanML for being one of the CP&A's biggest innovators early on, Zecora for being the world's biggest CP&A fan and coming up with all sorts of ideas, Fleegle411 for the invaluable help with almost every factor of MSTS content creation, AgentAnonymous and his Lake Erie & Eastern for being one of the CP&A's biggest influences, and especially Perly (rrfan96) for being my partner in crime and helping the CP&A take its current form. It's been a while and I'm definitely forgetting some names, but if you've helped out with the CP&A, thank you so much. I can't imagine what the CP&A would be like without you.

[Coonskin]

Hi Mip:

That last photo, the brightly painted foreground engine: What model is that?

Thanks.

[Mipman25]

Coonskin, on 21 July 2017 - 05:25 PM, said:

Hi Mip:

That last photo, the brightly painted foreground engine: What model is that?

Thanks.

It's one of Jon Davis' engines repainted into the B&O's William Mason. It can be found at TrainSim.

[Coonskin]

Ah, probably one of the "General" iterations. I'll have a look see, perhaps I overlooked one of the "General" versions.

[trainfancs]

LSRC #2400 leads the "Rockford Turn" out of Rockford Yard on it's way to La Salle where it will get a new crew. And then continue it's journey South.

http://hostthenpost.org/uploads/2d52ce43db25afc41eff4e88b24b9ffd.png

[Zecora]

Hey Dustin, I just made a video featuring a certain CP&A 4-8-4 as the start of the show. I think you'll enjoy it, because she'll do what the R-37s did best: show off. (Please tell me you get the reference)

[vince]

timmuir, on 18 April 2017 - 06:14 PM, said:

"..................................................snip......................
This also illustrates an issue with superelevation in OR and terrain tiles level with the rail heads. Inside rails get buried, outside rails are raised, exposing tie ends................................snip...........................Thanks for lookin' :hi:

Hi Tim,
You can minimize this effect if you set a longer length in Options >> Experimental >> Super Elevation >> Minimum length (m)

regards,
vince

[Mipman25]

Hey hey hey, it's CP&A Day! (Funnily enough, I only just noticed today was CP&A Day last night.) Today marks six years since the Steel City Route's first locomotive received its trademark gold lettering, and ever since then, it's always gone for the gold. I could go on and on about just how the Columbus, Pittsburgh, & Allegheny changed, but you can read about that just one page back. Plus, since the CP&A's fifth anniversary, it really hasn't seen much activity since I've been focusing on other projects. I'll let this year's CP&A Day screenshots speak for themselves.







Wait, why is last year's CP&A Day screenshot just seven posts back? Come on, let's get creative again! Get those gears turning!