Upgrading MSTS and payware locomotive and rolling stock defaults for better equipment

[callagst]

Folks,

I had to reinstall the game and do the upgrades on a new machine. I have taken the time to swap out all of the default locomotives and rolling stock for better models, freeware off of this site and some payware as well. I could use some suggestions with regards to older payware routes. I am an MLT Sandpatch user and am looking for some suggestions about coal hoppers (the rest of the rolling stock and most of the locomotives have been upgraded-the SD50 is the main issue for this one). Chessie used a 3-bay BSC H350 100 tonner back in the 80s and there are no available repaints. There are some good freeware versions available and SLI has several versions of the car which I have but I am not the best of artists when it comes to reskinning existing equipment. KHP2 and Rodgers Pass are already done, and the SLI routes and equipment packs that I own don't need much upgrading at this point. Suggestions would be helpful. I have started a reskin of one of the SLI models but at this point it is a bit of a slog for me. See attached comparative screenie.

Thanks in advance

Steve Callaghan

[apco25]

Send me the work you have done on the ace files so far and I'll gladly get it to where you need it to be.

[geepster775]

There really isn't an exact model match for the Chessie fleet. SLI's 4-bay has the proper 13 ribs with irregular rib spacing, but is wrong for having too many bays. The SLI 3-bay has the correct number of bays, but has an incorrect 17 ribs evenly spaced.

I skinned the 4 bay model, afraid that the narrow ribs on the 3bay model would compress the billboard C logo too much.

DW has a 3-bay model, dunno about 3-D ribs or not, but the hoppers are the only freight car model you can't buy in a stand-alone freight pack on their website. They are only available as freebies when you buy locos you don't need.

[callagst]

I have the DW model but their repaint policy has turned me away from using them. It has been my practice since the beginning of MSTS to share my models or repaints (with the requisite permissions from the original owners) with other users on this site or at the Mophouse and I do not intend to change that policy. Ed's Trains Online and Tiger Trains offer the Wheeling & Lake Erie 3-bay (same car pretty much) at an affordable price so I will take a look at using either one of the two or using a freeware hopper.

[dedwa15237]

You can repaint hoppers from DW that you purchase, for only YOUR personal use... You cannot give out repainted DW models to the public or upload to the file library like SLI's products that you can. I do have the CSX bathtubs from the DW CSX SD70M set that came with it for free wayyy back in the past, and painted them to Somerset Railway and Conrail Quality for my own personal use.

[CSX FAN]

Geepster775,

There are several reskins off of the ESLW 3-bay hopper in the f/l. Maybe that one will work for you.

CSX FAN

[geepster775]

LOL, it used to, but not anymore. We are well past 10 yr old models without 3-D details.

I have plenty of Somerset shots of all their car styles, the silversides-like steel ortners, and both the steel and aluminum tubs. But there are no upgraded car models to use for any of them. Scott told me the tubs he hands out are a bit dated by today's standards, which is probably why he won't sell them directly. Both versions of the improved SLI tubs have issues, the CP version from the ES44 pack has older wheels and the BNSF version from Scenic has the better wheels but was missing the top rim (needed for the car dumping clamps) around all 4 sides. And nobody has touched the very common aluminum rapid discharge models since ESLW.

All this progress in car quality around us and we are still stuck in neutral within the coal hauling dept.

Back when Rowie and I were working on the beet hoppers, I approached Keith to get the original files he used for the ESLW cars, so Rowie could update them a bit, add some additional details here and there. By then, ESLW had been disbanded. But the files never came and the project fell through.

[callagst]

If my copy of TSM could be made to work (while my old install was backed up my registry got trashed on the old machine and a registry mod is not in the cards as it works in demo mode only and will not take the product registration number any more) the fix would be a new model rather than a reskin. I have the general arrangement drawing with dimensions of the VAPX Johnstown America 3-bay hopper in the open top hoppers section of the S-B Car and Locomotive Cyclopedia 1997 binder edition on my bookshelf as a guide. It has 13 side ribs and is pretty much the same dimensions as the Chessie cars. I am stuck with reskinning the DW cars as it is, not my preferred option. More news later, folks.

Steve Callaghan

[callagst]

Those were done on the SLI Green River coal hoppers using Pete Willards fonts? Sounds like a fix to me. I have the route and the cars so I can live with the mismatch in the number of bays until a purpose-built Chessie model gets built (another project on my endless to-do list). Not bad options after all. Thanks for the suggestion.

Steve Callaghan

[eric]

LOL, it used to, but not anymore. We are well past 10 yr old models without 3-D details.

There's always the option of using the 10 year old model as a base, and building the 3D details as a FA... how hard could it be to build the proper rib pattern in Sketchup or Gmax?

[geepster775]

The 13-rib car I used in those screens came from the now-discontinued 6-scheme SLI Bethlehem hopper set. Luckily, that particular shape was re-introduced in the CNW SD40-2 trainset pack, where it comes with just CNW textures. The shape, however, is the same as what came in the discontinued pack. So at least that model its still available. Pete's fonts were used for the main logos, but I had to use the Union Pacific font to set the B, C, and O reporting marks. I also had to use some other font to get the slanted-leg M for the reporting marks on the WM car, don't recall offhand.

This hopper is a bit taller than the one that came with the Green River route, but otherwise it shares the same features. A shape viewer shot of the taller version tucked inside the Green River version.




Below are the three hopper shapes currently available from SLI. All have 3D ribs and the upgraded shiny wheels. From top to bottom are:

The Green River 13-rib short side car.

The CNW SD40-2 set 13-rib tall-side car

The BN triclops SD60M set 3-bay, 17-rib car.

There is no way the Chessie billboard C logo could be packed into the BN 3-bay's narrow space containing only 2 side panels without looking grossly undersized, and that's what I was worried about. The BN might be useful for a pre-Chessie "C&O for Progress" scheme tho. I know Chessie did have some 15-rib cars, with a slightly smaller C logo, but not a 17-rib car that would compact the logo size even more.





The Chessie scheme was applied to the shorter 13-rib cars, too, so the Green River car will work here to produce something similar to this. It adds some variety in car height within a train, which is prototypical




The "C&O for Progress" scheme on the taller 13-rib car. I already have the 'progress' logo needed to produce this, too.

[callagst]

If I can get my copy of TSM working I can build 3-bay models of both heights in about 3 days as I have a beta model already done in the 3800 cf and 4000 cf versions of this hopper. There is a 12-inch height differential between the two types. The skins would take me a bit longer as I have to find a solution for my TGA files. I have to use PSP 8 and TGATools2A will not accept TGA files from PSP 8 so I may have to go over to another paint program to generate my alpha tranparencies. Buying another bunch of models that I don't need to get a single car at this stage of the game is out of the question. I always attempt to stay within my budget envelope!

Steve Callaghan

[apco25]

I have all three of these shapes. Before I go off and re-invent the wheel, any interest in releasing the .ace files for these?

[TrainSimulations]

If you guys can wait a few days, I can make a 3 bay version of the tall 4 bay car shown above. I'll just post the S file here in the thread, with instructions on which texture to assign to it.

Regards,
Jason@SLI

[callagst]

It would be greatly appreciated, believe me. Thanks for the offer. I Have two of the three listed shape files as I own Green River and Seligman 2.0 and the BNSF Seligman as well. If the texture assignment can be reworked then I can post the skin on the SLI forum for other users.

Steve Callaghan