Howdy

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself!' started by BlackDiamond1964, Jan 25, 2018.

  1. I'm BlackDiamond1964, I'm a 53 year old 3D model builder from PA that is looking for a interesting group project to work on. I've been making my models in Blender for the last 13 years. My specialty in model building is (but not limited to) bridges, buildings and basic scenery items. I'm hoping to find a group of like minded folks that are interest in making a route based on the anthracite regions. I have a few route ideas that I've been tinkering with but I'm more then willing to hear some new route ideas if anybody has some. The anthracite region if filled to the brim with railroad history. I'd like to bring that history into a project.
     
  2. There seems to be a letter missing from my username. Does anybody know how to fix this?
     
  3. PlatChap

    PlatChap Well-Known Member

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    LOL! I don't believe there is a way for you to edit your username unfortunately. You may just have to adapt to your new identity as "BackDiamond" :D

    Maybe try submitting a trouble ticket? They may be able to fix it for you. Click on "Support" on the top right of the webpage.
     
  4. I did that about a week ago but still haven't heard back from them yet.
     
  5. PlatChap

    PlatChap Well-Known Member

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    Hmm, well that is the only suggestion I had at this time. I looked into the profile settings and didn't see any way to change it yourself.
     
  6. I guess I'll have to wait them out. In the mean time I've added my Facebook Page to my account settings for those that may be interested on my TS2018 current workings.
     
  7. PlatChap

    PlatChap Well-Known Member

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    Good deal, I'll check it out!
     
  8. Farmer_C

    Farmer_C Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to the forum B(l)ackDiamond. :)
     
  9. My username has been fixed...I feel complete now. :)
     
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  10. LeadCatcher

    LeadCatcher Well-Known Member

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    Welcome --- watch out - there is some fellow going by Backdiamond that seemed a little fishy....

    Glad you got the name straightened out :)
     
  11. Pay no attention to that person. He is a fraud and a phony. Hopefully we won't be hearing from him again! ;)
     
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  12. I'm still looking to be inspired by something or somebody to start creating content again. Looking for some other creators to help on one of my projects or I'm willing to join a group for a new project. My main interest are railroads of the past, especially one of the anthracite railroads. Feel free to post thoughts and ideas below.
     
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  13. Zayphod

    Zayphod New Member

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    Greetings and welcome to the forums!
     
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  14. While I'm not working on a particular project, I always go back to my side project. I came up with the idea of modeling the area I live in. Not as it looks now, but as it looked back in the late 1950's. At that time the railroads crossed the Wyoming Valley floor shipping out the anthracite in every direction. My original Idea was to model the entire northern anthracite region of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys. I quickly realized that no mere mortal could pull this attempt off unless he was ready to release this route for TS2045 or possible even a later version. There is just to many railroads and far to much information needed.

    Eventually I settled for modeling the local area. I started with the biggest and nearest train yards which was the Lehigh Valley's Coxton Yard. I used this train yard at the main focus on the route and work my out from there adding new rail branches or new areas.
    20180224175933_1.jpg
    I had somebody offer me a yard track map for the yard from 1959, so what you see here is based on that yard map. This picture shows the southern entrance to the yard with the bridge over the Lackawanna River at the point were it empties into the Susquehanna River.
    20180224180006_1.jpg
    One of the most scenic areas on the map is Campbell's Ledge. From the ledge you can see all parts of the rail yard. This railroad has been here since the 1870's and is still in use today but at a much smaller scale then what it once was. The bridge in the picture is the Coxton Bridge that was opened 1902 and was a part of the LV's Harvey's Lake Branch, Later called the West Pittston Branch. This branch line will be added in the future. The Coxton Bridge was abandoned in the early 1970's and is currently being taken down.
    20180224180044_1.jpg
    Back in the day the yard featured a hump yard and 5 other staging areas for inbound and outbound traffic. The route texture and track are from the Horseshoe Curve Route. The roundhouse and light towers and bridges are my own creations. The roundhouse turntable is from the Sherman Hill route. I'll post more about this project every now and then. I'm currently adding the roads to the route. I'm planning on starting to add more yard structures soon.
     
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  15. LeadCatcher

    LeadCatcher Well-Known Member

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    Looks like an impressive start -- will be watching with interest as you progress
     
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  16. Here is the latest model that I made. This is the Forest Castle Junction Bridge which was located on the south side of the Lehigh Valley's Coxton Bridge. Originally, there was no junction here. The Lehigh Valley Crossed over the West Pittston & Exeter Railroad. At some point in history the Lehigh Valley took over operations on the WP&E and a ramp and a connecting spur was built.
    29214166_566053850435555_8849970784186138624_o.jpg
    29257825_566053897102217_2012493139419332608_o.jpg
    29214063_566054030435537_4729202091787026432_o.jpg
    29197097_566053983768875_884544580421156864_o.jpg
     
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  17. Thanks, here is what I'm currently working on.... a anthracite coal breaker.
    The Sullivan Trail Breaker
    sullivan trail_5.png
     
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  18. Farmer_C

    Farmer_C Well-Known Member

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    Will you be making your objects available for the general public, or will you limit the use to your own scenarios.

    The coal breaker model looks great!
     
  19. Yes, once I get a healthy collection of models, I will find or (make) a web page to host them.
     
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  20. Farmer_C

    Farmer_C Well-Known Member

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    Can’t wait. You’ve got superb skills!
     
  21. Howdy again folks! For many years now I've been bouncing around between rail sims and different routes/project. I've spent countless hours making models for these routes. I've come to the conclusion that it is near impossible to make a era themed railroad and have it truly accurate. Sure, you can fake your way through it, but the perfectionist in me won't allow that. I want the real experience of that particular railroad. I need all the details on bridges, buildings and industries that are simply lost to time. I spend so much time researching that the process become boring and slow. So much so that I completely run out of inspiration on the original goal. It's time for a new game plan in this train sim...

    Starting with a completely empty plate, I've come up with a new idea that will get me away for those lost creation blues. My new goal is to build a fictional railroad based off of a real railroads in a model railroad format. Starting with a basic model railroad track plan and expand it... while keeping the route small enough to add all those little details and scenes you find interesting on model railroad layouts while keeping the track length for a lot of different train driving activities. This route is based off of one's imagination instead of the buzzkill historical correctness.

    I'd like to hear other route builders opinion on this... Is this a good enough idea to pursue? Has anybody else tried this approach?
     
  22. Daytona

    Daytona Active Member

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    Love what you've done - I've only been playing for 6 months so I've not looked into route building but the calling is getting stronger. Are you hooked into the developer networks BlackDiamond ?
    http://www.trainsimdev.com/forum/ (email admin@trainsimdev.com)
    http://railworksamerica.com/forum/
    Hook up with developers - Smokebox, Milepost, Virtual New Haven Railroad, G-TraX ?
    After 51 years of suffering as a not very good perfectionist, and a legacy of incomplete projects, I've come to the conclusion that perfectionism is bad for the majority of people ;)
    Oh... and welcome!
     
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  23. Trainsimdev is by invitation only.
    I was at RWA until a regular poster there gave me bad information. When I spoke up about it I was banned. Needless to say I don't go there much anymore.

    My goal all along has been to hook up with like minded people. I've been modeling in Trainz and Train Simulator for more then 12 years...it hasn't happened as of yet.
     
  24. I'm resurrecting one of my older projects. It's simply called Coxton Yard. See the picture above for reference. The route will feature the LV's Coxton Yard as the main focal point. Once the yard is complete, I'll move on to some branch lines like the West Pittston & Exeter RR, The LV West Pittston Branch and the DL&W Bloomsburg Branch. Maybe after that I can add the Main LV's line into Wilkes-Barre and the LV's Austin Branch. While there is no exact era date for the route, It's going to be based in the 50's and 60's and show the highlights of that era. Look for a new post about this in the near future.
     
  25. nachman.pecos

    nachman.pecos New Member

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    Welcome how are you ?
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2019
  26. I started making my models available for download on my site. Many of my models are in need of updates but will eventually be uploaded.
    Feel free to let me know if you have a question or problem with one of my models.

    https://wyomingvalleyrails.weebly.com/
     

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