New York Division-Bergen Line: Episode III, The Erie Rises

[minerman146]

Yippy Skippy, its that time again! And yes, this is the Wednesday Route Report and Update Status, for this Friday, August 27th, 2021.

The status report.

[ ] Looking good over here
[ ] Looking good over there
[ X ] It's looking pretty done!

Speaking of pretty and done let's give up for The Surfrajettes and thier cover of "I had too much to dream last night " by the Electric Prunes!


Linky:https://youtu.be/-peqqyqUncQ

Go-Go Boots baby!

On to route news: We are just about at the 2 month mark since final. Looking the numbers post release, we picked up a little over 200 discerning individuals who demand to not be disappointed. The complaint list is at zero, we have a crap-ton of videos from our man Schnauzahpowahz and 6 scenarios. Not too shabby.

I'm still taking my time, surfing the net, thinking about what I want to do next. Since my EL NJOT is lost at Dovetail Games and will never be released, thus eliminating any possibility of getting this logo on any motive equipment for the workshop...

somelogo.jpg

Yeah, I think I found my mission and it aint pretty. Can someone at Dovetail PLEASE just tell me NO ERIE LACKWANNA as DLC.
That's all I want so I can be done.

Carry on.

[Schnauzahpowahz]

So is the EL themed loco/coach pack not coming at all? Unbranded could easily be directed to a patch hosted here I'd hope.

[buzz456]

So is the EL themed loco/coach pack not coming at all? Unbranded could easily be directed to a patch hosted here I'd hope.

Piece of cake.

[minerman146]

I never heard of DTG offering that as a suggestion. I heard DTM talk about it and I told him to wait it out until about 2 weeks ago. I can email him. Where is DTG helping out their Partners. But then again DTM has released 4 other models since the he sent the U34CH in. Western Maryland and B&0 - Geezus. Pretty much this is the point where I start acting weird and getting beechy and whatnot. Hey Simon, get off your butt and give Norfolk Southern a ringy-dingy, I mean its only been 18 months. Ringy dingy is a phone, the thing you play games on all day - has a phone function too!

How come we dont have to slap on WM and B&0 decals? Oooooo and Clinchfield..I betcha somebody lives near Chevy Chase. You know the Scranton Division also runs through narrow valleys and has COAL MINES -- since that is a theme, I cant image why they are not interested. Ya know 40 miles and a tipple -Yeah, that's the ticket! Oh darn it doesn't go through Maryland. Anyway from my perspective this whole thing has been a joke, they are so freaking passive.

To what extreme do I need to go to get a response? Why leave me hanging like this?

[EngineerJohn]

I never heard of DTG offering that as a suggestion. I heard DTM talk about it and I told him to wait it out until about 2 weeks ago. I can email him. Where is DTG helping out their Partners. But then again DTM has released 4 other models since the he sent the U34CH in. Western Maryland and B&0 - Geezus. Pretty much this is the point where I start acting weird and getting beechy and whatnot. Hey Simon, get off your butt and give Norfolk Southern a ringy-dingy, I mean its only been 18 months. Ringy dingy is a phone, the thing you play games on all day - has a phone function too!

How come we dont have to slap on WM and B&0 decals? Oooooo and Clinchfield..I betcha somebody lives near Chevy Chase. You know the Scranton Division also runs through narrow valleys and has COAL MINES -- since that is a theme, I cant image why they are not interested. Ya know 40 miles and a tipple -Yeah, that's the ticket! Oh darn it doesn't go through Maryland. Anyway from my perspective this whole thing has been a joke, they are so freaking passive.

To what extreme do I need to go to get a response? Why leave me hanging like this?

As a New York Central fan from just up the river and to the left in an area that people forget exists, I feel your pain.

Unless Horseshoe Curve has any hope of getting a makeover I always kinda looked at the EL/Conrail era going on over here as the next best thing in the northeast as far as train sim goes.

I won't stay interested in trainsim for long driving CSX GE widecabs!

[AmericanSteam]

A few options, DTG gets their butt together and pays someone to do a trademark search and distributes and you both make a few shekels, you cancel the deal with DTG for non performance and offer it for free through RWA and not worry about the money. Sell the package yourself or partner with someone to do so, and offer a logo patch through RWA, and it's avaliable, and you are done. One less dance to do. Caveat: Not knowing how all this works I most likely am blowing smoke here.

[minerman146]

Here is the thing, I have waited a LOOOOONG time to get to this point. You know how the thread says 'the Erie Rises" right? I knew then, in NOVERMBER OF 2019 that EL " Was not a problem we work with NS all the time" When I knew that DTM was working on the U34CH and you guys didn't. I kept my mouth shut knowing this could blow up - I just thought we would be told that they were sorry and there was nothing they could do and so on. For all I know they might have been operating on an assumption. When we lost the NJDOT logo I got a copy and paste of the email from NJT ... so I knew that was gone, but we were still green for EL. I guess some jackpipe thought about 6 months or more ago to check with with NS. So into the corporate bureaucracy we went. This is important to me ... but this request doesn't even register as much interest as a toilet paper square stuck to the ladies room floor at corporate HQ in Atlanta.

I have been working on this since December of 2017 when I got Jerry at VRC to start working on this U34CH project - I STILL have the unfinished unit and coaches.
This was my play...and its gone sideways.

I wrote previously about my own trademark search - its not registered - not the logo not the name. I am seriously looking at almost a grand to do the search myself and probably more if I try to find out what interest NS has in the logo. This is all assuming that the rights to the Erie Lackawanna were conveyed to Conrail over 45 years ago and then to Norfolk Southern some 20 years ago. Look at it like this ... say I put "STANDARD OIL" on a tank car and sell it on Steam... I mean WHO the heck is going to sue? On the face this should be in the public domain decades ago.

Lastly - any of you ever see *Made under license or with the permission of " say Norfolk Southern on anything you ever bought from DTG? I haven't.

And finally to show you 1. How long I have been working on this and 2. How paranoid I was about making the model ....

permission.JPG

I got written permission to make the model from the ACTUAL PLANS ( this is what is sitting at DTG) and PAID for giant tiffs of blue prints. I am SO invested in this.

[AmericanSteam]

I feel your pain. Time for Glenfiddich.

[BNSFdude]

I think the fact of the matter here is, sadly, DTG doesn't care. They'd rather have quick turn and burn shovelware in and out through the same people than to do any testing the waters. That, and there's like two people that handle TS classic anymore, They'd rather you start all over again and make it 5 miles long for TSW poo innit.

[minerman146]

I can't tell if they care or not. What I do is every 2 weeks I follow up with DTM. He is just baffled as to the fact that we don't get approval or denial. Remember I am dealing with this through DTM...so I don't see the emails. If I did I would paraphrase and not copy so as to maintain privacy. I do that with DTM as well. And he says he is very interested in NS predecessors, but is holding off until this issue is resolved.

I'm doing this to follow the process and see how this is done. I will say that from my observations there is passivity is resolving this issue. I know this because of the long breaks on communication that have gone up to six weeks at a stretch. And DTG'S tone has been surprise and puzzlement that's my take.

[BNSFdude]

In dealing with the process to get the CP AC4400 on steam, it took nearly a year to even get a contract for sale on the table. We had already long since gone through the process of licensing directly through CP ourselves. Definitely seems to be a lack of sense of urgency or priority. We were instead fed that we'd be more expedited if we were developing for TSW.

[buzz456]

I retired from a service business that made things but never forgot to remind my folks regularly that we were a service business. Having said that we have to remember that they are a business and they are every day dealing with a bunch of sometimes nutty hobby wackos who could care less about whether anything requested is going to make them any money. Of course we all know better how they should be running their business than they do but we don't work there. My customers all those years I was in business never hesitated to tell me what they thought we were doing wrong. Occasionally they were even right.
That being said what needs at all times is a two part strategy. One try to get co-operation to attain your goal. Two find a viable work around if you don't get co-operation. Pursuing both paths simultaneously transparently sometimes ends up getting the first one to work.
Food for thought.

[minerman146]

Here we are at it again for this, the amazing, Wednesday Route Report and Update Status for this Friday, September 3rd.

Let's get to the Update Status before people start falling asleep. And here we go.

[ ] This looks like something
[ ] Just a few more trees
[ X ] Golly, it looks pretty done to me.

I have plug the Seeburg 1000 again. Ya get 3 decades of records on Vinyl, broadcast 24 by 7 from Los Angeles every darn day. Imagine yourself at Penny's or the A&P in the 60's. Maybe you were pushing the cart, maybe riding in it, but admit it, some of arrangements are pretty catchy. Catch it here: http://streema.com/radios/play/Seeburg and give it an hour or so so you get the idea. NO commercials.

Today marks the second month of the finalization of this here glorious route in all it's non-disappointing grandeur. I still find it interesting and took time to take a spin to contemplate my next round of activities.

Ah Croxton, so many assets, so many kilometer squares that the computer has to render. I think I will start here with something. It's great to explore and I need to get cracking.

20210829213126_1.jpg

These 2 guys are talking about something, possibly important, maybe planning lunch. You know, about a mile to the South East was the Cross Roads Diner, the old man would know. I still remember the lunch I had, Chicken Noodle Soup and a hamburger. But if ya gotta eat, it is just a quarter mile from the yard office to Legends Diner (linky: https://www.legendsdiner-nj.com/) And they are in business! I dunno which is better - New York or Jersey Diners. I'm gonna lean towards Jersey. I like diners, what can I say?

So, me thinking about doing scenarios out of Croxton is the route news. Ha! As for the rest, I will keep my powder dry a bit longer.

Hang in there and carry on.

[GEtrack]

where are the 6 scenarios referenced above?

[mindenjohn]

Steam workshop