Progress report on the 1980 era Conrail Activity-Pack (for the OHRR, NEC & East Metro routes)...and a list of the needed Add-Ons

[lnghairedwizard]

Here are some screenshots of what Ive been up to so far...

Here are two pics from a Coaltrain activity where you make up your 30car coal train at Mt. Ephraim mine #4 then proceed to Marietta amidst heavy opposing traffic with a drop-off and Pick up along the way.

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b0772e9e56cb.jpg

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b09a2eecc8ba.jpg

And here are some from a Steelmill delivery activity where you make up your train at Zanesville Yard then proceed to the Muskingum Steelworks to deliver coke to the Blast furnace's highline then deliver Burnt Lime,additives & refractory materials to the Open Hearth furnace. Lots of AI traffic even for a primarily switching activity.

On a siding being passed by a freight returning from the mills...love those dekosoft coilcars
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b19a311fd2ab.jpg

Approaching the Mills
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b1c731a2d241.jpg

On the Blast Furnace highline...By the glow from those bottle cars, it looks like the furnace was recently tapped.
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b1f532152c77.jpg

Some hoppers of Burnt lime and other additives destined for the Open Hearth furnace
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b24c32b837ab.jpg

Here are the Coke loads about to be uncoupled and emptied into the bins below the highline...that truss work leading up to the top of the blast furnace is the skiphoist where little hopper-like skip cars will carry the coke and other raw materials to be dumped into the Blast furnace.
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b32b34f06e28.jpg

From a different angle...
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b3e136bf7b27.jpg

Approaching the Open Hearth furnace building(the one with several stacks) and the rolling mills
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b43637937b91.jpg

Theres the Scrap yard to the right of the train...Kudos to Rich Garber for all the detail he put into the OHRR's Steelmills!!!
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b4a8386d0535.jpg

OOppppssss!!!! how did that get in there...just playin around with designing oil Refinery objects.....god knows we need some more prototypical structures!
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b54c39e61401.jpg

Any Finally....here are the lists of add-ons need for the Conrail activities...

Yeah, I know there are alot, especially for you people with dial-up internet access....but you will have plenty of time to download these so when the activity pack is released you should be all ready to enjoy it!!!!...this is why I'm posting them ahead of time as has been suggested to me by several people!

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12b6013b8e55f7.gif
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Longhairedwizard

[lnghairedwizard]

Oh, and to make getting all the files super easy....just copy and past the zipfiles listed above, go into the search feature in the download section here at trainsim and paste the zipfile under where it says file names.

LHW

[CSXFan]

Looks like fun LHW!

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12f7d043889582.jpg

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d12f7e643c6c300.jpg

[joha107]

cool. thank you for using some of my files. can't wait to play this one. :-)
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ce999ea3a0b4c0b.jpg

joe

[pwillard]

Whoo Hoo!
Yeah!

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d0125ea4bd60b54.gif http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3cec3a942f563d70.jpg
Pete Willard

[dangodfrey]

Looks fantastic! I am printing this link out so I can figure out what I have vs. what I need (thank God for out Internet link at the office!).

Any ETA on the activities? Just wanted to know so I can stock up on supplies, because something tells me when these activities are finally released, I won't be leaving my house!!!!

Thanks for what's going to be something really great!

Dan Godfrey

[CPR_Malice_96th]

Hey LHW,

When I started reading this post I was going to ask you to post the files needed ahead of time....

Then I read furthur down the page........WOOOHOOO

Thanks !!

Tim Kent
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d13350a6e070c1b.jpg
"Power for You"

[lnghairedwizard]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-02 AT 11:54AM (EDT)[p]RE: ETA on these activities....

Initially, I planned on the first week of july for a 6-pack of activities for the OHRR, but I've had alot of ideas so I'll probably do at least one for the east metro (where you get overtaken from behind by a higher priority AI train) and some for the NEC, so it could be as late as mid July but I'll try and hurry. The NEC offers lots of kewl possibilities likes pacing and slowly overtaking or being overtaken by AI trains on separate tracks....also I will require 3 extra downloads (electric engines) which will be optional as they will, of course, only be needed on the NEC route.

To justify the large number of add-ons required, I'd like to include as many activities as I can without taking too long to finish it, so its a bit of a balancing act. Of course I'll need some beta testers to try out the activities well before the release of the package..(hint,hint)

I'm gonna do a few experiments like tring to make activities where you drive a set of rear end helpers and have to couple on to the back of a heavy train to push it up a steep grade.

I was also reading about where a mainline train pulls into a yard and a switcher comes up and pulls off a string of cars and adds a different set. Not too sure about this one but I'll give it a go....

LHW

[Main Lines]

I am really looking torward to these and my latest caboose project might also be useful.

http://users.silcon.com/~lgoss/3DModels/ELcaboose.jpg

[lnghairedwizard]

Man, that looks great....one question though is that a reskin of the current bay window cab or an entirely new design?
Most of the early cabooses were way out of scale (too big)

LHW

[Main Lines]

It's a new to scale design based on the BN wide vision caboose uploaded earlier.

[Stumbl]

getting all the files you have listed on the other post , and will be glad to help , LHW ,
lemme know when ya need it!
I'm not working , so i got plenty of time to do it , for now :-)

Make a Mess!!
I am :-)

" I do what my Rice Krispies tell me to do "

VNARC
vp:hs

[Stumbl]

ooooooooooooo , these all made conbuilder reaaaaly mad , lol



Make a Mess!!
I am :-)

" I do what my Rice Krispies tell me to do "

VNARC
vp:hs
(fastest way to kill a thread , git stumbl to post :-) )

[Arrow]

I'm also available. Being retired I have lots of time to play. I've just been busy adding all of the downloads and am anxious to put this rolling stock into revenue service.

Screenshots look great.

Let me know if I can help with the Beta. My email is garner@tbaytel.net

John

[lnghairedwizard]

Thanx guys, will send out betas of the individual activities as I finish them. At the moment I have several started...some almost complete others...not so complete..LOL The two above should be ready to beta test in less that a week (maybe sooner than that!!

Hey Mainline, glad to hear that EL caboose is in scale. may use that one if its out soon enough.

After I release this initial large package, I'll be able to write smaller packages and/or single activities that use the same add-ons listed above and maybe require one or two additional add-ons as more prototypical Northeastern rolling stock becomes available.

LHW

[asmith46]

Looks great! But, dang thats a lotta stock. If I get all that, plus all the stuff for Enocell's NNJ route, plus other stuff I like on my own, I'm afraid MSTS will have a stroke trying to keep up with all of it, not to mention my tiny 40-gig HD. Thanks for the heads-up. Guess I'll have to start soon, 'cause Rich's routes deserve the best.

Al

[OwainGlyndwr]

I could also help if you wish ,as im at home all day.I also have all the add ons,as i download all US addons from the file library everyday. ;-)

regards,
O.G.

http://www.sirpenfro.freeserve.co.uk/Train_Simulators/waleflag.gif
http://www.sirpenfro.freeserve.co.uk/Train_Simulators/td45as.jpeg

[lnghairedwizard]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-02 AT 05:16AM (EDT)[p]Actually, the extra rolling stock may make your msts load a little slower & take up some extra HDD space but Ive only got a 20 gig HDD myself.

It IS alot of add-ons to download, but when new conrail or conrail predecessor routes become availble(and according to some of the posts in the "Routes" forum, there are many in the works)...I will write activities for them in addition to this Activity pack I'm currently working on, and you will already have all or most of the required stock so you will be able to enjoy future activities without downloading a bunch of add-ons (although as new stuff becomes avialable, I may require 1 or 2 new add-ons for future activites)

Secondly, I used add-on "packs" as often as possible so even if there is "Only" 30-35 add-ons to be downloaded...there will actually be a "freight Pool" of almost 100 differnt freight cars or engines that will make up the consists from my Conrail activities.....that and the fact that my activity pack will probably have 10 or more actvities for various routes, thats only 3-4 downloads per activity which is a damn sight better then 10, 20 or even as much as 30 add-ons required for a SINGLE activity!!!

In the past, many folks experienced a multitude of errors when installing activities that required add-ons and this is because the activity writers named the add-on folder one way,...and the enduser named his another way....

If you follow my activity file list which includes the add-on name, the Zipfile name.....and perhaps most importantly...the NAME OF THE ADD-ON's FOLDER AS IT SHOULD APPEAR IN THE "TRAINSET" FOLDER...then you should have no problems!!!

Didn't mean to shout there...just wanted to emphasize the point!

LHW

[Stumbl]

judginf from the previous work you have done , LHW , the downloads are well worth it!

as an aside , I have gotten into the habit of using conbuilders naming convention , where the wag/eng file name becomes the folder name

eg: test.wag is in the folder test.

Make a Mess!!
I am :-)

" I do what my Rice Krispies tell me to do "

VNARC
vp:hs

[joha107]

i don't have a lot of time... but i'll beta test for you if you want.

by the way, do you have any pics of PC or any other rr's coil cars you'd like to see reskinned. my current projects kinda are goin nowhere and i want to do something different.

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ce999ea3a0b4c0b.jpg

joe
joha107@hotmail.com

[lnghairedwizard]

I'll try and see if I can't come up with a pic of a PennCentral coil car....they were the "angled-hood" type and where painted Jade Green, but they may be hard to find.

A PC reskin of the new Open autoracks (and the version with the side panels), would be a kewl addition too!!!


LHW

[lnghairedwizard]

I basically unzip the zipfile to a folder with the same name as the zipfile......if the add-ons author has a subfolder within the unzipped folder then there is no problem, however some authors simply zip up the wag & ace files...etc,... and when you unzip them to a temp folder, then that is actually the folder that needs to be placed into the trainset folder. this is where it gets confusing as the author may suggest the enduser unzip the files to a folder and name it whatever they want...

We really need some kind of add-on packaging conventions ...once we do...installing add-ons for an activity will become "error-free"

LHW

[joha107]

yeah thats a good idea. i'll get right to work on the autoracks. maybe a conrail version too? see what else i can find. pics would be helpful too.

http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3ce999ea3a0b4c0b.jpg

joe

[Gixxer86g]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-02 AT 09:02AM (EDT)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-02 AT 09:02*AM (EDT)

Thanks to LHW and Main Lines.It will be great to have NE RR activities.That's what I do to all the activities I download anyway.Every train gets a northeastern loco.The EL,NYS&W,LV and CR are my favorites.The EL caboose that Main Lines is creating is awesome!

[dphorton]

Just wondering how this route was coming along. Also wanted to keep this string close to the front of the postings so I don't forget where it is at. Thanks to all of you wizards of route and activity development, so us poor untallented people can enjoy this wonderful hobby. Have a Happy Fourth of July. Remember all of those who gave their lives For God, and Country so we can do this.

Dave Horton

[lnghairedwizard]

3d1e2ce148665206.jpg

Just a test...

[lnghairedwizard]

onemore time
http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d1e2ce148665206.jpg

[ChooChooCharlie]

Hey LHW nice shot...:D Wow this is going to be one heck of an activity, I can't wait to download it.




P.S. Thanks for the rolling stock list it's a big help.



Whooohoooo! CONRAIL
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http://www.trainsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3d1ea5b640d893bc.jpg
Cheers, Charlie

[dphorton]

I agree. LHW is doing it again and those of us that have used his great work want to thank him but it is hard to wait for the eye candy to arrive, know what I mean? :7 :7

Dave Horton