Cheyenne 1869 extension

[artimrj]

It Is posted now.

[qrfan3]

Dan...
Stage 1 installed okay, no issues or missing stock...
Ran your blizzard scenario...boy, was that something!!...A nicely done scenario, long....and testing in places.

Mike Rennie, your Dale Creek bridge is a work of art....well done..

My report at Sherman Station for the blizzard run....

20180906021602_1.jpg

[DanSSG]

@qrfan3:

It Is posted now.

Well, that was quick

And now it's time for a little stage two teaser. I've spent the last few days with laying some new tracks and maybe some of you have already an idea where we are going now. If not, just follow the traces

Stage Two Teaser.jpg

[DrTrenchcoat]

I have really been enjoying the route, my only issue is with pathing and signaling, would it be possible to add underground signals to allow easier AI pathing? Even if you don't it's a great route on par with anything DTG’s ever done.

[DanSSG]

would it be possible to add underground signals to allow easier AI pathing?

There are some invisible signals at the junctions of the sidetracks but not in the yards. And only the inbound ones will be displayed in the HUD.

All junctions on the line are manual, this means that you (the player) have to set the path for the AI train. This can be done in the scenario editor or in the scenario.

Even if you don't it's a great route on par with anything DTG’s ever done.

And now we're back on the road

The modern route goes straight through to Bosler from here.

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.38309--105.60678_11-16-28.jpg

But in 1869 the route headed to the left, following the Laramie River. In 1899 UP began with an realignment and the original grade is todays Howell Road.

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.38804--105.60876_11-17-08.jpg

Named after the sidetrack which is directly in front of us

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.41478--105.63615_11-22-10.jpg

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.41696--105.64046_11-22-38.jpg

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.41768--105.64548_11-23-09.jpg

[mrennie]

Great to see how much progress you're making!

[DanSSG]

After a few miles of of grass...

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.45178--105.70161_11-29-00.jpg

We're approaching Wyoming, which is near the Little Laramie River...

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.46461--105.72182_11-32-21.jpg

And about 14 miles away from Laramie City.

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.46647--105.72408_11-33-11.jpg

This is the only picture of Wyoming I've found online. Note the antlers on the headlamp. Photo by A.J. Russell

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.46753--105.72556_11-34-40.jpg

Wyoming was later abandoned, when they realigned the railroad at the end of the century. There where a new Wyoming and a new Howell at the current main line on a map from 1915 but both don't exist anymore today.

Screenshot_1 Cheyenne 1869 Extension Laramie Plains_41.46619--105.72455_11-35-37.jpg

[mrennie]

I think I'll model the depot building in that photo of Wyoming so I can use it in the Promontory route. I'll send the building to you as soon as it's ready so you can use it without waiting for Promontory to be released.

That loco, UPRR no. 23, is very interesting. It has a lot in common with Jupiter. The tender trucks and smoke stack are different, but almost everything else is identical. It must be a Schenectady built loco. Any more info on it?

[DanSSG]

That sounds great
I've seen that you've made a loft embankment with the same texture as the ballast underneath the track. Could you put that in the package, too?

Unfortunately I don't have more info about the loco.

[philmoberg]

...

That loco, UPRR no. 23, is very interesting. It has a lot in common with Jupiter. The tender trucks and smoke stack are different, but almost everything else is identical. It must be a Schenectady built loco. Any more info on it?

Best lists UP 22 through 27 as Schenectady-built in the second quarter of 1867. As built, they had 60" driving wheels, 16x24 cylinders, weighing 68,600. Schenectady followed up with 21 in the summer of '68, built to the same dimensions. I would assume they used the same drawings as the previous six.

[mrennie]

...

That loco, UPRR no. 23, is very interesting. It has a lot in common with Jupiter. The tender trucks and smoke stack are different, but almost everything else is identical. It must be a Schenectady built loco. Any more info on it?

Best lists UP 22 through 27 as Schenectady-built in the second quarter of 1867. As built, they had 60" driving wheels, 16x24 cylinders, weighing 68,600. Schenectady followed up with 21 in the summer of '68, built to the same dimensions. I would assume they used the same drawings as the previous six.

Jupiter also had 60" drivers and 16x24" cylinders, so it must've been basically the same as the 21-27 batch but with a few modifications such as the balloon stack, headlight brackets, tender trucks, etc. I'm just wondering now if there'd be much demand for it if I were to model #23, adapting the Jupiter model. At least it would be relatively quick to do.

[mrennie]

I've seen that you've made a loft embankment with the same texture as the ballast underneath the track. Could you put that in the package, too?

It's actually a new track type I made that includes the embankment. It'll be in the Promontory route but I could also update the track type used in the Cheyenne 1869 route, although you'd have to wait for that to be released as a patch on Steam (which could take ages). An alternative would be to provide you with the embankment loft by itself, separated from the track, but you'd then have to lay it separately and align it with the track manually.

[philmoberg]

...

Jupiter also had 60" drivers and 16x24" cylinders, so it must've been basically the same as the 21-27 batch but with a few modifications such as the balloon stack, headlight brackets, tender trucks, etc. I'm just wondering now if there'd be much demand for it if I were to model #23, adapting the Jupiter model. At least it would be relatively quick to do.

I would be happy to have it for several reasons, beginning with the difference between two different railroads' variation on the same specification. Alternatively, you might want to consider UP's last Schnectady-built engines, 121-125 (1868) and 141-145 (1869), both on 54" driving wheels, but otherwise identical specifications.

[mrennie]

...

Jupiter also had 60" drivers and 16x24" cylinders, so it must've been basically the same as the 21-27 batch but with a few modifications such as the balloon stack, headlight brackets, tender trucks, etc. I'm just wondering now if there'd be much demand for it if I were to model #23, adapting the Jupiter model. At least it would be relatively quick to do.

I would be happy to have it for several reasons, beginning with the difference between two different railroads' variation on the same specification. Alternatively, you might want to consider UP's last Schnectady-built engines, 121-125 (1868) and 141-145 (1869), both on 54" driving wheels, but otherwise identical specifications.

Do you have any reference photos?

Another I was considering is CPRR 160 "Sultana", built 1868 and shown here in 1870 after being fitted with a diamond stack by A.J. Stevens.

CPRR 160 Sultana.jpg

[philmoberg]

...

Do you have any reference photos?

Another I was considering is CPRR 160 "Sultana", built 1868 and shown here in 1870 ...

I have one photo, but it will take some work. I should be able to get it to you in a outlet of days or so, at the rate things are going. Personally, I'd find a locomotive with 54" driving wheels handy on those heavy grades between Laramie and Cheyenne: DanSSG has given us an extension that is as operationally demanding as it is visually rich.

Sultana is a handsome machine, and I'd gladly welcome a model whether you build others or not. The most fascinating aspect of this era is that they were on the threshold between the age in which they didn't know they were doing it wrong and the age in which they were coming to an agreement about what was right, at least with respect to conditions prevailing in North America. Their creativity, if occasionally bizarre or misguided, seems nearly unlimited from the perspective of a century and a half later. It must have been a fascinating time to have witnessed in person.