[Railroad Librarian]

So another one of my lunatic ideas was accomplished this evening.

I've been converting static ships and boats into driveable service for some time but have had no route to run them on other than the old BCER - which had a river that allowed one to drive down (fun except for the low bridge!). There are numerous routes that would provide creative and interesting opportunities for those who also enjoy ships AND railroads. If someone could/would create rails under the water one could enjoy bringing a ship into a harbor as trains are operating on the docks or along the coats would make for terrific screenshot opportunities.

So, I finally found a route that offered me a chance to experiment. The v.2 LPS featured an extra file that created a simple water line from the river out to the coast and back to a pier near the beach. So, I added the mod and experimented with a few of my ships...

Here are some shots of the results.

First up, the Clyde Puffer...

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[Railroad Librarian]

Next, the Mary Rose...

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[Railroad Librarian]

This shot shows the two different effects -- the smoke stack and the steam whistle..

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[Railroad Librarian]

Finally, although the SS Canterbury is a bit large for the LPS route, I did take her out for a short run the look at her smoke...

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[Railroad Librarian]

I still need to work on wake and bow effects (though not sure how I'm going to achieve that -- another brain challenge I suppose).

Meanwhile, I've started editing the eng files for my ships to add appropriate lights -- running lights, masthead, bow-stern lights and the interior red bridge lights.

I'm sure many will scoff at my experiments as a waste of time but I like to challenge myself and think outside the box to see what else I can do with a game.

I hope others see the fun here.

KevinB

[thegrindre]

HEY!!! This is cool. http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/good.gif I like it. http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif My route has a large body of water crossing the whole route. I'm going to do this too.

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/oldstry.gif

[Railroad Librarian]

Rick,

Thank you for the positive response.

I wish I knew how to capture and post videos as the actual sight of the boats sailing and the whistles (along with seagull sounds) makes for a fun experience.

Kevin B

[Smecty]

Kevin,

Love those moody shots in the LPS harbor (though I guess I should say "harbour" as we're in Canada here!) with the fog. I can just hear those ships!

Cheers,

Dave

[stlsf4003]

Mighty impressive work there Librarian!

Do you have plans on doing this with lager ships, like great lakes bulk freighters?

[Jonatan]

This is something I've done for a number of years to routes with lots of water. Seaview 4 is an example, it was a little touch n go but it was possible, making a pretty sizable track circuit around the islands, winding in and out of bays and whatnot, then reskinned availible models. It was prety fun, actually!

These are old pics and I don't have the models anymore. But the steamers were by Bazza. :good: