Horseshoe Curve: Altoona Yard Backdating question

[TheOldDessauer]

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[ozinoz]

Perhaps selective compression would be best. A balance between the functionality of the current version with some additional "eye candy" for steam people. A roundhouse, a bigger coaling station and some ready tracks would be good.

A better view of the Altoona Coaling Tower:

Pennsy Coaling tower.jpg

yes, yes, yes... The more steam "stuff" the better I am looking forward to seeing how it goes and hope to be 1st downloader

&

[Chacal]

I was serious. I didn't understand your comment. If I annoyed I didn't mean to.

No offence then. Sorry, I thought you were obsessing about off-topicness again.

[TheOldDessauer]

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[ozinoz]

I agree with your post regarding "selective compression" You can go overboard, but the limitations of TS mean it often leads to looking forlorn and empty as fps are killed by yard consists. Some extra steam facilities as you have mentioned would be greatly apreciated. HSC was poorly treated for the steam fans, both in Altoona and along the route - how hard could it have really been to add a few more tracks, coal and water points?? Compare that to the new Riviera line coming in the 2016 version - it really is chalk & cheese.

Good luck with the project, however you intend to tackle it. Michael and Bob laid down 150+ miles of yard trackage for the final push on the VNHRR, so large complex yards are do-able, but take a LOT of work. Mayeb start "selective" release that and see the response before diving head long in a major rebuild.

Either way &

[TheOldDessauer]

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[TheOldDessauer]

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[TheOldDessauer]

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[ozinoz]

Great photos - thanks for posting. You can see where thinsg fit in to the landscape as it were. Interesting re the East Altoona engine facilities - bi directional access to the turntable; that would be interesting. I dont think all fo that could be created, but we did deserve better than we got. DTG really cribbed it on this one. Couldnt even produce a decent coal tower, and then you look at the one produced for the Woodhead route, and it was just insulting.

I wish you luck...

(I have read your posts over on Engine-Driver touting for new US steam age routes; a bit like Don Quixote tilting at windmills I think - they dont seem to like steam, its all too hard, and yet when somebody does the work for them, ie Mike's beautiful 800, they treat it so poorly. They had an artist in the US and they only managed to produce 1 steam loco for HSC, despite having all of Strasburg at their disposal )





Grant

[jalsina]

Of the three turntables currently in Horseshoe Curve Altoona, the main one located more northeasthern, seems to be near the real (big) roundhouse we can see in the photo in page 1 of this post. I verified today that the three turntables are in working condition in TS2015. The problem could be the diameter that barely could house the Berk or the Northern and therefore a possible Texas. There are bigger turntables (and visually better) in Marias Pass (Whitefish) and in Pacific Surfliner (LA), both in working condition. This latest has a shop building quite elaborated, that could be used for making a full circle roundhouse.

[jalsina]

Just playing with a roundhouse at Whitefish yard (Marias Pass).
Something like this one is what is needed in the Altoona backdating:

[jalsina]

Here we have the Altoona (cars shops?) roundhouse......in a picture from 1895:
http://tile.loc.gov/image-services/jp2.py?data=/service/gmd/gmd382/g3824/g3824a/pm007312.jp2&res=2

It seems to be located near or at the turntable more placed to the East (there are 3 in Altoona, Horseshoe Curve route), beyond the passenger station.

[jalsina]

I believe this is the most western turntable (already in diesel era) in HorseShoe Altoona (Juniata):
http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa2600/pa2690/photos/142501pv.jpg
Slideshow of the same:
http://www.loc.gov/search/?q=altoona+pennsylvania&fa=segmentof%3Ahhh.pa2690.photos%2F&st=gallery

[jalsina]

A Google selection of images of old Altoona railroad installations:
https://www.google.co.ve/search?q=altoona&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIl_aau4KdxwIVBhYeCh12OwZy&biw=1876&bih=1040&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&tbs=rimg%3ACXuVne4a5yQCIji4JDUJaglNgSw_1R-toMhnTP23B9RakXDlFhIT93gVWrP4V0P_1JfYK9ShwLe3Rjf2RqlgoLCW0GMyoSCbgkNQlqCU2BEdNGTJb2eSHZKhIJLD9H62gyGdMRzwF616UOd2QqEgk_1bcH1FqRcORFG535MLfBdNioSCUWEhP3eBVasEZsNINVvXzaRKhIJ_1hXQ_18l9gr0RKWoHE81JLnwqEglKHAt7dGN_1ZBEbXapsTSDdvyoSCWqWCgsJbQYzEebzW9Ar_1xLS&q=altoona

[hertsbob]

I wonder if RSC managed to short-change any other yards?

There are several aspects as to what happens here.

i) Depends on who's doing the track. I personally find it easier to attempt to recreate everything that is/was there, but others don't.

ii) Frame rates, as previously discussed - this is an ongoing conversation between the two camps. When Woodhead was first released it caused all sorts of issues because it simply wouldn't run on many folk's computers once the scenery and stock had been added. Which leads to some poor chap having to make low-poly consists for NYNH so that Sunnyside doesn't look completely dead...
iii) Surfliner - the trackwork went in at the southern end because it was a nice flat area to get a decent height bearing from and I didn't realise at the time quite how far it was away from the main route. Also, if that section had scenery included then the Pacific Fleet would have needed to have been modelled...

iv) Ease of reference material. In the UK there is a fantastic, almost free, reference of highly detailed maps going back to the 1800s and this just isn't something that one can readily access for the US, so it's a great deal harder to accurately place tracks on your side of the pond.

Somebody mentioned coaling towers, also. That was a re-used asset from 2010, so whoever it was really needs to get over their issues.
If anyone bothers to read though this thread it covers many of the areas mentioned. http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?f=333&t=109611#p1338623

Cheers

Bob

(P.S. Please turn your sound domes off when taking screenshots. )