Fifth installment in a multi-set chronological depiction of a recent Autumn late afternoon / early evening Stopping Passenger Service QD on GAD's Dorset Coast route. Our train is again headed by LSWR T3 No.563, newly available as an update to Caledonia Works LSWR T3 Pack. As before, it pulls four AP MK1 coaches. Being envisioned as the return trip of my prior LSWR T3 No.536 / Dorset Coast sets, the loco is now positioned tender first: This image was captured within spitting distance of the image that closes installment four: Hamworthy Junction: Departing Hamworthy Station: RW Enhancer 2, AP S&W2 + Cloud Pack TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Metro-North FL9 and M8 meet at the Grand Central tunnel portal. This Summer afternoon weather roleplays an autumnal mood. Transpennine Express approaches Chester-le-Street. Canadian Pacific moves empty rotary gondolas a short distance, from Eldon to a nearby hilltop yard. The German are moving the tanks! - would my favorite game caster say. But it's also very British, since this Class 67 is moving TEA wagons. Gloomy spring mornings didn't stop the BR - this Class 33 takes its passengers to Portsmouth.
Definetly need to work on my TSC screenshots - Out of practice so please bare that in mind. This afternoon decided to play an incredibly good scenario by CrankyBot (https://alanthomsonsim.com/downloads/cb-1y06-0755-edinburgh-north-berwick/). A joint couple of class 385's from TI's new route. The scenrio itself takes place on the ECML North route by JT.
Union Pacific GP38-2 leads the 13:30 Monument to Castle Rock local train, seen passing MP.9 (near Larkspur) on 18th October 2023:
Very enjoyable scenario from OTS available at ATS - https://alanthomsonsim.com/downloads/ots-6k30-carlisle-n-y-pinnox-branch-esso-sidings/ 6K30 Carlisle - Pinnox Esso sidings.... Traction: AP Class 56 Load - AP JNA-C Stopped at Hartford Up Slow to let a Pendoleno past....
Pause at Crewe P5 to let a passenger service off the single track Stoke Loop which we head down next.....
Beginning at Jamaica, Long Island Rail Road Bombardier M7s '7098', '7129', '7102', '7535', '7392', '7289', '7788' and '7347' begin the late afternoon by leading an empty train to Belmont Park to pick up passengers before heading back through Jamaica and onwards to New York Penn where the train will terminate in the West Side Yard during a bleak Summers day of 2012. Loco: Bombardier M7 Route: Long Island Rail Road: New York - Hicksville
I wonder. . . . . Do you actually play with this amazingly high graphics quality. Or is is just for the screenshot ?
Hello Horseshoe Curve. As one of the first routes I played, I decided to replay / capture it, also taking advantage of the seven years. This capture is from the very first scenario, Introduction to the Horseshoe Curve, which is potentially missed by many, a quick GP7 run from Cresson to Altoona. I think I also figured why I have a recent preference for low shots. Picturesque overviews are great, but only viable with good enough scenery. I'm also trying to avoid U-shots - high stuff on the sides with a train at the bottom middle. And the rails substitute foreground. Rio Grande mixed train on the fast descent from Soldier Summit towards Helper. Probably my favorite run last year - Union Pacific roundtrip on the Coal District with the United Way SD40 and a GP35. Mixed train from the BR Green era on Weardale & Teesdale. EMD DD35A with a string of empty coal hoppers - also on the Coal District.
What you see me post is me playing the sim! I don't alter settings for a screenshot, I think my laptop does quite well! Usually get 20fps which is adequate, sometimes route dependent I get over 30fps.
Pennsylvania Railroad EMD F7s '9825', '9826' and '9827' operate an 8 coach long passenger train of P70 coaches beginning at Johnstown and heading to Altoona with a stop in between at Cresson covering a total distance of 37 miles during the middle of an afternoon August heat wave of 1954. (Apparently this scenario takes place just before the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, even though that would've happened in April of 1946! I just went with what the scenario description and date information said of it being during the August of 1954 anyway which is honestly a more realistic date anyway, as the EMD F7s and GP7s were first built 3 years after 1946 in 1949! This must be an alternate reality where the Pennsylvania Railroad was established in 1854. ) Locos: EMD F7, EMD GP7 Route: Horseshoe Curve EDIT: Turns out the 100th anniversary mentioned is on the opening of the railway line to Horseshoe Curve opened in 1854, not the establishment of the Pennsylvania Railroad so looks like the scenario is actually correct on it’s dating.
Nice I'm just paused at Cresson right now, having had lunch and a bit of break before continuing. 88 shots already Some cherry picking its going to be. It's about the 100th anniversary of Horseshoe Curve itself, which was opened in 1854: Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania) - Wikipedia You are correct about the PRR establishment date. I didn't manage a good capture of that cow, tried from different angles. Well done (on second thought, there might be another one)
Thanks!!! And ahhhhh thank you for the clarification on the 100th anniversary not being on the Pennsylvania Railroad but on the Horseshoe Curve! Definitely makes more sense now. Enjoy your run on Horseshoe Curve. EDIT: Also just wanted to mention about the cow screenshot, that was a tricky one! Had to move the camera around lots, experiment with zoom and train positioning to get a good one there. For me, I find taking screenshots on the entire route pretty difficult with my zoom in style as once zoomed in, blotchy and lower quality terrain texture due to distance away from the terrain becomes very obvious and it can be hard to avoid on this route which can mess with the overall look of my screenshots in my opinion. The fact that you often take way over 50 screenshots for each of your runs, and narrow it down to a few or a single one for your weekly submissions is seriously impressive! And here I thought getting my usual 10-20 shots down to 5 was difficult!
It's a different way and yours is definitely as difficult as mine. The reason I take that many is one part FOMO, and one part realisation that my brain tends to adapt to the driving stance and somehow change my preference. I also don't want to ponder way too much on the spot. So I just take a few similar shots with minor changes, or maybe different zoom levels, and move on. I also can't resist taking some that will probably not make it - I narrow them to 30 or less - but still, I kind of hope so, or just learning from it, why. And a chance to look at it once more. The reason I am so sad about losing this UI for cherry picking is obvious if you look at it. I see similar shots and it's easy to decide which one to keep, say, out of the diagonal forest crossing ones. Using an image viewer is fine for the successive ones - easier even as I can just press delete - but kinda messy when they are a dozen apart.
A new superintendent will take office shortly in Portland and in order to allow him to get to grips with the area, restored Boston & Maine Railroad EMD E7s '3810' and '3820' have been put in charge of a special round trip of the area for the superintendent featuring 5 coaches. Beginning at Rigby Yard during a period of overcast skies, the locomotives reverse out of the area with their empty coaches before proceeding forwards to Portland Union Station where the locomotives will then run around their coaches to prepare for the journey north. In the meantime, the drivers can relax while waiting another hour until departure at 10am. Locos: EMD E7, EMD GP40 Route: Portland Terminal This route may be old, and especially difficult to take good screenshots with due to it's age and especially in overcast weather conditions but I must appreciate the unique operations, locomotives, assets and activity on this route. For example, Rigby Yard may have had only a single AI train passing through but it felt so alive with how filled the yard was with a variety of wagons in all kinds of different liveries and GP40s under unique railroad companies that are only seen on this route and barely represented in the game as a whole rather than lots of the same old Class 1 railroad stock to populate the area as seen in other routes. Such as Union Pacific and BNSF for an example. It is a nice change from most other routes having almost completely dead and empty railway yards or consists that look too uniform for a busy yard at times which can really bother me and break immersion when driving through what should be a busy area.
Sixth installment in a multi-set chronological depiction of a now not-so-recent Autumn late afternoon / early evening Stopping Passenger Service QD on GAD's Dorset Coast route. Our train is again headed by LSWR T3 No.563, newly available as an update to Caledonia Works LSWR T3 Pack. As before, it pulls four AP MK1 coaches. Being envisioned as the return trip of my prior LSWR T3 No.536 / Dorset Coast sets, the loco is now positioned tender first: This installment's theme: Havoc in the Skies For various reasons, planned and otherwise, the images seen below represent a number of different sessions. As AP Cloud Pack somewhat randomizes the clouds seen each time a scenario or save is loaded, individual image skies can look vastly different. When selecting captures to include, composition and dramatic effect took precedence over consistent cloud coverage. My first image was captured during the same session seen in installment five, so is harmonious with it: Paused at Poole. Captured almost immediately after the station's lighting came on: Entering Parkstone Station. This comes from a reloaded save. Cloud coverage is vastly different from that seen above: Parked in Parkstone. From my initial arrival, a save during which I placed the lower disk incorrectly. Clouds are inharmonious with the ones seen above: Parked in Parstone. A second view of the train positioned as it was immediately above. This is from yet another save reload, with again vastly different cloud coverage. Alas, I failed to notice that I forgot to re-establish the tender's disk codes until too late. RW Enhancer 2, AP S&W 2 + Cloud Pack TO BE CONTINUTED . . .
After an hour of photographs being taken and countless social activities, the superintendent and local officials have come on board for the tour of the Portland Terminal. Boston & Maine Railroad EMD E7s '3810' and '3800' and 4 coaches preserved for the event depart 3 minutes late at 10:03am from Portland Union Station under better weather conditions compared to what it was like during arrival at the area an hour prior. The train departs for an 8 mile journey past Rigby Yard and to Pine Point where upon arrival the coaches will be dropped off at a temporary platform where '3810' and '3800' will then run around the coaches to prepare for the next stage of the journey to the Irving/Citgo Storage Siding. Locos: EMD E7, EMD GP40 Route: Portland Terminal Looks like some local magicians also turned up to celebrate the superintendent's arrival as the train mysteriously lost a coach and '3810' was replaced by '3800' and '3820' was transformed into '3810'!
GNER HST at speed on the East Coast Main Line near Alnmouth on a 09:55 Aberdeen to London Kings Cross working in October 2006:
After a snack at Pine Point, preserved Boston and Maine Railroad EMD E7s '3815' and '3802' and 5 coaches continue their journey by heading back the way they came but this time when approaching Rigby Yard, the train takes a brief detour down the old Turner Island Branch, a line that used to serve many industries with a small switching yard, now has only a few industrial spurs and an oil terminal. After the visit to the Turner Island branch, the locomotives run around the coaches to prepare to continue through Rigby Yard and into the city streets. Locos: EMD E7, EMD GP40 Route: Portland Terminal
Is that the re-worled Portland Terminal route from RWA ? G-TraX Maine Maritime Switching Route https://railworksamerica.com/index....ime-switching-route&catid=20:route-collection
Thanks. I had it too. But then my Steam Account got lost and I lost all DLC. Will try to install the one from RWA.
Portland Terminal is what the Maine Maritime Switching Route by G-TraX was known as before it was taken off of Steam. I am lucky enough to own the original Steam version.
For the final part of the Portland Terminal tour for the new superintendent; preserved Boston and Maine Railroad EMD E7s '3808' and '3812' lead the 5 coach train on an 8 mile journey during midday from the Turner Island Branch and back through Rigby Yard. Upon approaching the Portland Wye Junction, instead of heading back to Portland Union Station the train heads east into the city through Commercial Street. Passing by abandoned yards and a port that used to be bustling with rail activity. After heading through the city, the train crosses the Casco Bay Bridge before coming to a stop in East Deering; the final destination of the tour. Said line through Portland and across the Casco Bay Bridge is abandoned in the present day. Loco: EMD E7 Route: Portland Terminal
Caltrain EMD F40PH-2 '904' 'Palo Alto' reverses out of the sidings with 5 coaches at Tamien on the Peninsula Subdivision 4 hours before midnight at 8pm and afterwards heads south empty over 28 miles to Gilroy to prepare for tomorrow mornings passenger services during the Autumn of 2017. Loco: EMD F40PH-2, Nippon Sharyo Gallery Cab Car Route: Peninsula Corridor: San Francisco - Gilroy
Tonights drive was up North heading to Carlisle in a Class 70 (Please enhance this AP ) 6C16 Looped for a passing 185 Shap summit at just 30mph!
6C16 continued....... Looped again at Penrith..... The eagle eyed might have noticed the loco changed 1/2 way through the scenario! This is due to me not swapping out the same loco in both scenario parts correctly in Loco swap, oops!
Weekly post time But first. Happy to see new and returning contributors, also bringing fresh topics. On top of some fantastic journeys by the regulars. It was an entertaining week. As for me, I'm just finishing the photo journey on Horseshoe - now comes a period of simply enjoying, while sharing some of the journey. Last week we've been introduced, maybe rode along - this time, we're invited to climb a GP7 and start moving stuff around Altoona. Up in the mountains a few weeks earlier, a trio of Alco RS11s led merchandise. Despite the rural setting of the Seebergbahn, back when an E18 would pull Silberlings, six coaches would be packed with commuters every morning and evening. (Where I live, ten years ago this was a standard consist. Now down to three.) On an equally murky day, a NJT F40PH travels between Bay Head and Long Branch. Over to Ohio and brighter days, here is a GP35 through a crossing past a nice little garden.
It's a bleak Autumns day of 1972 and British Rail Class 55 '55 008' 'The Green Howards' leads a train of 8 Mk2 coaches on an afternoon special football service from York to Darlington with a stop at Northallerton in between covering a distance of around 44 miles. Upon approaching Darlington, a football fan caused some trouble and the emergency brakes were pulled but the situation was sorted and the police sergeant on board advised the train that it was safe to continue to Darlington. Locos: British Rail Class 47, British Rail Class 55 Route: East Coast Main Line
Ohio Steel 2 by All Aboard. Their latest on Steam, unfortunately publishing modifications is forbidden. It's a nice rural route, once you get used to its predominantly 2D and old 3D scenery / foliage. Enjoyed a lot. It's worth swapping locos to run the scenarios, might want to experience them once with the SD40 but afterwards. The route is very suitable for smaller engines. The GP35 is from the DD35 pack for Sherman Hill. Pretty much the same as Feather River, I assume, if you have that. The silo wagons are also from this pack. If you decide to play it, search for torfmeister's fixes, a couple missing vehicles show up as big boxes. Same as Fort Kent.
