New Locomotive Mod available!

[WPandP]

I have a treat to offer you all!

I've finally completed my trilogy of N&W modern steam. The Norfolk & Western was famous for its refusal to adopt diesel technology, sticking with its refined steam roster and thus becoming a favored subject for the famous photographer, O. Winston Link. Three engine classes were primary motive power - the streamlined J for passengers, the hard-lugging Y for coal drags, and the mighty A for fast freight. I had previously done a version of the J and Y, which can both be downloaded here, but the Class A took some serious time and effort.

Basically, I ended up having to figure out how to edit the .3DP files. None of us have yet figured out a way to import and export to a 3D modeling environment, so this meant that I did it all via hex editing. Yes, this is kind of crazy. But, it is not impossible! I have succeeded with a fairly complex steam engine, built out of parts culled from three different source engines. Other projects might not be quite as forbidding.

This is an initial release; I think it is "done enough" to share now. There are minor tweaks that still need to be done, but I think I'll let this get out there and collect some feedback for a while.

Enjoy! Download link is below; Hawk, you can add to your mods page too if you like.
http://wpandp.com/RRT3/NWclassA.zip

[Hawk]

Got it added.

http://hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt3/xtras/xtras2.htm

Posted an announcement here, and added it to the scrolling ticker.

[coruscate]

Cool beans dude!

[WPandP]

Allright, here is my follow-up:

EMD SD40-2

I did this mostly in one day, though it took a little bit longer than I anticipated. But I wanted to prove that a 3DP editing project doesn't have to be an enormously difficult thing, as it was for the Class A. This is a basic SD40-2 made by stretching the frame of the GP35 and its trucks; I also changed the radiators to be 3 equal sized ones rather than two big and one little.

I'm releasing this version now, as it is the more common low-nose version; I painted it in SOO livery because this mostly white skin will be easy for others to paint over, to create alternate skins. My goal is to do an N&W version, which will take some more work (high nose, reversed such that long hood is forward, new skin).

Hawk, you can go ahead and upload this too!

EDIT: Happy Thanksgiving, all!

[Hawk]

Got it added Michael.

Also added the announcement to the scrolling ticker and the RRT3 News Forum. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1507

[WPandP]

While I was away for the holiday weekend, I downloaded this on my girlfriend's computer to show her what I'd been spending so many hours doing. Well, the Soo engine didn't look right on her machine, which had a fresh install of RRT3 patched up to C-to-C level. The trucks weren't spaced right, even though they looked fine on my home machine. If anyone else is having this problem, please know that I intend to look into it, and to re-release this engine once fixed.

[MrScott2007]

I just checked this. At a close look, the front trucks look like they are back too far. Other then that it looks great.

[WPandP]

Okay, so my day-and-a-half mod project turned out requiring about another day's worth of debugging. But I've fixed it now, and I'm re-posting the SD40-2 for your enjoyment. I've made other minor tweaks as well, some corrections to the skinning (the GP35 body that was my starting point had some errors). If you've already downloaded this once, please grab it again and replace the PK4 file.

Hawk, please also re-post this in your extras page. Thanks!

[MrScott2007]

If you ever need a new project, RRT3 could use some small diesel switchers like a SW7.

[Hawk]

Hawk, please also re-post this in your extras page. Thanks!

Got it updated!

[WPandP]

If you ever need a new project, RRT3 could use some small diesel switchers like a SW7.

Well, yes and no.

I'd love for the game to represent all aspects of railroading, but the way it is set up it kind of is too abstract to call for certain engine classes. The Shay, for instance, doesn't really serve its real-world role in this game (unless you really get intricate with your train routing). Switch engines don't travel from one city to another; they switch the cars that arrive at that city, and maybe get them delivered to local industries. In RRT3, the cargo just "walks" from the depot to the served industry. Thus, that aspect of railroading is essentially unmodeled. And there are no yards per se - each station has an infinite capacity to store loads and accept inbound trains.

However, there are some smaller "switchers" that might make sense, like an MP15-DC or an Alco T6, which were built on regular road trucks and intended for light road duties. Of course, the big difficulty is in creating a model of one; there is no decent starting point in RRT3, and it's still rather impossible to create something from scratch. One that I'd really love to see would be an Alco RS-1 or RS-3; these might be more readily achievable based on editing of the GP-7, but still would take a lot of work.

Hopefully, as Rail Mogul takes shape, we'll reserve a significant role for switchers to play.

[MrScott2007]

Switch engines don't travel from one city to another

I didn't think about that.

One that I'd really love to see would be an Alco RS-1 or RS-3

That was my second choice.

What about an F7 or a PA1?

The gears in my thinker are always aturnin'.

[Hawk]

There's already an F a&b in the game.

[WPandP]

I've started on Phase 2 of my SD40 project: to model a high-nose Norfolk & Western version. Raising the nose proved to be rather easy, and I've created my skin. What remains is to flip the model such that it runs long hood forward... which means changing every X and Y value to its negative value. This will take a while, needless to say. But to whet some appetites, here's a screenshot of the nose-first version:

[MrScott2007]

There's already an F a&b in the game.

Doh!

[Hawk]

That's OK Scott. I just said some dumb things to the guy I'm working with building a web site. After all was said and done I felt like a fool. I just kinda' jumped the gun with a few comments only to find out, had a looked a little closer, there was no need to say what I said.

Looks good WP.

[WPandP]

Okay, for all you diehard . NORFOLK & WESTERN . fans...

[sounds of crickets chirping]

Here is my N&W version of the SD40 I developed earlier. This is a back-to-back M.U. (multiple unit) lashup of two SD40's, in typical N&W fashion. They preferred to run with the long hood designated forward, and the short hood full height (i.e. "high nose"). The blue and yellow "hamburger" paint scheme was developed in the late 60's in anticipation of a merger with C&O, which never happened. It lasted only a few years officially, replaced in 1971 with the black and white "NW" scheme, but the blue units kept their paint for a good long while in the 70's.

I made this as a pair of units, so its stats are more comparable to the DD40-X; honestly, I think that engine is a little too good by comparison. Maybe I'll go and revise its .LCO file to balance it versus the two SD40's; certainly the real railroads vastly preferred multiple smaller units like SD40's, versus one big engine like the DD40-X.

Anyways, here's the engine set. I welcome your comments, and Hawk you can feel free to add this to your page, too!

[Hawk]

Got it added!

[WPandP]

Just to let everyone know, I've finally gotten around to updating and cleaning up my own web page a little bit, so all these engines are also available there. Here is the link:

http://wpandp.com/RRtycoon.html#Locos

[ostlandr]

Wow! N&W SD40s, high nose, running long hood forward as an engine should. Awesome! Thank you!