[GreatNortherner]

Colleagues,

Laying track in MSTS is so enjoyable. I really mean it, I guess when I had to chose what I like most, it'd be laying tracks - figuring out how to best recreate the geometries, how to space the sidings, how to smooth out curves and gradients, ... I just like it.

So... I began hacking and chopping the CR Indy route a (looong) while ago. With some recent progress being made, and reading Rick's wish for a backdated CR Indy in another post here, ;) , I thought I could show off some pictures of my backdating project. It's almost exclusively based on topo quads, so it's not too fancy nor realistic, but I hope it captures the feel of the NYC era much better than the slim-fast Conrail trackage.

So far (in the last year or so, without constantly working on it) I've covered Marion to just west of Quincy (DT&I Jct), so all in all a good 50 miles. I added lots of yard and industrial trackage, many crossovers throughout the double track main, some elevator sidings and team tracks in some of the small towns, and I extended the route eastward to the Marion engineers depot. I looked at Indy quads, and it gave me a headache. Such a mind-boggling maze of downtown trackage of at least three major railroad companies! A challenge? Maybe. :o :unsure: :blink:

OK, enough said. Here are some pictures:


Bellefontaine's engine facilities. Long destroyed in real life.


Bellefontaine Junction, were the main to Springfield and Sandusky crossed.


I added the yard on the other mainline, just south of town.


The main yard at Bellefontaine. Don't know if I exaggerated it, but it's on a wild gradient, somwhere around .6% I suppose. Makes switching quite exiting!


The southern ladder of the third, northernmost yard in Bellefontaine...


...and its northern exit onto the mainline to Marion


An example of the new elevators and team tracks in the small towns. Oh, and the rarely seen but often feared floating crossing signals!


EL's big yard at Marion, completely rendered.


And finally, the junction! THE junction.

Hope you like it! Comments and suggestions are very welcome, especially as long as the interactives are all gone from the scene.
Cheers!
Michael

[rfranzosa]

GreatNortherner, on May 14 2009, 11:13 AM, said:

Hope you like it! Comments and suggestions are very welcome, especially as long as the interactives are all gone from the scene.
Cheers!
Michael

Wow....

WOW!!!! :unsure:

I don't know what to say. Excellent work, Michael!! Between this and the B&A, New York Central fans will be in heaven!!!

RGF

[rfranzosa]

mastertone, on May 16 2009, 10:30 PM, said:

Is this the same route at train-sim,or is it a completly new route?

No, it's a highly modified version that Michael Stephan is working on....

Quote

So... I began hacking and chopping the CR Indy route a (looong) while ago. With some recent progress being made, and reading Rick's wish for a backdated CR Indy in another post here, , I thought I could show off some pictures of my backdating project. It's almost exclusively based on topo quads, so it's not too fancy nor realistic, but I hope it captures the feel of the NYC era much better than the slim-fast Conrail trackage.

[rfranzosa]

NW_611, on May 17 2009, 11:52 PM, said:

Yee haw. I've got a rather massive fleet of diesels that'll be perfectly at home on this route. It's a good time for Eastern routes and the ol' Central'll be riding high when this is out. So will the New York Central.

I think I've just found my western end of the N&W to boot, along with the Nickel Plate. Keep up the good work!

Ironically, I just spent 1/2 a day at the Indiana Transportation Museum in the company of an NKP GP9. Got lots of good photos for a reskinning job :o

RGF